Sand Colic

Psyllium: "Equate" type Metamucil or unflavored plain psyllium

My vet tells me that, of all the products on the market, the one with the highest actual psyllium content is generic Metamucil from Walmart. She says the sand colic prevention products we buy at feed stores mostly contain fillers and flavoring. If you get the sugar-free, there's even more psyllium per volume.

If you're going to be feeding a psyllium product for sand colic prevention, why not just go ahead and feed the highest psyllium content, and skip the additives? As a matter of fact, if you look around, you can even find unflavored straight psyllium, which might be even cheaper in bulk. "Equate" sugar-free psyllium is pretty darn cheap, though, and easy to go pick up when you're about to run out.

Should you feed a sand colic preventative? How much should you feed? Well, for these questions you need to talk it over with your vet. No matter how much you save on other expenses, your horse does still need a rabies booster and Coggins test once a year, and only a vet can do that. It's good to have a relationship with a veterinarian, so you can discuss things like deworming programs and sand colic prevention at your yearly exam/rabies/Coggins visit. You should acquaint your vet with your horse's living conditions and feeding programs, so they can properly advise you on things like sand colic prevention.

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In addition to sand colic prevention, we find all sorts of uses for psyllium.

My OTTB mares developed chronic diarrhea 5 or 6 years ago. The vet said it looked like a mild case of food allergy, and that she had success with using psyllium for such cases. Following her nstructions, we also had tremendous success. The mares' diarrhea cleared up in a few days, and as long as they stayed on it they were fine. Incidentally, I mix soaked beet pulp into every meal, which makes the supplements stick to the feed and ensures they eat it.

Once the allergen was gone (apparently, something in the grass or even a weed that one year) we took them off it and they stayed fine--but now I use it for EVERYthing. I give the horses psyllium twice a week for sand prevention (generally Sat and Sun). I give them psyllium if something is changing in the feed regimen and I want to make sure their tummies are settled. I have a 2-yo filly prone to gas (yes, lots of discussions with the vet, no permanent solution yet) and I give it to her if she's acting gassy. One of my mares seems to develop diarrhea off and on every winter, for no discernible reason, and psyllium typically clears it up (otherwise it will just keep on until the end of winter).

If the grass sees to be growing a bit fast, or I'm going to start them back on a rested pasture, I dish it out. If we have to change hay suppliers, I dish it out. If the weather is likely to be disruptive to their grazing, if they need more hay than usual, if the latest bag of feed seems a little more heavy on one of the ingredients (oil, corn, whatever), I dish out the psyllium. It's so CHEAP, so easy, and won't do them any harm, to just grab the jar and give them a scoop if things seem questionable. This is so much cheaper than a vet visit for a gas colic would be.

I go through a lot of this stuff! But it really helps keep the sensitive tummies a little more stable.

For more information about sand colic, you can check out my article: Sand Colic.