Eating like a horse, facts confirm, is a bit of an anti-truth. Horses actually have very small stomachs for their size, and they can’t regurgitate or chew cud like cows do. The horse has a one-way digestive system, so if he eats something he shouldn’t have, you’ll have to wait until it goes through his whole digestive tract to work its way out.

Horses who eat too much grain can colic, which is a stomach-ache and then some. Colic can kill a horse unless it is caught and treated early enough. Treatment includes keeping the horse quiet, not allowing him to roll, and assisting the vet in administering pain medication and then trying to keep the horse calm until the stomach upset passes.

For this reason among many, you must be careful what you feed horses. Grass hay is pretty hard to mess up with – as long as it has good color, is not hot and has no foreign objects in it, a horse can eat as much grass hay as he wishes. Alfalfa hay is richer, and you should wean a horse onto it gradually. Timothy hay is another tasty hay that most horses like. Each individual horse, facts say, has a diet that will work best for him.

Most horses who do any work at all are also fed grain or a complete pelleted feed. Oats are still used in sweet feed mixes, and these are useful for picky eaters. Most other horses do fine on a pelleted feed which is based on hay, and has a good deal of roughage in it. That’s not to say that you should only feed your horse grain. He should be fed much more hay than grain. It’s not uncommon for a fully grown 16 hand horse to get just a small coffee can of sweet feed twice a day, but free choice hay at all other times.

If you need to change the type of food your horse eats, it must be done gradually. Add a little more new feed to a little less old food every day until he is switched over. This helps to keep his stomach from getting upset.

Horses play like horses, so have a first aid kit handy in your tack room or barn. Most injuries will just be small cuts or bumps, but a well-placed kick can break a leg of a stablemate if they’re playing rough out in the pasture.

Have the telephone and cell numbers for your vet posted in the barn, and use them if you need them. A vet call is not cheap, and an emergency call costs even more, but if a responsible owner or barn staff thinks he is needed, make the call. You don’t want to try to take care of a wound that’s beyond your ability to care for. If a wound is deep or open, the vet will stitch it up, and return in ten days to remove the sutures. He will also give your horse a tetanus booster and some pain meds and anti-inflammatories. Some of these are shots and some are oral medications. It’s good to always have someone at the barn who can give shots and administer medications.

There is nothing quite like watching a horse at liberty in a large pasture, running free like he was intended to when he was created.

Author: Jenny Styles Information on labrador terrier can be found at the Interesting Animals site. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jenny_Styles Information on Colic Remedies and Sand Colic in Horses.

How to Prevent Horse Colic

It is advisable to soak pelleted food before feeding to horses. The main reason for this is that pelleted food expands in contact with water, so if a horse ‘bolts’ a large quantity of dry pelleted food, it can rapidly expand to an excessive volume upon contact with fluids in the stomach…

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Plus, they stay occupied for longer, which helps if you have “Mr. Destructo” in your herd. Finally, feeding this way helps prevent digestive health issues like colic and ulcers…

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Technorati Tags: horse colic and feeding, horse colic shot

Equine sand colic occurs in parts of the world which has hot dry periods, followed by warm wet conditions when new grass germinates. Obviously this occurs on sandy soils.

The horse has been grazing on dry pasture and is anxious to get some fresh, green grass. So, they eat the freshly germinated grass. This hasn’t had enough time to establish strong roots, so the whole plants, roots and all, come up.

Attached to the roots is the sandy soil they are anchored in. Most of this is spat out by the horse, but only a little needs to be ingested at a time. Over a long period, it will accumulate. And so equine sand colic results.

The normal way to deal with this is to pour an edible oil into the stomach. Often this is medicinal paraffin. But medicinal paraffin depletes the body of fat soluble vitamins such as vitamin A and E.

This further compounds the desire for the green food, which is a horse’s source of beta carotene, their vitamin A. It’s much better (and far cheaper) to prevent it occurring. The best way to do this is to graze horses on established, perennial pastures, so there is a good firm root system already established. But even this can allow for some sand ingestion.

