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  Discussion on How long does food take to move through the intestines
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Member:
prakashb

Posted on Monday, Aug 13, 2007 - 2:11 pm:

Hey, i was wondering how long food took to past through the intestines, is it the same as liquids?

The reason I ask is that we have had a horse that has been showing symptoms of colic since last thursday. The vet came out and filled her with water, oil, electrolytes among other things, but she is still acting weird. She paws the ground continuously, curls her lip up, and is a little dehydrated.
The weird thing is that we haven't fed her normal food (which contains oats) since thursday morning, yet she is still passing oats in her stool. She has been getting a bran mash. Is this unusual? She hasn't had oats in four days but she is still passing it in her stool. She has had several bowel movements since thursday also. Any help would be appreciated.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 14, 2007 - 7:09 am:

This would not be considered that abnormal Prakash as transit time of solids can be quite slow in the horse. Once they get to the cecum it is kind of like a big cement mixer, where the new and old are mixed together so it may just be oats retained in the cecum that you are seeing.

Has a rectal exam been done or a diagnosis been proposed? Is the horse drinking or receiving at least 6 gallons of water (more if it is hot) a day? Are you balancing the cal-phos ratios in the bran? For more on taking care of horses with colic see:
Diseases of Horses » Colic, Diarrhea, GI Tract » Colic in Horses » First Aid for Colic
and
Diseases of Horses » Colic, Diarrhea, GI Tract » Colic in Horses » An Overview of Colic.
DrO
Member:
prakashb

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 14, 2007 - 9:22 am:

A rectal exam was done, he found a lot of sand in there and he felt some gas pockets. He told us to bran with metamucil in it. I will have to see if she is drinking 6 gallons, i don't beleive so. THe metamucil is good because it flavors the water and she will slurp it up. I don't think we are balancing the cal-phos ratio, so I will ask them to do so. Thank you very much.
Member:
ilona

Posted on Wednesday, Aug 15, 2007 - 10:38 pm:

I've never heard of administering Metamucil to a horse before. Is this helpful for binding with, and therefore, pushing sand through Dr O? It does sound reasonable, I'm curious to hear (read) your thoughts.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Aug 17, 2007 - 12:09 am:

Hello Ilona,
Metamucil is a psyllium product and we discuss its efficacy at Diseases of Horses » Colic, Diarrhea, GI Tract » Colic in Horses » Sand Colic.
Member:
ilona

Posted on Friday, Aug 17, 2007 - 8:12 pm:

Thanx Dr O. I didn't know Metamucil was a psyllium product. (I tend to be more diligent with label content for my animals than myself..not smart) Of course now I get it. I've been so frightened of sand colic and been a part of many discussions on HA about it.
Member:
vickiann

Posted on Friday, Aug 17, 2007 - 8:20 pm:

You will read that studies do not support giving psyllium for removal of sand, though I believe those studies finding it not helpful involved surgically placing sand into the guts of horses, which perhaps is not a truly good study. My personal belief is that psyllium is a good digestive aid if your horse needs it. If your horse has a great digestive system, perhaps he will eliminate sand without extra assistance. If not, he may need some extra help to do so. Over the years my Vets here in Florida have had views that fluctuated somewhat, according to recent studies, but overall the advice continues to be to sand horses as instructed on the container, which is generally administering the product for 7 consecutive days each month. Ever since I began doing this as opposed to other plans to remove sand, my horses have been much better off than when I did bran mashes, etc. I LIVE on what could accurately be described as a true Florida sand hill (Florida scrub). Of course, the best situation is preventing sand from entering the horse's system, but do not believe that is possible for those living in an environment like mine without the continuous stalling of the horses, which I will not do -- especially since I have plenty of (sandy) pasture. When dealing with sandy conditions, plenty of hay is helpful to push sand through, and my boys have always had that advantage as well. I've been tempted to suspend giving the psyllium each month, but they do well on the plan as opposed to when I did not do this, so I follow "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Aug 17, 2007 - 11:16 pm:

Vicki why would you say such studies were not "truly good". They compared the rate of expulsion between those who received psyllium and those who did not. Both got the surgery and bowel activity was considered within normal limits following the surgery, both groups cleared the sand, but the psyllium,did not improve clearance.

