This photo of Hap grazing is a very good thing, because Hap was showing signs of colic this morning. I heard a tremendous racket in the barn as I was finishing up feeding the horses, and rushed in to see what was going on. Hap had evidently been down briefly, and hit the sides of his stall as he got up. As I watched, he twisted his head around to look at his side, and then started pawing. I checked his concentrate and it didn’t look as though he had touched it. I took his concentrate away since I didn’t want him eating if he had an impaction.
I haltered him and led him out to the round pen, where I could more easily observe him. Rags started calling loudly, and Hap didn’t want to leave the barn. This was encouraging, since horses don’t show much initiative when they are feeling badly. I put Hap in the round pen and went in the house to get my cell phone so I could call my trainer. Hap started galloping around the round pen. Mild exercise can help break up the bubbles that cause gas colic, but I didn’t think galloping in a round pen qualified as mild exercise.
I let Hap out of the round pen and he galloped back to the barn. By the time I reached the barn, he was eating his hay greedily. I took the hay away and left him in his stall until Smoke and Rags were done eating their breakfast. (I am sure that horses must be baffled by their humans: they stop eating because they have a tummy ache and then their food is gone when they become hungry again.)
I left the gate open to the new field, and all three horses headed out to graze on the fresh spring grass as soon as I opened the stalls. Grass has a slightly laxative effect (when compared to hay) so this is presumably the best thing for Hap right now. The real challenge is going to be to get them back in the old field, since I don’t want them out for more than three hours or so. Too much new grass can cause founder. Usually, at this time a year, I only let them out for a few hours before I plan to feed.
Horse management can be such a challenge.