Psyllium husk, about a desert spoonful a day, is a wonderful way to prevent this. The psyllium rolls around the digestive system, collecting the sand. You will notice a nice little deposit of sand on top of a stool pile. Psyllium husk is totally natural and non toxic.

Author: Madeleine Innocent

Do you want to learn more about natural good health, in particular homeopathy? Download my free report ‘An Introduction to Some Common Homeopathic Remedies’ by clicking on the website link below. Good Health Naturally
http://www.twolegsandfour.com/index7.html Madeleine Innocent is a full time consultant homeopath and homeopathic coach.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Madeleine_Innocent

Information on Colic Remedies and Famous Horses Colic Surgery.

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Our pasture is mostly sandy type dirt and we have been told that sandy area can cause a sand colic in horses…

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The sand builds up in the intestines and can quickly accumulate causing impaction colic…

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Introduction: Colic is abdominal pain caused by a build up of gas in the abdomen. In all cases, your vet should be called immediately.

Colic has three main forms. These are Tympanitic colic, spasmodic colic and obstructive colic.

Tympanitic colic (bloat, gastric tympany, wind colic) presents as severe, continuous pain associated with sweating, anxiety, a fast pulse, a tense abdomen, especially in the right flank, high pitched bowel sounds, and attempts to lie down or roll.

The cause is often food material fermenting in stomach or large colon, and ,ay be caused by large quantities of grain or coarse mix, or rich spring grazing.

Treatment consists of analgesia for pain control and anti-spasmotic drugs, while oral antibiotics and vegetable oils help reduce fermentation in the gut. Pressure of gas in the stomach can be relieved via a stomach tube. Recovery is usually complete.

Spasmodic colic is the commonest type of colic. It presents often in younger horses, with shorter episodes lasting a few hours. There is colicky (i.e. intermittent) abdominal pain, sweating, restlessness, a tense abdomen, loud bowel sounds, and the horse will try to roll. Rolling does no harm.

The cause is often migrating worm larvae, or a salt imbalance with a lack of sodium and chloride ions from dehydration.

Treatment is with antispasmodics and sedatives.

Obstructive Colic: This may be divided into obstruction, which is severe and acute, and the less severe, less painful impaction.

Symptoms consist of shock due to the release of toxins, acute severe pain, high temperature at times, high pulse rate, constipation, poor appetite, lying down at times, and the horse may look at its flanks.

The cause is often overeating, especially dry material ‘ the worst is unsoaked dry foods that are supposed to be soaked. Sudden changes to diet, mechanical obstruction ‘ twisting of the gut, tumours, herniation ‘ and food impaction such as at the pelvic flexure are other causes.

Treatment often requires emergency surgery, liquid paraffin and saline by stomach tube, and rectal massage to break up a mass of food particles.

Complementary Therapies: N.B. colic is a veterinary emergency; always call your vet.

Veterinary treatment may be supported and supplemented by: Bach flower remedies such as Rescue Remedy, always helpful in emergencies Spiritual healing and Reiki to help calm Crystal healing Massage Acupressure

Conclusion: Although you should call the vet out in all cases of colic, it is useful for us to be aware of the fact that not all colic is the rapidly progressive, often fatal obstructive colic. Always be guided by your vet in the management of colic. Try to prevent colic where possible, by ensuring that all soakable foods are adequately soaked with the water quantity and duration needed, and by making any dietary changes gradually over a few days. Supportive management while awaiting the vet will rarely cause harm.

Author: Alison Grimston

Copyright (c) 2008 The Naturally Healthy Pet.com

Dr Alison Grimston is a holistic doctor and animal healer with a website that helps to inform the public about complementary animal therapies while connecting animal therapists worldwide. http://www.TheNaturallyHealthyPet.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alison_Grimston

Information on Colic Remedies and Cure Colic.