But there are other studies which have drawn into question the usefulness of psyllium. A fairly recent study of clinical cases of sand colic found the efficacy of psyllium "limited" but because there were no controls as in the first study, which found no improved clearance with psyllium, it is difficult to judge what would have happened without it's use:

Equine Vet J. 2001 Jan;33(1):59-64.
Abdominal radiography in monitoring the resolution of sand accumulations from the large colon of horses treated medically.

Ruohoniemi M, Kaikkonen R, Raekallio M, Luukkanen L.
Department of Clinical Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland.

This retrospective study consisted of 14 horses (age 6 weeks-12 years) with radiographically evident sand accumulations cranioventrally in the abdomen and clinical signs suggestive of sand enteropathy. The horses were treated medically and resolution of sand was monitored radiographically. Routine treatment consisted of psyllium mucilloid, combined with magnesium sulphate and/or mineral oilif needed. Initially, the number, size and shape of the sand accumulations showed large variation and the response to therapy was not predictable based on the initial appearance of the accumulation. In 2 foals, some of the sand was passed and the rest was mixed with other intestinal contents within 2-4 days. Even large accumulations disappeared in 2-4 days with psyllium alone or combined with mineral oil in 4 horses. In another 4 horses, the size of the accumulations decreased but varying amounts remained approximately at the same site, despite treatment for 1-4 weeks, and all these horses also had either gastric or large colon impaction. Three horses had a limited response to psyllium treatment, but the accumulation resolved with repeated doses of magnesium sulphate, with or without mineral oil. One horse did not respond to prolonged laxative treatment but the accumulation resolved on pasture. Clinical improvement was not necessarily related to the resolution of sand. Radiography of the cranioventral abdomen was found to be a useful means for monitoring the resolution of sand and confirming the effect of medical treatment in removing sand from the large colon in the horse.
Member:
vickiann

Posted on Saturday, Aug 18, 2007 - 10:45 am:

In my mind, I have to question if things would work differently when sand has been placed inside of those horses all at one time rather than it collecting there gradually over a period of time, even if it all got there in those study horses the same way, it is not how sand usually accumulates. This to me is a bit like the debate about whether changes in weather cause horses to colic. There is no medical evidence of this, but again and again it is sited as a factor, and many Vets seem to accept it as part of the cause. Every year a certain number of horses die around here due to sand colic. Many of the Vets who practice in the area, though aware of the science, continue to support the idea of using psyllium because of their personal experiences with cases of colic (and death) caused by sand accumulation. If sand accumulation continues to kill horses every year, obviously not all of them have systems that are able to pass sand through without intervention. I do strongly suspect though, that many of those cases are related to horse owners who don't "sand" their horses, but also do not supply enough forage for proper digestion and elimination. During the time of psyllium treatment, the manure of the horse appears different, has more bulk, and is stickier to the touch. There may, or may not, be any proof either, that psyllium used in humans works to lessen problems with irritable bowel synDrOme, but it does -- whether the problem is diarrhea or constipation, it aids the digestive process and allows the intestines to act in a more normal way. Also, the way medical studies are constantly contradicting prior or other studies these days, it is hard to know what to think. I am not convinced that psyllium helps horses with sand colic but am reluctant to give it up in case it does. And I do believe that the horses who die of sand colic every year around here represent cases where psyllium has NOT been used to prevent sand colic.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Aug 18, 2007 - 4:28 pm:

My concern, based on the best knowledge we have at this point, is they used psyllium thinking it would protect the horse and then did not do the proper management factors to prevent sand ingestion.
DrO
Member:
vickiann

Posted on Saturday, Aug 18, 2007 - 5:50 pm:

Excellent observation.
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