Tips for good health and colic prevention
1. Horses need their teeth floated every year. The sandy, abrasive desert soil increases wear and can quickly result
in sharp tooth edges. The resulting sore gums will cause poor chewing, which can result in unthriftiness and increased
tendancies for colicing.
2. De-worming every 2 months! The usual twice a year treatments are very inadequate. Since the life cycle of many
worms that affect horses is less than 30 days, re-infestation can occur quickly. Never go longer than 2 months without worming!
3. Feed psyllium the first 7 days of every month. Psyllium is very effective in removing sand, which frequently causes serious sand
colic here in the valley. Note - bran will NOT work, and can even increase the chances of sand colic!
4. Feeding inside stalls, on the ground (which is the natural position for a horse to eat), on rubber mats will
greatly reduce the amount of sand a horse ingests when it is eating hay!!! It also makes it much easier to keep the stalls clean.
Granted, the price of rubber mats is a bit, but not nearly so much as the surgery or death of a beloved and valuable friend!
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