I hate colic-Round 2, different horse-good update

[goldhorse]

All is fine. Minor impaction which will pass after tubing. But I HATE COLIC

[Flight]

yes, mine had a go with it a little while ago. It's awful. Glad all is ok.

[StraightForward]

Ugh, glad it is nothing major!

[PaulaO]

I hate it too. Miss A. colicked a few days after the Fourth of July. She was dehydrated. Tubed her full of fluid and electrolytes, Banamine, manually pulled manure. The next morning she had passed 3 piles, was screaming for breakfast, and pasture.

[Kyra's Mom]

All is fine. Minor impaction which will pass after tubing. But I HATE COLIC

I wholeheartedly agree.

Jingles all has passed.

Susan

[khall]

I lost a very great mare to colic in 2016. It scares the sh*t out of me.

[texsuze]

Jingles....

[Hayburner]

Scares the sh*t out of me too!

My heart horse never had an issue until he was up in his 20's....I was so lucky that we went all those years without an incident.

Had my mare about 2 months and boom she was colicky and was only 5 at the time. Since then she's had a bit of an issue every year..When she went in season she had it, then after we dewormed her she was uncomfortable. Luckily, it was never impaction.

My now retired vet and I discussed how many times they get colicky and we never see it as it passes on it's own. A few times I watched my heart horse put his legs up in a corner of his stall and stretch out - I think he was fixing his own discomfort.

[goldhorse]

I thought we were out of the woods yesterday but no. Got a second tubing and oiling today. If not hugely improved by tomorrow morning, we're off to UC Davis so he can get better support. And I don't want to wait until Thanksgiving. Jingles are appreciated!

[piedmontfields]

Tons of jingles to you. I'd vote sooner than later for the trip to Davis.

[Moutaineer]

Good luck, it's terrifying stuff, I know.

I'm with Piedmont...I'd have him in the trailer now if I were you.

[khall]

Jingles goldhorse. Do you know exactly what type of colic you are dealing with?

[goldhorse]

Since he didn't pass any poo in a reasonable amount of time after tubing, I opted to take him to Davis earlier rather than later. He's currently in their ICU which is where they put colic cases. Xrays and ultrasound didn't show anything alarming and blood work was good so it looks like he's dehydrated and still trying to pass an obstruction in the large colon. Hopefully, IV fluids and intensive treatment will do the trick and he'll be home soon. Better safe than sorry.

[PaulaO]

Prayers and jingles for your boy, and for you.

[StraightForward]

Jingles! He is in good hands and I'm sure he'll be right as rain soon.

[goldhorse]

Here's a picture of my boy
https://www.facebook.com/UCDavisVetMed/ ... =3&theater

In retrospect, I think this was a weather related colic combined with the awful smoke from the Paradise fire. All the horses have been on reduced exercise and we got a cold snap. So that was enough to get him dehydrated and an impaction formed.

Yesterday was my birthday. What a birthday present! And as I was walking into the exam room, my daughter in South Sudan called and I told her I couldn't talk to her. Ugh!!!! Just an all around sucky day.

But WE HAVE RAIN!!!!!!!!!!

[Moutaineer]

Fingers crossed, Goldhorse!

[goldhorse]

Poop fairy arrived this morning!!!!

[Moutaineer]

Very glad to hear it!

[goldhorse]

He's home. He could have come home yesterday but it was Thanksgiving. The obstruction was in the colon. 2 ultrasounds showed thickening of the stomach wall so they presume he has ulcers. I opted not to have him scoped and just go directly to the Ulcergard treatment. We'll never know if the ulcers were cause or effect for days of not eating. Certainly, the god awful smoke we had didn't help the situation. But I'm happy he's home and I'm watching him like a hawk for the next few days.

[redsoxluvr]

Glad your horse is better!

[piedmontfields]

Phew, Goldhorse. Glad he is home and I'm hearing that the air is better from East Bay friends. Jingles to you all.

[musical comedy]

Goldhorse, did he not pass manure after the second tubing? Was it the IV fluids at the clinic that got the manure passing? Was he passing any manure at all before the first tubing? Was he not eating? Was he showing a lot of pain or just minor?

