What is sand colic in horses?
When horses eat they inadvertantly ingest sand and dirt from the ground. Even grazing in dry pastures they can ingest a fair amount of sand and dirt. The sand can’t pass through the gastrointestinal tract and it gets trapped in the large colon of the horse. If enough sand builds up it can cause an obstruction and mild to severe colic pain. Some severe obstructions require emergency surgery to remove all of the sand buildup. Prevention of sand colic is luckily very easy. We recommend feeding horses up off of the ground in feeders to reduce the risk of sand ingestion. Also feed your horses psyllium to help the sand move through the gastrointestinal tract. There are many products on the market that provide adequant amounts of psyllium to help prevent sand colic, Equi Aid, Vet Lax and Sand Clear just to name a few.
