# Hay Vs Haylage and colic



## MrMole (8 September 2010)

Hi, my horse has re-occuring colic and has had to be admitted to horsey hospital yestaday with a bad displacement in his gut.

have read so many conflicting views on hay or haylage in helping and preventing colic.

any experience or views would help

thank you


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## mahorse (8 September 2010)

Hi

I would try cutting out ALL processed feed such as nuts/mixes etc. and sourcing hay/haylage that has little or no pesticides/sprays on it.

I'm not sure where you are but please see www.thunderbook.co.uk for more info or PM me for name and number to call about this feeding system.

My friend has a point to point yard and she had one of her racers colicing all the time literally several times a week, she changed its diet to a pure grass chaff and base mix which is made by the above and it stopped.  Without thinking weeks later she was feeding a couple of horses that were in and threw in half a scoop of nuts to the previously colicy horse so it didn't feel left out.  Within hours it was colicing again, quite amazing really!!!  

I'm in no way connected to the above company, but our yard has recently changed all horses diets to a purely organic one, and Debbie from the above Co. really knows her stuff about biological and nutritional science, and it really makes sense when you speak to her about problems with horses that seem to have appeared over the last 20 years.....

Good Luck, sorry to have prattled on!


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## Spinal Tap (8 September 2010)

Last time my regular vet saw my mare he told me to avoid giving her haylage, he reckoned that hay is far better.  He didn't really say why and I was too busy inwardly panicking to ask (it was her second colic in as many months, my old horse died of colic so I was not thinking very straight).  I do try to feed her old hay anyway because she is a real pig and doesn't even come up for air when she has a haybar full of nice haylage, which isn't great when it needs to last her overnight   I have a feeling that this won't be possible over the winter though - the hay crop wasn't brilliant, and we will probably run out & be on haylage at some point   If she is on haylage she gets plenty of Pink Powder to help her digest it


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## applecart14 (8 September 2010)

MrMole said:



			Hi, my horse has re-occuring colic and has had to be admitted to horsey hospital yestaday with a bad displacement in his gut.

have read so many conflicting views on hay or haylage in helping and preventing colic.

any experience or views would help

thank you
		
Click to expand...

Is the reocuring colic your horse has spasmodic gassy colic?  My boy has had spasmodic colic - about 30 or 40 episodes over the 6 years I've owned him.  Used to think it was the haylage but can't really say for definite - this yard used to be a dairy farm and they grass is very rich.  I have never got his colic investigated but he is a warmblood import and knowing how very little they feed of forage on the continent and at dealers yard in order for them to look good, I wasn't really that suprised that his gut is so sensitive.  Luckily I've found my answer in pink powder and a understanding vet who has agreed that I should try to feed 3 - 4 bute and put him on the walker for twenty mins to see if he is better during an attack of MILD colic.  If he remains the same or worse following his return to the stable then I am to call him out then.  This is only because my vet realises it is alwasy the same type of colic my horse displays and is easily rectified by this method.  I would of course not do this if his symptoms were different to the usual.  I give him ad lib haylage in the winter and he is in a small paddock in the summer and winter with limited amounts of haylage whilst kept in.  We are lucky as our haylage is usually very good quality. Only once did he have colic that was not caused by grass, I only know that because he was stabled at the time. He had eaten haylage then.


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## JenHunt (8 September 2010)

haylage can be more acidic and can change the gut flora.

try adding naf haylage balancer or pink powder to the diet, or TRM Ireland's GNF - all are basically an antacid to help keep the gut more settled

cut out hard feed - feed only fibre for at least 6 months, then you can start to very very slowly re-introduce high oil, low starch things like releve, equijewel, etc.


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## iconique (8 September 2010)

Hi, We recently lost a mare due to colic and have had problems with her foal.  There are lots of reasons for colic and your vets/horsey hospital need to give you some more information about the probable causes to the displacement.

I agree that processed feeds can contribute but there are other things like dehydration - lack of water, extremely dry grass/hay/forage, disturbed/reduced flora in the stomach, parasites, irregular feeding or sudden changes in diet, mouldy feed ...........  

The foal is on everything wet or soaked and we've come off the gastroguard and just about to start with Coligone (recommended by someone on here) as a preventative.  We don't use haylage as it goes off/mouldy if left out or can be acidic and hay is easier to keep and soak if needed.

You don't mention which hospital but talk to them and your vet and hopefully assuming all goes well at the hospital they will send you home with a care plan, including what to feed, what to look for and how to prevent - if not, ask!

I wish you the best of luck and that your horse comes home soon. Lxx


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## maggy-may (8 September 2010)

Hi sorry to hear bout your boy, hope he is ok?
My boy is prone to colic mainly caused through him cribbing, if he is not fed on time everyday the he will stress and crib filling his belly full of air so when he comes to eat he gets colic. So i have to keep him in a strict routine as he will not have a vet near him for an injection if he does get ill, to help keep his guts floowing i feed him bran twice a week with mint in it and so far this has worked for me. I also feed him on hay going through nearly a bale a day as he is a big horse along with high fibre cubes and chaff as his feed.
Please keep us updated on how your boy is doing, its such a worry when their poorly


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