If you are trying to prevent sand colic in your horse the absolute best way to do this is to make sure your horse has:
- A high-fiber, forage-based diet in which the hay is fed on clean, sand-free, ground-level surfaces (i.e, rubber mats)
- Plenty of exercise (this keeps the gut moving, which helps it free itself of sand)
- Lots of fresh, clean water
- A montly Psyllium cleanse. Psyllium is an herb that forms a mucilagenic gel-like mass in your horse's gut, thus helping to pull the sand and dirt through and out of the intestines and colon.
There is no need to buy expensive supplements to help prevent sand colic! Just buy some Psyllium seed husk fiber -- I purchase mine at herbalcom.com where it costs $5.95 per pound (enough to treat your horse to a full month's treatment) -- and mix with lots of water in your horse's hay pellet/grain ration. (A typical dose of Psyllium for a 1,000 pound horse is 3 ounces of Psyllium each day for 5-7 days in a row).
My two horses adore the taste of natural Psyllium. If yours don't, try adding a tablespoon of apple fiber powder. This is a naturally sweet but low sugar/low starch way to get your horse to devour his required dose of Psyllium!
* Special Note: For those who would like to help give their horses a good colon cleanse at the same time of the sand cleanse, simply add to the above recipe: 1/2 to 1 cup of pure Aloe Juice (I buy mine at Walmart for $8.95 per gallon) and 1 tablespoon of cut and sifted Comfrey leaf (Herbalcom.com carries this herb, too).
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