By Lowell Smalley, DVM - Horse Colic Expert
In winter, we spend a disproportionate amount of time in our practice treating horse colic. Knowing why this is so can make your life and ours less hectic and will help prevent horse colic. More horse colic information can be found here.
45 Degrees a Critical Temperature for Horses and Horse Colic
Horses are most comfortable at temperatures above 45 degrees. When temperatures drop below 45 degrees, the horse is forced to use significant amounts of energy to help maintain body temperature. This can lead to horse colic.
The horse has two options to produce this needed energy: First, internally, from stores of body fat and muscle and Second, externally, from energy provided in the diet–and more important—from heat generated by the bacterial digestion of forage.
Option one, using body stores, is really not an option. It soon becomes life threatening, especially in older horses.
The only acceptable way to manage the energy problem and help prevent horse colic is option two: dietary management.
Calculating Energy Needs
We can calculate how much extra energy is needed per day by subtracting the actual temperature, including the wind chill adjustment, from the 45-degree critical temperature.
For example, today’s temperature with the wind chill is 19 degrees. Subtract this from the equine critical temperature of 45 degrees and you have 26 degrees. Convert this figure to extra energy measured as calories needed by your horse. Under these conditions your horse needs 26% more energy.
Now, in this situation the natural inclination is to feed more grain or sweet feed since they provide more calories per pound than hay. But with this approach, although we may have met our calculated calorie needs with grain, we fail to generate that all important body heat generated by the bacteria of the large intestine. To do this we need to feed hay.
Recommendations
The increased feeding of grain in cold weather is a primary reason for increased incidences of horse colic.
Our experience has shown the safest way to keep your horse comfortable through the winter is to increase equally the amounts of hay and grain fed, and to use concentrates that are very calorically dense. This means using concentrates that incorporate fat as the key energy source.
Revolution-Rx™ fortified with ReStore™
In our practice we recommend Revolution-Rx™, a concentrate that incorporates fat as a key energy source. Sold as a grain substitute for horses at risk from the over consumption of fermentatable starches and carbohydrates, Revolution-Rx™ provides over 1600 K cals per pound, and is guaranteed at 10% fat.
It also provides your horse with ReStore™, the dietary additive that we’ve found to be highly effective in maximizing the use of nutrients, and in reducing digestive upsets--especially colic.
Water and Horse Colic
Horses prefer water that is between 45 degrees to 65 degrees. As water temperature drops, water consumption decreases, another key factor in causing colic.
We have found that the combination of adequate amounts of hay fed in conjunction with Revolution-Rx™ will encourage your horse to drink more.
Summary
Understanding how equine critical temperature affects dietary management is the first step to help you prevent a dangerous and costly episode of colic.
Click HERE to learn more about Revolution™.
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