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T O P I C R E V I E W
Kes
Posted - 19 Apr 2012 : 9:35:19 PM Possibly one of my most feared moments, finding any horse, but mostly my own, with colic. I saw Kes last at 8.30am this morning and he was fine in his field after he was turned out. His field pals were brought in about an hour before him this afternoon and he was fine, just grazing. We all went to the field to poo-pick and it was laughter all round when we saw the state of him, plastered in mud. But when he crashed to the floor in front of me that was it, but he had no other colic symptoms. I led him out of the field and back to his stable and on the hard track I had to drag my crumpled horse who was trying to go down as there was no way I would let him roll on the concrete hard ground. He got down once in his box whilst I was calling the vet and got cast but even before the vet arrived less than an hour later he was almost back to normal?? Anyone got any ideas or seen this before? The vet asked all the usual questions re worming, grazing, feed, work etc and he had a sedation and bute for an exam (long glove time). Anyway, just come back now and he's fine and I've given him his haynet back :) I've just never seen such a severe onset of colic right itself, not in under an hour anyway?
17 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First)
Kes
Posted - 21 Apr 2012 : 08:22:34 AM Thank you everyone for your replies :) I still don't know what the causal factor was but I have a strong feeling based on what the vet said was a possibility, and what has been suggested above. As our grass is getting low I think it may have been soil ingestion, this caused a blockage and led to colic.
FireLight
Posted - 21 Apr 2012 : 05:15:50 AM My old Anglo Arab suffered bouts of spasmodic colic several times a year from age of 9 until finally being pts with it at 30.The vet said he was a severe case and anything can trigger it off - stress, warmth, cold, windy days, ulcers, wet grass, mud, dust, worms, teeth the list is endless. Just try to second guess everything you do daily with Kes and you should be ok. Don't worry about it like I did as my lad had a brill life even with colic lurking constantly in the wings, and 30 isn't a bad age to get to!
gossy
Posted - 21 Apr 2012 : 12:25:56 AM mine was grass cuttings but got over it!!!!!! just been fed :(
brack369
Posted - 20 Apr 2012 : 9:07:47 PM Glad he made such a speedy recovery. There was a horse where I keep mine who had a serious suspected colic yesterday, won't scare you with the details as fortunately your little episode is over. For it to pass so quickly you'd expect it to be gas/wind but I remember a vet once telling me that even a change in routine or stress can bring on colic, she said they particularly get a lot of colic call outs when there's been a thunderstorm.
Glad he's ok must have been a scary experience
glo
Posted - 20 Apr 2012 : 4:40:58 PM I have had horses with colic, I usually lunge them for 30 plus minutes at a walk I then put horse back into stable and see if there is any improvement, if the horse is still trying to roll, distressed etc, I would then get the vet. Most times you don't need the vet.
Some times you don,t see your horse with colic but see the evidence (a big muddy dip where horse had been rolling).
The main thing is not to get to stressed about it, be calm and think things through. What and how you will deal with it next time.
susan p
Posted - 20 Apr 2012 : 12:12:35 PM I have had this with Happy out on spring grass,it is very scarey,I have seen him eating mud too.Glad he is fine now
Offira
Posted - 20 Apr 2012 : 11:34:31 AM One of mine used to do this at this time of the year when there was a combination of longer grass and it was wet. He was absolutely fine in the field, fine to bring in, then within a few moments he was down with a spasmodic colic. Vet did say he saw a lot of this type of colic when there was a combination of long grass and wet weather. He was not one to stuff himself either. I was sure the trigger was bringing him in so vet suggested leaving him out (I was worried about this) and he didn't have any more colics. It was very strange.
Hope you get to the bottom of it. I always go on high alert for even the slightest colic just in case...
Kes
Posted - 20 Apr 2012 : 11:23:52 AM The vet did question me first off about worming, I worm count every three months and all have been clear, I strategic worm for tapeworm, encysted redworm etc at the relevant times. Is there still a chance he could have tapeworm? I know WC's 'may' show tapeworm but that the blood test is accurate.