I'm dealing with it now with my old guy. Like Khall, I've lost a horse to it and have seen some bad stuff so I get very upset. My stoic old man was pawing on Monday, so vet came out and tubed him. He was passing manure before and after the tubing, but smaller piles. Then on Wed. morning I saw evidence that he was pawing in his stall over night, yet there was manure and good appetite. Now Thursday 5pm the intermittent pawing again, but still great appetite.

I am only 2 miles from a big clinic so I can get a vet out quickly. In speaking with them, I decided to wait until morning so I could get one of the better vets out. If I have to take him to the clinic I don't know what I'll do because I have a serious bonding situation here with only two horses. The mare would go nuts if I take him away. So, I'm very uptight tonight.

Colic and founder...my two worst nightmares.

[Koolkat]

No words of wisdom, MC, but jingling for your sweet old guy.

[goldhorse]

Here's the history.
Sunday am he had a lesson and was kind of cranky which I blew off thinking he was ready for new shoes (he is very sensitive to his feet being unbalanced). He kicked out when asked for a canter transition. He also only had one poop pile during the 1 hour lesson while he normally has 3. That evening, I got a call that he had spent most of the day laying down and hadn't touched his dinner. I had the on call vet out who felt an impaction in the colon. He was tubed with water and laxative.
Monday he seemed to be fine and passed manure.
Tuesday he hadn't passed much manure (only 2 piles overnight) so I had my regular vet out. He was tubed at noon with water and mineral oil. By 6 pm he still hadn't passed any more manure so I made the decision to take him to UC Davis.
At no time was he pawing or thrashing or rolling. He just wasn't himself. A big factor in my decision was the evidence that he wasn't drinking.
I admit that I am very fortunate that I have a world class teaching hospital only an hour away and that I can afford it. I chose the "safe rather than sorry" approach where others might have waited longer to see if the second tubing took effect. I knew that the vets at Davis could do more for him than I could do at the barn. I think the intensive IV fluid therapy and multiple tubings is what got his pipes to open. 12 years ago, UC Davis gave 3 days of intensive fluid therapy on my other horse to get an impaction to pass. I sing their praises.

I don't know if this helps you at all, MC. My guy had never shown any gut problems in the 7 years that I've had him so now we've entered a new phase of our relationship. He definitely is ulcery from this. Cause or effect? Doesn't matter now.

[Moutaineer]

Jingles, MC.

[Josette]

MC - hope your guy is improving and comfortable. Poop is always a good sign.

GH - your guy has been through a lot with the CA fires. Jingles the ulcer treatments resolve his discomfort.

Horses really are sensitive to stress and weather. Hate colic and founder......

[StraightForward]

I don't know if this helps you at all, MC. My guy had never shown any gut problems in the 7 years that I've had him so now we've entered a new phase of our relationship. He definitely is ulcery from this. Cause or effect? Doesn't matter now.

Well, cause or effect might influence your management going forward if it might prevent another episode. My mare was getting recurring gas colic last fall, which turned out to be ulcers. In retrospect, the ulcers were probably due to various bute and antibiotics she'd been on. Following the Gastrogaurd treatment, I got her a slow feeder and had her on SmartGI Ultra for several months, and have now tapered her off of it, and she gets Outlast, as well as some alfalfa for the buffering effects. Steered clear of bute with her current injury, and added aloe vera to her hay while she was on Previcox. I'll also always use Nexium as a precaution when she is traveling/showing. So far so good with no hint of the symptoms she had last fall.

Glad your guy is home and feeling better!

[Sue B]

Jingling for you and your horse, MC

GH, sounds like you're chugging down the right track. Jingles you go another 20 years with no more colic.

SF, jingles Annabelle gets through her newest injury with no more ulcers.

Whew!

[musical comedy]

My guy is imo definitely not an ulcer candidate. I've owned him for 17 years, keep him at home, and know everything about him. He's had a very mild colic maybe 3-4x in those 17 years. Signs are always the same, the occasional pawing. He is on soaked TC senior and free choice hay and pasture. The only change in routine is that now I keep them in overnight, when before they were out 24/7.

Vet came this morning, did a rectal, and ultrasound. Nothing of concern. We decided not to tube today because he isn't showing signs. I think it is similar GoldHorse's situation in a way, except that my guy is doing manure. It's just that the piles are not as large as usual. They are moist though. I do not feel I'm out of the woods yet. With old horses, everything just doesn't function as well.