HealthWatch: Colic Surgery for Older Horses

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A colicky baby is something that can make the world of a mother turn upside down if she does not know how to cure colic. Aside from the fact that the mother would be on edge as to the real cause of the crying and wailing of her baby, if she is still unaware of the nature of colic, she would be very distraught at the scene her baby would be making if it so happens she and her baby are on a public place. Even at home, a mother would still find it troublesome if she does not know how to cure colic problems of her baby effectively.

The wailing of a baby due to colic can be very disturbing especially at night. A mother can just imagine how her neighbors would feel with the continued crying of her baby at night when they are dead tired from work and would like to sleep peacefully. This is the most aggravating circumstances that a mother had to watch out if she does not have any idea how to address this very embarrassing problem a mother can have with her baby.

One of the favored ways in which a mother can temporarily cure colic of her baby is by carrying her baby in her arms and singing sweet lullabies. This can assuage the baby’s natural tendency of looking for his or her mother’s voice and the feeling that his mother is at his side. Hearing his mother’s voice and feeling that he is in his mother’s arms will tend to minimize the discomfort of the baby caused by colic.

It is also validated by studies that one of the causes of colic in babies is the excessive air in their intestines that would add to their discomfort. It is noted that this excess air is caused by their suction of milk from their feeding bottles with over used nipples. Over used nipples of baby milk feeding bottles will tend to have large holes on them due to constant sucking. This would result to a larger amount of air that would go inside their system every time they would suck milk from these used nipples.

Thus, the remedy here is always use newer nipples with small holes. It would be best for a mother to inspect the hole of the nipple from time to time to make sure that the nipple still maintains the right size of hole on it. This is to make sure your baby won’t ingest a lot of air sucking from his milk feeding bottle with an over sized hole.

For a mother to effectively cure colic of her baby, she has to be guided accordingly with the proper and needed information to address this troublesome, irritating and embarrassing problem.

Author: Ashish K. Arora

In fact, there is a great guide and information available online for mothers who are in desperate need to cure colic of their babies. Check out the Curing Colic Guide Review

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ashish_K_Arora

Information on Colic Remedies and Colic Calm Harrisonburg VA.

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Fortunately, there are some little tricks that can help you do your job better – and they work especially well if your poor little baby is dealing with colic…

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Looking for a cure for colic can be time consuming and annoying as there can be so much information out there. However you will find that some of these tips and recommendations for cures actually will prove to be effective!

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Doctors still do not know exactly what causes a baby with colic to scream for hours, but studies in probiotics may provide hope…

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Does your baby have colic, infant gas or reflux? Does your baby cry for hours and you are trying to do anything to help your little baby stop? I am sure you have tried all the tricks in the book. It is heartbreaking, I know, and after a while frustrating as well. You are closer to a solution than what you think. There is a way for you to stop the crying and the pain!

Colic Calm – Is it a scam or does it really work?

Colic Calm REALLY works and I will tell you why:

o It is 100% natural.

o There are no side effects with it.

o Colic Calm is a homeopathic remedy and contains a homeopathic blend of Chamomile, Fennel, Caraway, Peppermint, Ginger, Aloe, Lemon Balm, Blackthorn and Vegetable Charcoal. Also contains purified water and glycerin.

o Colic Calm is FREE of alcohol, sugar and sodium bicarbonate.

o The product has a money back guarantee; I have not seen that with any other gripe water.

o Colic Calm has an impressive list of parents’ testimonials.

Colic Calm will help your baby`s pain and you can feel good about giving it to your baby.

If you compare Colic Calm to other famous gripe water brands, it is a clear winner. Both Baby`s Bliss Gripe Water and Wellements Gripe Water contains Sodium Bicarbonate (also known as baking soda). I would not give my baby sodium bicarbonate. Sodium bicarbonate containing products are not to be consumed by "children under 5 years of age", as stated clearly on antacid and baking soda boxes.

Author: Anna L.

Check out our gripe water review NOW!