Kazzy
Posted - 20 Apr 2012 : 11:19:07 AM I was just going to say Tapeworm!! My lad suffered little bouts of *clolic* type symptons and usually got over them within a few hours.
The vet said about worms but he is always wormed quite often. But it was tapeworm, even though I wormed him I never specially wormed him for tapeworm, now I do and he hasnt (touch wood) had any more bouts of belly ache.
I use equitape on him now every autumn and then worm him normal every other time.
Janet
marionpack
Posted - 20 Apr 2012 : 11:18:49 AM Sam did something similar last year, it was a wet day (he had a rug on)but not really cold, bought him in, as soon as he got in his stable he layed down and wouldn't get up, just layed there as if he had had enough of life (he is 27), called vet straight away, by the time the vet came Sam was up eating his hay, took bloods and checked him all over couldn't find anything wrong, but it is very worrying, glad he's OK now
shah
Posted - 20 Apr 2012 : 11:11:37 AM If you have the vet out again ask for a blood test to check for tapeworm. I've had a horse colic badly in similar circumstances and the vet checked him for tapeworm straight away and that was it. Just a thought.
Kes
Posted - 20 Apr 2012 : 09:08:13 AM Thank you!!! x Just got back from the yard now and despite not being my nice clean white pony anymore he's fine. I have decided to leave him in for this morning so he was quite happy to see his big haynet refilled, I will probably go back after lunchtime and put him out for a few hours leg stretch. Luckily I'm not a panicky person and deal with bad situations quite easily, it wasn't until after I went to bed last night it actually hit me of how bad it could have been if things had gone another way. Scary stuff indeed.
angelarab
Posted - 20 Apr 2012 : 08:29:22 AM Scary stuff! Glad he's ok, give him a huggle from me x
Kes
Posted - 19 Apr 2012 : 10:06:08 PM Well I hadn't considered soil, very good point, and the vet said he wasn't really gassy (thanks for the tip about grass growth Callisto) or impacted, after a quick listen to his stomach he said noises on both sides were normal and he had a normal - normal/low heart rate (actually at this point he just looked moody/irritated as his haynet was outside were it most certainly should not have been!!) He was out in the rain but it wasn't that bad here today, we had showers but he was lightly rugged and it wasn't cold. At least I know now should this happen again, that maybe waiting for just 20-30 minutes I might not need a vet after all. I think maybe he was being a bit of a drama queen!!
Kharidian
Posted - 19 Apr 2012 : 9:48:48 PM Oh, how scary. I'm glad he's getting over it. One of my fears is one of mine having colic and no one noticing. Both of my boys have once or twice had very mild colic (just laying down after not finishing a feed) and I've brought them into the barn for observation for 24 hours - Vet not needed - but it is a worry.
You'll probably not get to the bottom of it (pun intended) but was Kes out in the cold rain? That's been a trigger for Rog in the past - standing under a hedge in cold rain for ages, when he moves off he says he gets tummy ache!
Caryn
Callisto
Posted - 19 Apr 2012 : 9:42:41 PM Harley does this when he has bad wind (he is such a wuss), frightened us to death to start with. When he has these episodes his stomach is as tight as a drum, with gurgling noises if you put your ear to it, he ends up laying there and groaning while we rub his stomach until he farts a few times(usually unpleasantly long and loud), when he appears totally recovered and is ready to get up and behave as though nothing has happened. Seems to happen when we have a flush of grass growth (although thankfully not very often - he did it twice last year). He does not sweat or try to kick his stomach.
Hoping that this is all that Kes has rather than something more disturbing
Mrs Vlacq
Posted - 19 Apr 2012 : 9:42:21 PM does he lick soil? that can cause it - they lick for whatever mineral they need and then suddenly realise they have a heavy stomach. Had similar with our cob - snatched some grass that had soil attached, and being greedy he just swallowed it. Colic came very quickly, and being a boy he was a total drama queen! Hope your neddy feels better now, and gets back to normal