I'm far from well off financially, but I can afford to pay my vet bills. I expect these two visits are going to total at least 1k. Merry Christmas.

[khall]

Goldhorse glad your guy has come out of it.

MC hope your guy perks back up soon. I know how draining it can be worrying about our friends.

Some information to share: My mare Anna (Joplin's dam) coliced while I was at a show in October 2016. Barn help caught it early and we gave oral ban amine and I headed home. Mare was still not right even after the ban amine, not passing full manure piles not real interested in food but also not throwing herself around or any of the more typical I'm in pain signs. My vet came out, full colic trip with tubing rectal etc. Felt she would be fine. I got home just as they were finishing up. Kept an eye on her closely and she still was NQR. Had the vet back out, palpation showed small colon impaction. IV Fluids were left for me to run, tube left in for me to try to get fluids down via funnel (never really could) but mare never got better and ended up worse. By next morning I had to make the call, she was not a surgery candidate. My vet never really said much about the type of colic and what needed to happen. In talking with my go to vet who is a 2 hour trip away, he said with a small colon colic it is almost always a surgical colic unless you can get enough fluid in them via NG tube. IV fluids are not going to help. The small colon is designed to pull fluid out of the intestine and as such you would have to overwhelm them with fluids via the tube in order to relieve the colic. I did not know that, my local vet never said anything about the function of the small colon. I've been through colic surgery before with other horses and it is not a surgery I take lightly. It is rough on the horses. That is why I would not put Anna through it at her age and with her other issues.

[musical comedy]

Khall, in 1995 my 6-7 month pregnant mare had a colic and got surgery. She presented in really bad pain. Fortunately, they were able to save her and the unborn foal. It was a displacement, so no cutting was done. After that, the mare was never the same. She had several boughts of colic, enteritis, etc. Finally, in the fall of 1999, she had a really bad colic. Took her to the clinic and it was going to be another surgery. Money was not an issue, but I chose euthanasia because I didn't see a good future for her. After that, I made the decision that I would never do another colic surgery. I believe that once they have colic surgery, the chances of needing it again increase a lot. Therefore, I didn't even bother to get insurance on my new horse because the main thing it's good for is colic surgery.

[Josette]

For what it's worth - a probiotic supplement may help. I feed it to both my older guys. The smartpak one previously mentioned is a good one.

[WheresMyWhite]

I believe that once they have colic surgery, the chances of needing it again increase a lot.

A look at the flip side. In 2000 (2001) my mare had colic that would resolve at the barn. Packed her off to the local "go-to" (LLAC)... didn't resolve with fluids so did surgery (hard decision to make for sure). Did a small intestine resection of about 2.5cm IIRC; never really received a clear diagnosis of cause. Rough recovery; took her a long time to stand up. Ouchy for the next 36 hours with pain continuing to get worse until the option was euthanize or second surgery. Second surgery released a ton of gas in her gut but action resection site looked fine. 3 weeks later she went home.

16 years later we put her to sleep "due to the infirmities of old age". Two intervening small colics from crap hay and sand. Barn treatment only.

Everyone's mileage will vary on how successful colic surgery is but it isn't a confirmed end.

MC, sorry for your loss. I know my 3 week roller coaster was among the 3 worst weeks in my life. I often wonder if I'd known how rough recovery would be if I should have asked her to go through it but I also got 15+ more years out of a very forgiving mare.

[musical comedy]

Everyone's mileage will vary on how successful colic surgery is but it isn't a confirmed end.

MC, sorry for your loss. I know my 3 week roller coaster was among the 3 worst weeks in my life. I often wonder if I'd known how rough recovery would be if I should have asked her to go through it but I also got 15+ more years out of a very forgiving mare.

I'm happy to hear your situation ended well. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I think there is data out there that supports the fact that after a colic surgery, the horse is more prone to it and might need another surgery. Horses that have had colic surgery are very very hard to sell. I have a friend who recently donated her horse to Dressage For Kids because she felt trying to sell would be too difficult.

I think also it depends on the temperament of the owner. I'm an anxious/nervous/worrier type and once a horse has colic, if they so much as paw once, I'm a basket case.

My horse is ok for now, but I watch him like a hawk.

[piedmontfields]

MC, very glad to hear your horse is OK now.