You can stop the crying and the pain with Colic Calm our number 1 gripe water.

Anna L is a successful freelance writer and the owner of Help Me And My Family, a site for awesome parents that wants to be even better.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anna_L

Information on Colic Remedies and Colic in Goats.

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The only two that I ever saw helped even a little bit were, Baby Bliss Gripe Water and Colic Calm…

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Description

Colic is a condition that affects children younger than three months old. It is marked by crying that Continues for hours, several days a week, for several weeks. While pediatricians know that colic affects the digestive system, they still don’t know the exact cause. Some theories attribute these painful attacks to allergies, gas, heartburn, over feeding, or foods that a breastfeeding mother has eaten (especially those with a high-carbohydrate content that might lead to excessive fermentation In the baby’s intestines). The baby responds to this pain with severe crying that is often interrupted by wails and screams.

The length of an episode varies from infant to infant. The crying may last only a half hour, or it can continue for several hours until the baby falls asleep from exhaustion or finds relief by passing gas or having a bowel movement.

Though a large number of colicky babies outgrow the condition by three months of age, others have the condition until they are six months old or even older.

Signs and Symptoms

Extended periods of loud, sharp wailing and crying in an infant

Legs drawn up toward the abdomen

Clenching of fists and curling of toes

Flushed face

Cool feet and hands

Distended stomach

Conventional Medicine Treatment

A pediatrician can diagnose colic after a thorough physical examination. Unfortunately, there is no proven medical treatment for colic. Often, the only advice you get from your doctor is to burp your child after every feeding and-if that doesn’t work-to switch to another type of formula (if you are bottle feeding).

Complementary and Alternative Treatments

Nutrition and Supplementation

It is estimated that as many as so percent of children and babies have difficulty digesting cow’s milk, yet many commercial baby formulas contain the substance. Substitute cow’s milk with goat’s milk or a non-allergic formula.

Breastfed babies may be allergic or sensitive to gas-forming foods in the mother’s diet, such a beans, garlic, onions, wheat, and cabbage. Other foods the breastfeeding mother should avoid include caffeine, chocolate, spices, tomatoes, and oranges.

Aromatherapy

Aromatherapists say any of the following essential oils can help relieve an infant’s discomfort from colic: Roman chamomile, fennel, lavender, marjoram, or peppermint. See a qualified therapist for specific advice.

Bodywork

Infant massage has a gas and colic routine as well as a full round of lower torso massage strokes.

Homeopathy

Colic may respond to homeopathic treatment. However, the selection of a remedy-more than one is available depends on your child’s symptoms and the stage of the condition. Don’t try treating this disorder yourself. See a homeopathic professional.

Traditional Chinese Medicine

Acupressure Pressing gently on Large Intestine 4 (located on the fleshy part of the hand between the thumb and fore-finger) and Conception Vessel 12 (above the navel, between the bottom ribs) may help ease the symptoms of colic.

Chinese Herbal Therapy An herbalist may recommend giving the child a tea made of fennel, ginger, scallions, and citrus peel to help calm the abdominal spasms that characterize this ailment. Depending on what the doctor determines to be the specific cause of the colic, other herbs may prescribed as well.

Author: Robin Brain

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robin_Brain

Information on Colic Remedies and Physiotherapy For Colic.

SELF-HELP PREVENTION: COLIC

Three-month colic is a condition so called because it consists of colicky pains (in babies) that disappear by 3 months of age…

