Horse Supplements: Psyllium

If you live in the southwest or any other desert type area there is one supplement I would recommend for every horse: psyllium. Most people thinking of psyllium immediately associate it with fiber supplements for humans. It has a slightly different purpose in horses.

When living in a desert type area you know how easy it is for horses to gather up particles of sand with their food. The sand build up can eventually lead to sand colic. This happens as the sand eventually blocks the intestines or can even cause them to twist or collapse from the weight of the sand. A horse with a build up of sand often has a pot bellied yet ribby appearance.

A build up of sand in the intestines is easily diagnosed when listening to their intestines using a stethoscope. It sounds like the ocean.

Foreign particles in a horse's intestines such as sand provide the perfect building blocks for enterolith stones. These are stones formed from excess minerals such as magnesium and calcium and even excess protein. But they need something to build around, and a piece of sand makes the perfect start.

Fortunately there is something that can help: psyllium. When wet, psyllium turns into a sticky, gel-like substance. This is perfect for its intended use in horses; to help remove sand from their intestines. The psyllium sticks to the sand and then helps pull it out.

There are hundreds of different brands on the market. They range from plain powders to flavored powders to flavored pellets. If you have a finicky eater I don't recommend the powdered forms at all. Some horses are rather good at separating the powder from the rest of their grain. Wetting it or the grain to make it stick to the grain doesn't help as it becomes a sticky gel that even most non-finicky eaters will turn their nose up at.

The pellets are much more convenient and harder for them to separate from their grain. I've found the Equus brand with the anise (smells like licorice) flavor added works very well and will eventually tempt most horses into eating it.

For a heavy case of sand, consult with your vet on dosages and length of time to feed the psyllium. This is often two weeks on, one week off until resolved. For maintenance, follow the directions for whatever brand you've gotten. It's usually fed 7 to 10 days a month. If you follow a schedule of feeding it for the first 7 to 10 of each month, it makes it easier to remember when they need it.