Sand Clear-Pure Psyllium-- 20 Pound Pail Start Price USD 75.00 Current Price USD 75.00 Time Left 21 days 1 hours 22 minutes Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Wednesday, September 24, 2008 End Time Tuesday, December 23, 2008 Location Norfolk, Nebraska See more about 'Sand Clear-Pure Psyllium-- 20 Pound Pail' Description   Psyllium Seed Natures Cleanser Sand vs. Psyllium by Mike Tomlinson D.V.M. COLICColic is still the number one cause of death of horses today. It used to be that verminous colic (caused by worms and other parasites) was the primary type of colic, but now in many areas sand is the most commonly seen form of colic.Sand colic is the result of the building up of sand in the intestinal tract of the horse. There can be as much as 150 pounds of sand lying in the bottom of the horse's belly. The pain from sand is caused primarily by two methods. The sand presses on the bottom of the intestine, preventing blood from entering the area (Just like when you press on your fingernail, the pinkness (blood) goes away). This causes the long term, low grade pain that can cause a horse to eat poorly without ever really acting colicky. You know how it feels to not get enough blood to an area if you have ever tied a rubber band around a finger for very long. Eventually the sand can build up to the point that it totally blocks a loop of intestine. At this point, the horse becomes very painful from the buildup of hay and water in front of the blockage. Once this pressure builds to a certain point, it either pushes out the sand blockage or pops the intestine like an overfilled balloon. The intestinal rupture is always fatal.   SAND COLIC IS PREVENTABLESand 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 of sand intake sounds simple, but often heroic efforts are fruitless. 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. Horses lick their lips between nearly every bite of hay. If the horses eat off the ground, every time these wet lips touch the ground, the dirt will stick to the lips and be consumed with the next mouthful of hay. 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. Young horses all seem to go through a stage, as do people, dogs, and many other domesticated species, where they feel that they need to eat dirt, often by the handful. This behavior in young is normal and you cannot stop the desire until they outgrow it. The overt eating of dirt in adult horses is not normal. It is often found that there is some form of deficiency in the adult's diet. The most common is the lack of salt or other mineral deficiency. Stress and boredom can also drive an adult horse to eat dirt.   MOVING SAND THROUGHSand is moved through the intestinal tract by the normal peristaltic movement of the tract. Regular exercise can be the most beneficial way to help the intestines move the sand out. Moving sand that is in ahard lump may be impossible, but shake it up with some good trotting and it will break up and move right through. After exercise, feeds play the next major role in moving the sand out. Concentrates such as grains and vitamin supplements do nothing to remove sand. Roughages such as alfalfa, timothy, coastal, and other hays are the traditional source of fiber for horses. Hay alone can move through a small amount of sand just fine.     Psyllium is the best feed stuff known for the prevention of sand colic. Psyllium cannot cause enteroliths. It is fed in such small amounts that your horse cannot gain weight from its use nor will it cause any nutritional imbalance when fed normally.Many horse owners feed oil to their horses. Most do it for the nutritional benefit (increased weight, shinier coat, etc.). Some mistakenly belive that it will help move through sand. Plant oils (vegetable, corn, safflower, etc.) are digested and absorbed long before they get to the sand. They do not lubricate the digestive tract. Mineral oil (liquid paraffin) is not digested or absorbed. It tastes terrible to most horses. Horses will not voluntarily eat mineral oil. Mineral oil does help loosed up tightly bound sand, but it does not move it out as well as psyllium.   SIGNS OF SAND COLICSand takes months to build up in the average horse. Diarrhea is often the first sign of the disease. Sand is the number one cause of diarrhea in some areas. Once the sand builds up to the point that it blocks most of a loop of bowel, then the fibers of hay form a beaver dam over the sand. Only fluids and small pieces can get through the sieve. Weight loss is also commonly seen with sand in the intestinal tract. Sand, when not bounced around, can form a hard lump almost like a form-fitted piece of cement in the bottom of the intestines. This sand covers a portion of the intestinal wall preventing nutrient absorption in that area. The pain from the weight of the sand (and also from frequent plugging up) will often cause the horse to be less interested in eating. Such horses can lose weight rapidly. These are common presentations of intermittent colic: Down and out with depression Losing Weight Unable to gain weight (regardless of what the owner feeds them.) Decreased Appetite Watery Diarrhea  As the sand accumulates in the large intestine, it acts like sand paper and erodes the intestinal mucosa (lining of the gut).  One of the large intestine’s functions is to absorb water.  Due to the sane accumulation and irritation to the mucosal lining, water is not absorbed well, resulting in watery manure.  This same theory explains why horses with a lot of sand lose weight or are unable to gain weight well.  The horse’s intestinal lining is damaged and does not digest nutrients as well.  Because of the damage sand causes, this can cause discomfort and pain leading to depression, going off feed, or colic.  A horse can show one, a combination of, or all of these signs with sand in its digestive tract.    Sand can sometimes be heard by listening to the very lowest part of the belly. The sound it makes is much like the sound you hear when underwater at the beach. Sand whooshing through the intestine is unmistakable once you hear it. Keep in mind that if it is whooshing through, that is fine, it is the sand that is not moving that is dangerous.   TREATMENT If you believe that your hose has sand colic, first rule out other possibilities, such as hay fever, injury, or other causes of colic. If you horse will eat and looks bright and alert, then there is hope of getting him over this without the aid of a veterinarian.Exercise is the best way to loosen a sand-induced impaction. Walk your horse and jog a few steps every now and then to really shake up the intestines. Do not let the horse become exhausted. Be certain to offer water every few minutes. Water is the key to flushing out sand. It is nearly impossible to get sand of a severly dehydrated horse.            Once a horse already has sand accumulation, PSYLLIUM is the only way to get rid of sand (short of surgery).   Psyllium looks like bran, but is not.  A common misconception by owners is that bran will treat sand colic.  Bran will not remove sand from a horse’s digestive tract.    Do not mix psyllium with water or it will turn into an undesirable gel mass.  The recommended dose of psyllium for symptomatic horses is two cups per day for 1-3 months (depending on the amount of sand in the horse).  After the initial high dose therapy, a maintenance dose is one cup per day for one week a month “to clean the horse out” and prevent sand build up.  Sometimes when a horse with a lot of sand first starts psyllium, the horse may act a little colicky due to the irritation and resulting inflammation of the sand passing through the gut.  A veterinarian may prescribe phenylbutazone when the horses are first treated for sand colic.  Phenylbutazone (“bute") is an anti-inflammatory which can reduce the initial discomfort.  Some horses can get some gas distention when starting psyllium.  If this occurs, exercise and small amounts of bute can ease this transient side effect. If the horse has an enormous amount of sand and its pain cannot be medically controlled by a veterinarian, surgical intervention may be needed.  This usually takes place on an emergency basis, when the horse is in extreme pain or can’t pass the sand with conservative treatment.  The horse is sent to a referral surgical facility and the sand is “dumped” from the large intestine by a surgeon.  Usually prognosis is good, but there is risk of the large intestine rupturing during surgery due to the heavy weight of the sand.       Psyllium, made from the seed of the fleawort plant, swells and becomes gelatinous when moist. This then helps to move the sand out of the digestive tract.       We strongly recommend that every horse owner take steps to prevent sand accumulation and colic before it becomes a problem. Place a Bid!