Colic

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COLIC

Babies suffering with colic need constant attention. They will cry incessantly and pull their knees up to try to relieve the discomfort in their stomach. They will usually be happier when on the move. Nothing seems to alleviate their distress. Advocates of breast feeding claim that breast fed babies suffer less colic than bottle fed ones because of the way they suck. Whether this is true or not its a good idea to check that the hole in the teat on a bottle isn’t to large and that the bottle is held so that milk is always filling the teat. When a baby feeds he sucks in milk and a certain amount of air. Whilst some babies merely burp out the air, others have difficulty getting rid of it and get air trapped in their stomachs and guts. The air builds up pressure causing irritation and pain. The baby’s reaction to pain is to feel thoroughly miserable and cry until he is able to pass wind or burp. The strange thing about colic is that it doesn’t always happen after every feed. It tends to be worse in the afternoon and early evening. Colic can last anything from 3 to 5 months before the baby grows out of it. Colic is very much linked to tension in the connective tissue and tends to occur in babies who’s connective tissue is very tight. This tension can be caused by a difficult birth, problems in pregnancy, prenatal tension in the mother etc. Tension restricts the movement of food through the intestines and causes pain.

TREATMENT
By treating a young baby with Connective Tissue Manipulation the tension around the stomach and gut is reduced, letting food and wind sort themselves out without causing pressure, irritation and pain. The effect of treatment is cumulative and after 2 or 3 treatments the baby can feed and sleep better and generally be much more content

http://www.londonphysiocentre.com

Author: Jacqueline Flexney-Briscoe

Jacqueline is one of a few UK Physiotherapists combining Connective Tissue Manipulation, Manual Lymph Drainage, the MacKenzie Exercise Regime and Cranio-sacral Therapy in private practice. During the past four years she has successfully treated over 1,000 patients with spinal problems and a further 1,300 patients with other muscular skeletal problems in her Gillingham Physio Centre in Dorset. In order to offer her specialist techniques to a greater number of patients she started the London Physio Centre at 148 Harley Street.

A Chartered and State Registered Physiotherapist, Jacqueline qualified at St Thomas’s Hospital, London with additional emphasis in the treatment of backs and necks. She spent five years at the Leicester Royal Infirmary gaining experience in all branches of physiotherapy and became Senior Physiotherapist on the Medical Unit. In 1977 she created a private practice at the Leicester Clinic, eventually covering all orthopaedic, spinal and post-op physiotherapy.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jacqueline_Flexney-Briscoe

Information on Colic Remedies and Atmospheric Pressure Colic in Horses.

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Many of our horses live a much different life than they used to. Horses once lived on the plains traveling in herds and grazing all day. This was what they were intended to do by nature. Today, however, we like to show our horses and we like to keep them in the barn for easy access. Our horses have begun to live in stalls or small pens most of their lives and because of this they have had to adjust. Many horses have adapted to this type of lifestyle, but it has not been without any healthy effects. Colic is one of the most common health issues that horse owners have to worry about today.

Colic is a fairly broad term, but essentially it is a stomachache. The horse’s digestive system is very unique and they’re stomachs are incredibly small of their size. They are designed to eat multiple small meals per day, but we have adjusted that to fit our daily schedules and many horses get two rather large meals per day. The horse also does not have the constant flow of fiber that he once had when he was able to roam the range. Instead, they also receive two rather large flakes of hay per day. There are some horses that are lucky enough to have constant access to hay via round bales, but many horses receive their forage with their meal. This means that a horse may be shocking his system because he is receiving so much food at one time. Horses are unable to tell when they are ‘full’ and this means that they will continue to eat whether they need to or not.

A horse is unable to digest a large amount of feed in such a small amount of time. As the horse eats too much he is overloading his stomach and killing off the helpful bacteria that live in the hindgut of the horse. Because there are no bacteria to help ferment and digest the feed, the feed sits there in the hindgut and causes a toxic problem that produces founder to occur. The toxins begin to build up in the horse’s blood stream and eventually the horse begins to not only show signs of colic but founder as well.

The horse may begin to roll continuously. The horse will get up and lie down and roll over and over. The horse may also develop a fever and begin to sweat. Some horses will act as though they can barely stand up. In severe cases of colic a horse will sit back on his hind feet to avoid putting pressure on his front feet. These are the signs of founder beginning to set into the horse’s feet. When a horse is found colicking, a veterinarian should be alerted as soon as possible and the horse should be walked until the veterinarian arrives. Horses who are allowed to roll may twist a gut and cause more severe internal problems.

