April 27, 2006

Horse health threat: Alfalfa linked to miniature horse’s death

By Lorraine Gabbert
Staff Writer

Noel, a chestnut-colored miniature horse, born on Christmas Day, brought joy to all who saw him. He could often be seen in Almaden, pulling Sandra Winkler in an Amish cart, with her pony Cameon trotting behind them.

Sandra Winkler holds a photograph of Noel, a chestnut-colored miniature horse born on Christmas Day. He brought joy to all who saw him.

Sadly, Noel recently died following surgery to remove a large stone, or enterolith, from his intestine. Although a fatty liver led to his early demise, both the stone and his liver problems were exacerbated by his feed.

Winkler found out too late that an all-alfalfa diet, which is high in magnesium, was hurting her horses. After hearing this, she tried starving them into eating grass hay, but they continued to lose weight. After two weeks, she went back to alfalfa, not knowing what else to do.

“I couldn’t just let them keep losing weight,” she says, “and oat hay is too coarse for Cameon’s bad teeth.” Searching for a solution, she let them graze grass and supplemented their diet with wheat bran, thinking it would help them from colicing. As it turns out, wheat bran, like alfalfa, is high in minerals, so rather than helping the situation, it made it worse.

When Noel started rolling, a veterinarian from Tri-County Veterinary Hospital paid them a visit. “When a horse starts really rolling,” says Winkler, “you know something’s wrong with their gut.” They tried flushing out Noel’s system with oil and water, but nothing came out. Thinking it might be a case of sand colic, the vet suggested Winkler bring Noel to their hospital.

When they X-rayed him, and saw the size of the stone, they knew they’d have to operate.

Composed almost entirely of magnesium, the enterolith was the size of a grapefruit and weighed 2.5 pounds. What should have been an hour and a half surgery, took four hours. His intestinal wall had been damaged and his liver had been compromised. They couldn’t believe he waited so long before rolling.

“They did everything they could to save him,” says Winkler, “but they just couldn’t.” He was only 13 years old when he died.

“People seeing the stone wouldn’t want to take the risk of having their horse getting one of these,” says Winkler. “If you feed your horse alfalfa twice a day, and give him wheat bran instead of rice bran, you’re playing a game of Russian roulette with your horse.”

Enteroliths
Enteroliths, or intestinal stones, are composed of layers of magnesium and other minerals which develop around small objects ingested by a horse; much like a pearl develops around a grain of sand in an oyster. While small enteroliths may pass through a horse’s intestine, large or multiple stones can block the intestine and lead to colic.

Enteroliths come in many sizes and shapes and are exacerbated by minerals found in water, alfalfa and wheat bran.

According to the University of California-Davis, in a study involving 5,977 horses who underwent surgery to remove enteroliths, more than 99 percent had a diet made up of at least 50 percent of alfalfa, which is high in magnesium. Ponies, Miniature Horses, Morgans and Arabians are especially at risk for forming enteroliths.

Symptoms
Rolling, repeated episodes of colic, looking at their sides, and not wanting to eat are possible signs of a stone. A horse may also lose weight, be cranky or depressed, have loose stools and show poor performance or a reluctance to jump. If a horse is passing small enteroliths, or flat ones, it is likely that more exist.

Treatment
The only way to remove large enteroliths is through surgery, which has a high success rate of 90 to 95 percent. However, the average cost for this surgery is about $6,000, in addition to the discomfort and damage undergone by the horse from the enterolith rolling around in its intestine. However, the rupturing of their intestinal wall due to an enterolith is fatal to horses.

The power of prevention
The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine recommends:

- Choosing grass or oat hay as the preferred equine feed, with alfalfa composing less than 50 percent of the horse’s diet.

- Choosing rice bran rather than wheat bran, which is also high in minerals.

- Increasing feedings to three or four times a day and using psyllium products.

- Inspecting manure for enteroliths.

- Utilizing mats, and feeding in sand and gravel free areas.

- Providing unlimited access to clean water.

- Providing frequent exercise or turnouts for the horse to keep the digestive system moving.

Dr. Bill Seals with Tri-County Veterinary Hospital understands why alfalfa is the main feed for many horses in California. He points out that with the lack of rain in California there is only one cutting of oat hay and grasses a year, as compared to many of alfalfa, and since the former are not as readily available, they’re also more expensive.

In addition, with its bright color and taste appeal, Seals compares alfalfa to candy for horses. “They like alfalfa and don’t waste it,” he says, “while oat hay has to be bought in large quantities to last a long time, which can result in mice problems. The quality of hay also decreases with time.”

Don Brown of Brown’s Ranch and Supplies has had horses all his life, and never had one with a stone. He believes the problem has more to do with a horse’s environment than his feed. “Try to keep sand and gravel out of the horse to begin with,” he says. Brown recommends using rubber mats to line the floor of the horse’s stall, as well as products that contain psyllium, which cleans out the sand and gravel from their system. “And pray they don’t get it,” he adds.

Chris Caringello, with Brown’s Ranch and Supplies, also recommends using psyllium regularly. “Miniatures often have problems with impactions and stones,” she says. “Without the psyllium, they grow fast. Be cautious what you’re feeding, have a clean place for your horse to eat, and follow preventive maintenance like psyllium on a monthly basis.”

Dr. Lisa Barron of Tri-County Veterinary Hospital notes that a horse having sand colic doesn’t mean it will form an enterolith. However, she does believe that feed high in mineral content contributes to the growth of enteroliths, and recommends grass or oat hay instead, as well as balanced senior horse feed for older horses with poor teeth. “It’s important to feed all horses a diet with less than 50 percent alfalfa,” she says. “Many people don’t even feed alfalfa to Arabians and Morgans, due to their increased risk of forming stones.”

Noel could often be seen in Almaden, pulling Winkler in an Amish cart, with her pony Cameon trotting behind them.

As Miniatures are predisposed to having a fatty liver, and the stress of not eating may exacerbate the problem, Dr. Seals suggests combining feeds over a period of time until they become used to the healthier alternatives. “Owners can buy feed in percentages which include a smaller content of alfalfa, or buy pellets,” he says. “It’s important to avoid starvation and related health problems including colic.”

Although Seals considers diet the largest contributing factor in creating enteroliths, he allows that just because a horse eats alfalfa, doesn’t mean he’ll have them. In fact, this is a problem for relatively few horses, and only 1 percent of those seen at Tri-County Veterinary Hospital for colic require surgery.

Likewise, says Seals, just because a horse isn’t on an alfalfa diet, doesn’t mean it won’t form enteroliths. Other things, such as water high in magnesium, can also lead to enterolith formation. “Look at the supplements, the water content and feed for magnesium,” suggests Dr. Seals. “In environments high in magnesium, people shouldn’t feed their horses alfalfa. However, in other areas, a portion of the diet may be alfalfa, but not more than 50 percent. There are hazards involved, especially if there is magnesium in other sources, as well.”

Winkler strongly advises horse owners against an all-alfalfa diet and has changed what she feeds her pony. “Don’t take that risk,” she says. “Most full-size horses recover from surgery, but if they have a stone, it can still cause your horse discomfort and damage. If one in a hundred horses gets stones, you don’t want your horse to be that one.”

Noel will be missed. “He was such a sweetheart,” says Winkler, “It’s a real loss for him to be gone. He was such a good-tempered little soul and so young. Losing him is a heartache.”

Winkler hopes that others will learn from her loss. “If I had more knowledge,” she says, “Noel might still be alive today.”

Tri-County Veterinary Hospital will be holding seminars this summer featuring nutrition and their new endoscope and gastro scope. The phone number is (408) 848-8886.