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  Discussion on Young mini eats shavings, need ideas
Author Message
Member:
Bethyg2

Posted on Friday, Oct 8, 2004 - 2:34 pm:

Hi- my mini yearling was in the clinic w/ colic a week before the first hurricane here in FL (how I date things lately) and the vet said, "no hay, ever" and no wood shavings for bedding. She gave me a muzzle that only allows for drinking that he wears in the stall. I figure there has to be a better way, and dug out the stall, put concrete screen down, leveled it, and put down rubber mats. I put him in another stall until I decided what to bed with, and noticed that in addition to shavings, he enjoyed eating "Woodypet" wood pellets. That has to be more dangerous, cause they expand when wet, so he is still waering that muzzle. I am at a loss with this little guy- what do people use for bedding with horses that like to eat their bedding? I don't want him to have to keep living with that muzzle at night. He also can't be kept out 24/7, for other reasons. If anyone has any ideas for bedding, let me know. Thanks,
- Beth
Member:
Ryle

Posted on Friday, Oct 8, 2004 - 2:49 pm:

Beth,
Why can't the little guy have hay? This has got to be highly stressful for him since their digestive tract is built for eating constantly and his little mind says he should be grazing. Most of the time when a horse eats his bedding giving more hay to give them something else to eat to fill their need to graze is recommended.

Cindy D.
Member:
Bethyg2

Posted on Friday, Oct 8, 2004 - 3:30 pm:

Cindy, I know, this goes against everything I ever heard, but the doctor said no hay, so.... He had a very bad impaction. He was getting really good hay too, really nice timothy , very green and sweet smelling. So, I give him equine Jr, a complete feed, several times a day and grass in the morning and afternoon. I guess no horse needs hay if it is getting grass. I'm just so used to feeding hay! But I need ideas on what bedding to use. Maybe sawdust would be better...
Member:
Mrose

Posted on Friday, Oct 8, 2004 - 9:42 pm:

Is he really over weight? What does he eat for forage?

Would he sleep and be comfortable on just the rubber mats? If so, you could just use kitty litter in the corners or where he "goes." It works pretty good and isn't expensive if you get the cheap stuff and not the clumping kind.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Oct 10, 2004 - 8:53 am:

Hello Beth,
Has this guy had more than one impaction? What caused the impaction?
DrO
Member:
Bethyg2

Posted on Monday, Oct 11, 2004 - 10:57 am:

Hi all,
Nope, only one impaction, ever. He's just a yearling, so ...I was told that the lack of grass (lots of rain in the weeks before the hurricanes flooded the pastures) and a diet of hay and wood shavings caused the impaction. I was there when the vet took out a dry clump of manure, and you could see the shavings and strands of hay in it. Luckily the mini responded to IV support, tubing, enemas, and painkillers and began passing manure on his own. The vet cautioned against hay for both my minis, and said to saturate their food with water, and give access to grass only. They seem to be doing fine, and maintain their weight. The one that was in the clinic is only 1 1/2 yrs old, and is on the trim side. He gets a breakfast, lunch and dinner of Purina Equine Jr. made into a mash. It is a lot harder than throwing hay into the stall or pasture, but he is thriving. The x-rays looked bad- classic impaction showing liquid at the bottom, even some sand down at the bottom of the intestines.(He is on sand clear now, but vet said she didn't believe it was enough sand to cause a colic). So, we are thankful that he made it. It was his second illness- he had shipping pneumonia for a LONG time after we got him in Feb.
I am giving the kitty litter idea some consideration, as he does tend to "go" in one place. Anyone had experience with anything else- I saw advertisements on the net for a newspaper based product but all were in the UK. Thanks- Beth
Member:
Frances

Posted on Monday, Oct 11, 2004 - 12:38 pm:

I would be worried he might eat the kitty litter...
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Oct 12, 2004 - 7:58 am:

Though I feel there is an association in feeding stemmy hay to hungry horses and where the water is inconvenient I don't feel feeding good quality hay is associated with impactions. On the other hand certainly the sand and shavings might be a problem. I am not sure what you can put down as a safe stall floor other than a rubber mat.
DrO
Member:
Christos

Posted on Tuesday, Oct 12, 2004 - 9:20 am:

Hi, Beth,
I think that if a horse is interested in wood shavings, it will pretty much chew on any bedding you use, even paper.
May be the answer to this problem is to find out why he is interested in shavings in the first place.
This year we switched to almost 100% clover hay, a local variety that is not as rich, so it can even be fed free choice to the hard keepers.
The result was that two horses who were notorious chewers of wood, bedding straw, even walls, nocked it absolutely off within a month.
I do not know wether it was a nutrient they were missing that got slowly replenished or that they needed some time to develop a strong taste and therefore patience for the good stuff.
The point is that in this case, it was definitely their previous diet that was causing the vice, and that it didn't change overnight.
Oh, and the hay we were using before was good quality. I do not know the name in english, but it's what horses have been fed for centuries around here.

Christos
Member:
Bethyg2

Posted on Tuesday, Oct 12, 2004 - 12:12 pm:

Hi all,
I pretty much believe that what everyone has said is true- that this little guy would eat anything I use for bedding because his natural instinct to graze constantly is being suppressed. So, I am going to try and keep him out on grass for longer periods during the day and see how that goes, and keep the muzzle on at night for now. It's just that his stomach is fine when I turn him out at 7 AM, but by noon it is bloated! When I take him in around 10:30 AM, and put him out again in late afternoon, he doesn't get that way. (He has a lunch of mashed Equine Jr. in between) .Hopefully I can get rid of the muzzle in a few weeks. -Beth
Member:
Ryle

Posted on Tuesday, Oct 12, 2004 - 3:05 pm:

Beth,
I think I would talk to the vet again and make sure that she meant no hay. My feeling on this guy would be to have good hay in front of him at all times while he is in the stall so that he has something else to eat besides the bedding. I would think that the shavings and the sand were more the reason for impaction and that the hay was in the mix just because he was eating all three.

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