Author: Jo Thompson

Jo loves horses and everything related to horses including merry go rounds

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jo_Thompson

Information on Colic Remedies and Managing Colic.

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Being a new parent is a time of joy and of anxiety. When your baby cries incessantly, it can be devastating for the parents who question whether they are doing things right.

Colic is very common in infants and is not dangerous. However, it can cause the baby distress on a daily basis and the parents have to learn ways of coping with this situation. Colic generally starts when the baby is about three weeks old and can often go on for several months.

An attack can last for hours and normally happens after a feed. Baby suffers from severe stomach pains and cries so much, he/she becomes flushed from the effort. The stomach becomes distended and the fists clenched. Baby’s feet and hands are also normally clammy during a colic attack.

As you can imagine, this sight of the infant in such severe distress is emotionally traumatic on the parents.

Researchers feel that colic may be genetic and that if either of the parents suffered from colic, they may pass it on through their genes.

As a parent, you should never overfeed the baby. You also need to determine whether your baby is allergic to anything that may be causing the colic. It may be something that the mother has eaten and is being fed to baby through the breast milk.

There are also foods that cause wind which makes the problem worse. These can include undiluted juice and sugar laden foods.

Remaining calm is crucial as a baby can sense emotions such as fear, stress and anger and may become worse. Find out all you can about colic and how to cope with it. Because colic cannot be cured, you need to remain calm, keep baby warm and comfortable and use things like music to reduce his/her anxiety.

Although colic is not curable, there are several things you can do to calm your distressed baby and give yourself some respite.

Firstly, don’t just jump to the immediate conclusion that your baby has colic. Colic is characterized by irritability, flushed cheeks from crying, legs folded to stomach and problems in passing faeces. Some colicky babies have muscle spasms as well.

Check whether the baby may be crying for other reasons such as hunger, tiredness, or discomfort due to heat or cold.

Research suggests that colic may be the result of an immature digestive system that has difficulty processing food outside the womb. This may be because of a lactose intolerance to cow’s milk or baby formula. For breastfed babies, it may be a case of the mother consuming too much coffee or acidic food that creates a buildup of gas in the breast milk.

Whatever the cause, it is certain that colic causes distress for the baby and the parents. It is therefore crucial to manage the colic effectively.

Burping baby during and after feeds will help. Sometimes a baby may relax more if there is soothing music playing or if you give him/her a warm oil tummy massage. This will help baby to pass faeces and reduce bloating, thus providing relief from colic.

Technorati Tags: managing colic, what is human colic and horse colic

Equine sand colic occurs in parts of the world which has hot dry periods, followed by warm wet conditions when new grass germinates. Obviously this occurs on sandy soils.

The horse has been grazing on dry pasture and is anxious to get some fresh, green grass. So, they eat the freshly germinated grass. This hasn’t had enough time to establish strong roots, so the whole plants, roots and all, come up.

Attached to the roots is the sandy soil they are anchored in. Most of this is spat out by the horse, but only a little needs to be ingested at a time. Over a long period, it will accumulate. And so equine sand colic results.

The normal way to deal with this is to pour an edible oil into the stomach. Often this is medicinal paraffin. But medicinal paraffin depletes the body of fat soluble vitamins such as vitamin A and E.

This further compounds the desire for the green food, which is a horse’s source of beta carotene, their vitamin A. It’s much better (and far cheaper) to prevent it occurring. The best way to do this is to graze horses on established, perennial pastures, so there is a good firm root system already established. But even this can allow for some sand ingestion.

Psyllium husk, about a desert spoonful a day, is a wonderful way to prevent this. The psyllium rolls around the digestive system, collecting the sand. You will notice a nice little deposit of sand on top of a stool pile. Psyllium husk is totally natural and non toxic.

Technorati Tags: equine sand colic, marijuana used to treat newborn colic