Sand Colic Is Preventable

Sand colic is one of the most preventable diseases known. The buildup of sand is simply the amount of sand being eaten minus the amount of sand passing through. If the same amount is going out the back as is coming in the front, there can be no buildup.  Prevention is best aimed at limiting the sand intake and increasing sand output.

Prevention of sand intake sounds simple, but often can be frustrating. Horses eat sand whenever there is sand below where they eat. If they are fed in feeders that are not big enough for them to spread out the feed, they will pull the feed out and put it where it can be spread out, usually on the ground.  Some horses simply must vacuum up every last morsel of hay and in doing so, they also vacuum up quite a quantity of sand. Horses in pasture that pull up the grass, roots and all, get a mouthful of dirt with the roots. 

Ingestion of sand and subsequent accumulation can cause a variety of clinical symptoms in your horse. Signs of large amounts of sand in a horse's intestine can include:

-  poor weight gain or weight loss in spite of an otherwise adequate diet

-  intermittent diarrhea 

-  frequent episodes of colic

-  impaction colic

-  severe colic requiring surgery

SAND TEST

The sand test is an easy method of assessing if your horse is passing sand. Put six fecal balls or their equivalent into a clear plastic bag or glass jar. Fill half full with water and mix well. Let settle for fifteen

minutes and then check if there is any sand lining the bottom of the bag/jar.

If there is a lot of sand at the bottom, it means that your horse is moving sand through (or you used manure that had touched dirt). This is good in that at least it is coming out.  What you need to do:  Increase your efforts to prevent ingestion of sand. 

If there is no sand at the bottom, it means either your horse is not eating any sand or that your horse is not passing the sand it has eaten. In either case, repeat the test several times. If it is negative every time, and you are managing your horse's intake carefully, then your horse is probably clear.  Some severely affected horses may move sand intermittently, so it is important to repeat the test over time.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?
The first step in prevention is to FEED OFF THE GROUND in tubs, bins or wall feeders, or on top of mats. While many horses still pull at least half of their feed out of any feeder and finish it on the ground, these horses are still spending 50% less time eating on the ground. In addition, placing rubber mats under and around feeders will help prevent horses from eating directly on the ground.  The ideal feeder is some sort of enclosure at ground level large enough (at least 3 ft.) to spread feed out and with high enough sides (measure from the ground to the base of the neck with head down) to prevent feed from coming out.




Good Pasture

 Second is PASTURE MANAGEMENT.  Dense, grassy pastures are best, however they are often hard to find and harder to maintain.  An overgrazed pasture encourages the horse to look for every last bit of grass available.  If this is all you have, limiting turnout to a few hours at a time, rather than all day can help decrease ingestion of sand and encourage better growth of grass.  Another option is turning your poor pasture into a complete dry lot.  In a dry lot, there are no tempting blades of grass that encourage the horse to sift through the sand looking for food.  Your horse can get his exercise, but not ingest dangerous amount of sand.  However, it is very important to feed off the ground in dry lot situations.

 

Poor, Overgrazed Pasture

 

Dry Lot

FEEDSTUFFS

Feeding 2% of body weight of hay (i.e. 20 lbs in a 1000lb horse) can also help move sand.  The fiber found in hay is good for the health of the colon and its bulk can help move sand through.  Psyllium (Sand Clear, Equi-Aid, Metamucil, etc.) is believed to help move small amounts of sand out of the horse's gut, but preliminary research calls into question its effectiveness in moving larger accumulations of sand from equine intestines.  Psyllium may be a useful part of managing a horse who grazes in a sandy pasture, but it's not a magic preventive or cure. Many people believe that they are controlling sand by feeding bran mashes. Although bran is a good laxative, it is ineffective at removing sand.  In conclusion, the best way to avoid sand-related colic is to discourage the horse from ingesting sand in the first place.