EQUINE VETERINARY EDUCATION / AE / MARCH 2016


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may vary based on the feed tolerance of individual horses. Cases requiring intestinal resection should be fed according to post operative colic guidelines (Geor 2008). Those not requiring resection may need to be fed a complete pelleted diet if hay results in signs of obstruction through thickened portions of intestine. In general, protein requirements in these cases are increased, and a highly digestible feed with 14% crude protein or higher is recommended (Stratton-Phelps and


Fascetti 2003). Beet pulp and other feeds high in digestible fibre will serve as an additional source of nutrients in IBD patients through increased production of volatile fatty acids by bacteria in the large intestine. Stabilised rice bran (250– 500 ml, twice daily) may be beneficial because it is a source of moderately soluble fibre and fat and provides an additional source of calories (Stratton-Phelps and Fascetti 2003). Supplemental fat can be gradually added to the ration to increase the energy density of the diet (vegetable oil at 125–250 ml, once or twice daily).


Nutritional management of idiopathic recurrent colic


Unfortunately, there are occasions when all of our diagnostic tests do not provide a definitive aetiology for what is causing recurrent colic in our cases. These cases are the most challenging to make recommendations for as the evidence- based literature is limited on what ideal nutritional management should be. In the authors’ opinion, nutritional management is often led by trial and error, and what ultimately is best tolerated by the patient. In these cases, initial recommendations often include removal of hay, and switching to pasture and/or a complete pelleted feed, spread over multiple (3–4) feedings per day. In the authors’ experience, these horses often benefit from 24 h turn out in conjunction with dietary modifications. It is critical to ensure the horse remains on a calorically appropriate diet with


adequate fibre for the large intestine. Although an absolute fibre requirement has not been established for the horse, in the authors’ experience the diet should contain, at a minimum 1%, of bodyweight as forage or other high fibre roughage (>50% neutral detergent fibre, or >18% crude fibre). More ideally, roughage intake would be at least 1.5% of bodyweight. Any changes to the diet must be made gradually, including switching from pasture to hay, or changing the formula or physical form (textured vs. pellets) of concentrates. Many horse owners recognise the need for this transition when adding or changing concentrates, but they may not apply similar management when changing forage options. For example, horse owners who lack storage space for buying hay or other conserved forage in large quantities should be encouraged to gradually introduce each new batch they purchase, even if it is the same type or variety of forage, unless a similar origin of the new forage


can be confirmed (e.g. same harvest date on the same field, but purchased on separate occasions). Progressively blending larger amounts of the new feedstuff with simultaneous reductions of the old feedstuff over a minimum of 7–10 days is recommended by the authors. Available research suggests this timeframe is suitable to permit adaptation within the major microbial communities of the hindgut (Van den Berg et al. 2013; Fernandes et al. 2014), but a longer transition period may be needed for more drastic dietary changes.


Nutritional management of enteroliths


Enteroliths are intestinal calculi composed predominantly of struvite (magnesium ammonium phosphate hexahydrate). These stones typically form in the right dorsal colon, and can subsequently be responsible for complete or partial obstruction of the right dorsal, transverse, or descending colon (Hassel et al. 2008). Enterolithiasis has a worldwide distribution; however,


a)


b)


Fig 1: a) Small stones passed in manure from draught horse. b) Radiographs of stones with mineral nidi visible. Photos courtesy of Dr Donna Woelfel.


© 2016 EVJ Ltd


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