Psyllium and sand colic

Psyllium has been on my mind again. My mare lives in a rocky sandy paddock. She eats hay from the ground and although hay is fed in feeders it always ends up in the dirt where she will try to grab every possible crumbs. I am very concern about her ingesting sand and eventually developping sand colic so I've been thinking of doing a psyllium seven days treatment and then the monthly routine.

Psyllium is a natural source of fiber. It acts as a bulk laxative. It's helpful to clean sand from the intestinal tract. We find it in two forms: pellets and powder. The pellets are more palatable for the horse as flavor is added.
It is important to note that psyllium shouldn't be mixed with water when fed. It will turn into a sticky gel mixture and will present a choking risk for the horse. Also psyllium does not work as well when wet (we want it to get sticky in the gut to trap the sand). For that reason pellets can represent to best form to feed.

Studies have also shown that psyllium fed along  with probiotics improves the sand clearance. Therefore it appears to be a good idea to add some probiotics to the diet during the treatment.

What Ayurveda says:
Psyllium is a bulk laxative, demulcent, anti-inflammatory. It helps to absorb mucous and bacteria in inflammatory intestinal conditions. It drags toxins and worms out of alimentary canal.
Interesting fact:

• Prolonged use of psyllium reduces fertility.
• Psyllium may slow the absorption of other medication. It's better to take it two hours after medication (allopathic or herbal)

Source: Ayurvedic Medicine, Sebastian Pole

Now the best way to avoid sand colic is by prevention. Feeding in a clean area, having rubber mats under feeder and hay net is a solution. Or as Dr Juliet M. Getty wrote in her book "Feed your horse like a horse": "Best way to prevent sand colic is to provide forage -lots of it- all day long.".

Equine Nutrition #2: Composition of the food

In this post I will give an overview of the composition of the feedstuff. As you can see in the following diagram, there are two main components in food: water and dry matter. The nutrients are found in the dry matter fraction. This is where we find the minerals, the vitamins, the carbohydrates, the fats and the proteins. (click on diagram to enlarge)

Water

Water is an essential component of the horse's diet. Water is required for transporting nutrients in the body. It's involved in the thermal regulation. It's essential for the excretion of the waste products but also for the gut function.

Carbohydrate (CHO)

The carbohydrate falls into two categories:

- Structural CHO

It's the fibrous fraction of the food. The digestion of structural CHO takes place in the large intestine by microbial fermentation. It produces volatile fatty acids. It's the main energy source for most horses. It's a slow release energy but more steady and constant.

- Non-structural CHO

Non-strucutral CHO are in the cell content and they constitute the storage carbohydrate of the plant (energy source for the plant). We find here the starch, fructan and simple sugar. The digestion of starch and simple sugar takes place in small intestine by enzyme. It's a rapid source of energy.The fructans cannot be digested in small intestine and so travel through the large intestine where they are fermented by the microbial population. 

!!! If non-structural CHO are present in too big quantity the small intestine cannot digest them and the remaining undigested starch and sugar will end up in large intestine. The product of microbial fermentation will be lactic acid that can alter the gut environment. That is why we want to feed small amount of starch and sugar.

Oil and Fat

The fats that are present in forage are simple in structure. Fats added to the diet are mostly triacyglycerols. Horses don't require high level of fat. Fat is added to the diet to increase the energy content as it is a concentrated source of energy (2x energy content of cereals). The digestion takes place in the small intestine.

We are seeing an increase interest in the two essential fatty acids, Omega 3 and Omega 6, in terms of potential health benefits but more studies need to be done.

Protein

Proteins are required for structural purpose (muscle, skin, hair), formation of enzyme, hormones and immune system. 

There are two categories of protein: essential and non-essential amino acids. Essential has to be supplied in diet and non-essential are synthesized by the animal.

Lysine is an essential amino acid.

Protein requirement will increase with work, growth, pregnancy, recovery from injury, muscle loss, surgery, etc.

!!!! Too much protein will damage liver and kidney and create mineral imbalance!