[Josette]

Interesting link.

https://vimeo.com/303326535

[goldhorse]

Goldhorse #2, the first colicer, is doing great except for his silly clip from the abdominal ultrasounds. Back to full work and a month of Gastrogard has him feeling oh-so-good. Now, it is the origianal Goldhorse's turn. He's been retired for 4-5 years and living trouble free at a wonderful facility in the Central Valley of California. Monday, I went to see him after a 2 week absence and noticed that he had lost a lot of weight and his tail was covered with fresh foul smelling diarrhea. I brought him in, cleaned him up, and gave him some food. He took a few bites and turned up his nose. Even horse crack, aka alfalfa, didn't interest him. The barn managers brought him in to watch and yesterday a vet was out. I was hoping for a tooth abscess but his teeth and mouth were fine. All vital signs were normal. However, his manure was filled with sand and mucous. So great! A sand colic. He got banamine and biosponge to be repeated today and started on omeprazole and psyllium. Also a full blood panel and I opted for a PCR panel of his poop to check for bad bacteria a/o coronavirus. This horse had right dorsal colitis years ago so I'm always worried about his gut and wouldn't be surprised if this turns out to be a colitis. Anyway, I had a good run of years with no big events so I was due. I'll report back tonight on how GH#2 (aka Junior) is doing.

[piedmontfields]

Ugh, Goldhorse. Fingers crossed for continued recoveries.

[goldhorse]

Not good. He either has a non-lymphoma cancer or an autoimmune colitis. Appetite and energy has returned. The plan is to start him on steroids which should suppress either for awhile until he crashes again.

[Tarlo Farm]

How old is he Goldhorse? What is his future?

[goldhorse]

He's 18. A retiree. My heart horse. My DH and I are having a hard hard time letting him go. I just want to get him back to his pasture mates for whatever time he has left.

[Chisamba]

That is stressful for both horse and human. 18 is not old. I hope he has some good time left

[Tarlo Farm]

He's 18. A retiree. My heart horse. My DH and I are having a hard hard time letting him go. I just want to get him back to his pasture mates for whatever time he has left.

I'm so sorry.

[Srhorselady]

Don’t give up hope. Last summer my 23 year old easy keeper gelding started losing weight and wasn’t eating normally. It was hot and he’d recently lost a long time companion and had no other symptoms. I tried changing feeds and routines etc. Then he had a minor colic one night when my regular vet was unavailable. I called the local vet hospital and they sent out an emergency vet (young). She tubed him and got 12 liters of reflux and recommended I take him in. I hauled him in to the hospital and we ended up ultrasounding his entire digestive system. They discovered he had (I don’t remember the name) the horse equivalent of Irritable Bowel Disease and wasn’t absorbing feed. After 3 days he came home rehydrated and eating somewhat. I spent two weeks experimenting with feeds to find things he would/could eat. Some compromises were necessary since he is insulin resistant. His regular vet started him on daily dexamethazone IM injections, which scared me since I’ve had experience with laminitis. My vet reassured me that the actual incidence of laminitis is rare. Now 6 months later he is down to two weekly injections at a reduced dose of dex. He is happy, healthy, back to his normal weight, and working regularly. I now give IM injections with no problem . So don’t give up hope. IBD isn’t curable but it can be managed.

[khall]

I'm sorry gold horse.

[WheresMyWhite]

Thinking of you this morning as I catch up

Hope GH1 is doing better.

Colic sucks!

[texsuze]

Jingles for getting you and all your horses to a calm emotional place right now where you can breathe and think about things less stressfully, if that is possible. It always seems to come in a giant bundle, at either a weekend or holiday, too.

FWIW, for the last several years I've given my oldster a daily psyllium supplement for one week each month, as a prophylactic for possible sand colic. Not saying it is foolproof, but his most recent colicky episode was 10 years ago (from a rabies vaccination); that was before I moved him here and started the psyllium.

[goldhorse]

He appears to have turned the corner. Back to formed manure balls. Yeah Xmas Balls!!!! Able to eat his normal rations. Alert and anxious to get out of there. I'll probably pick him up Wednesday or Thursday. So another of his 9 lives used up.
Some may ask why I went through this for a retiree. He was my daughter's horse. She will be back from South Sudan (Doctors without Borders) sometime in February. So long as Junior is comfortable, I'm determined that she gets to see him one last time.

[piedmontfields]

That is a really good update. Continued jingles!!!!