Minerals

Minerals are required for growth, transport of energy, co-factors of enzyme, etc. They are mainly absorbed in small intestine. There are two categories: macro minerals and trace minerals.

Macro minerals are required in large quantities (Calcium, Phosphorus, Chloride, Sodium, Potassium, Magnesium, Sulphur). Trace minerals or micro minerals are needed in very small quantities (Cobalt, Copper, Molybdenum, Zunc, Manganese, Iron, Floride, Iodine, Selenium, Chromium).

!!!! Ratio between some minerals is very important like Ca:P 2:1 Calcium has to be twice as Phosphorus. Calcium has a good ration in forage but poor in cereals grains.

Another important ration is the Cu:Zn 3-4:1

Vitamins

Vitamins are required in small amounts but they are vital for many bodily functions like vision, immunity, growth, bone development, etc.

There are two categories of vitamins: fat soluble (A, E, D, K) and water soluble (C and B Complex).

The water soluble are not stored but are produced or synthesized by the organs.

Equine Nutrition #1: The Equine Gastro Intestinal Tract

A few months later ... I now have a certification in Equine Nutrition and can't wait to learn more! This is a fascinating subject and there is so much to learn and share. So I am going to start a series of post related to Equine Nutrition with this first one about the Gastro Intestinal Tract.

This is very basic information as my goal is not to reproduce my training or a book.

Equine Nutrition #1: The Equine Gastro Intestinal Tract (GIT)

The GIT begins at lips and ends at anus. It consists of three functional regions: stomach, small intestine and large intestine.
Mouth: the digestion begins in the mouth with the mastication of the food and production of the saliva.
Stomach: the stomach is small and inelastic (reason we feed little and often). Only little food digestion happens there.
Small Intestine: the small intestine has three parts: Duodenum, Jejenum, Ileum. This is where we find the digestion of starches, sugars, fat and proteins but also minerals. It uses an enzymatic digestion method.
*note: any constituents not digested in Small Intestine will pass to Large Intestine

Large intestine or hindgut: The large intestine has three parts: the Caecum, the large colon and the small colon. This is where the degradation of fibers takes place. This is where the horse gets its energy. There is no digestive enzymes. The method of digestion is microbial fermentation (bacteria, fungi, protozoa). The health of the large intestine is very important and it is designed to process fibers! Problems occur when low fibers diets are fed. Also any sudden change in the diet will affect the microbial population and can lead to health issues.

Important facts:

• Good teeth are major in the digestive process as they reduce the food into particles sizes. This reduction will allow the enzymes to access the constituents of the food.
• The horse's stomach produces acid continuously regardless of whether it contains food or not! Saliva has a balancing role on the gastric environment BUT  saliva is only produced in response to mastication. This is one of the reason why chewing is essential for horses.
• The intestinal system is designed to process high level of low nutritional quality forage on almost continual basis. Therefor the principle diet for a horse should be forage and this around the clock. If concentrates has to be given, it should be given in small amounts and throughout the day.

Equine Nutrition Course

I am starting a 5 weeks online course on Equine Nutrition (and so excited about it). It's time for me to go further on the subject as I want to understand and I want what is best for my horses. In Ayurveda, food plays an important role in promoting health and is therefore considered medicine. I read somewhere Let Your Food Be Your Medicine and I will even say Let Your Food Be Your Medicine And Not The Problem. Today people feeds grains, molasses, all kind of unnatural things for horses. Why? What are the other options for a complete and balance diet? I am not sure this course will bring me answers but at least it will make me think and research.

Course Summary
This course will cover many aspects of equine nutrition ranging from anatomy and physiology of the gastrointestinal tract to dietary management of horses/ponies affected with nutrition-related disorders. This course is designed to provide knowledge of equine digestion and nutrition for those with an interest in this area. The anatomy and physiology of the equine alimentary canal will be studied to provide students with a detailed understanding of the equine digestive system. Nutrient sources for horses will be discussed, with emphasis placed on the health and welfare issues surrounding the inclusion of various types of feedstuffs in equine diets. Students will also discuss recommendations on rations for horses and ponies performing various activities and will be able to make recommendations on rations for horses and ponies in health and disease.