On Saturday morning I had to call the vet out to Basil. When I arrived he seemed a little bit quieter
than usual, his eyes didn't have their usual sparkle and he wasn't grinding his
teeth waiting for his breakfast. When I
gave him his food though he began to eat, he had eaten most of his Horsehage
overnight and done plenty of droppings!
When I was making up the haynets for that night (whilst they were both
eating) I heard him paw the ground a bit, which is not totally unusual.
As usual I changed his rug and then put Tommy out as he had
finished eating, as usual I kept Basil in to finish his breakfast ... he
promptly lay down. This definitely shocked
me, he sort of tried to roll and then got up again. He then went back to his food. I let him out of his stable, undecided about what
to do, I thought he might have a bit of colic, it certainly wasn't bad. After watching him on the yard for a few more
minutes when he would seem fine and then paw the ground I decided to call the
vet.
10 minutes after calling the vet he did a lovely normal pile
of droppings and then finished his breakfast.
By the time the vet arrived I had decided he must have had a bubble of
gas or something and it had worked its way through as he seemed absolutely
fine!!!!
The vet listened to his heart rate and then his stomach
sounds, she also decided he seemed fine.
As a precaution she gave him an internal examination. However, there was no blockage. He has been fine ever since.
Whilst she was with us we talked about any changes to
Basil's routine; I confirmed to her that both Tommy and Basil were out all day
and in at night and that I had changed them from their summer routine several
weeks ago. She went on to tell me how
many call out's they had had for colic in the last couple of weeks. Apparently many of them were caused by a
sudden change to routine ie: the rain had caused people to suddenly keep their
horses in the stables. This caused a
change to their diet and prevented the horses moving about which caused the
colic.
I am sorry but I DO NOT understand why you would want to
keep a horse in 24/7. Horses are
grazers, they should be outside as much as possible to potter about and
eat. They don't care if it is
raining. I appreciate that I get my
horses in at night but Basil does not do well when it is cold at night. However, with a waterproof rug (thickness
appropriate to how cold it is - he is not wearing a heavyweight rug yet) he is
much happier outside and much healthier.
I have decided to repost my colic blog from a few years ago
as a reminder of how serious it can be and that prevention is better than cure.
What is it?
Colic is basically abdominal pain and there are several
different types. They often display
similar signs but some are more serious than others. However, colic is potentially fatal so don’t
hesitate and make sure you call the vet as soon as possible to give your horse
the best chance.
Flatulent Colic
Signs
- Pain is less severe than for Spasmodic colic
- Horse will appear to be ‘dull’
- Pawing ground
- Frequent attempts to urinate
- May try to lie down/roll but appears hesitant to do so
- Enlarged abdomen on upper right flank
- Changes to breathing
- Small amounts of dung and/or gas passed
Causes
Large amounts of gas formed in large intestines because the horse has eaten too much lush grass or clover (or other legumes).
Treatment
Call vet.
Gastric Dilation
The horse will often have a history of eating too much,
being greedy.
Signs
- Severe abdominal pain
- Horse kicks at stomach
- Rolls and may ‘throw’ self on ground
- Swollen abdomen
- Rapid breathing
- Sweating
- Death can occur suddenly if stomach ruptures
Causes
Again large amounts of gas formed in the large intestines
because the horse has eaten too much grain, mouldy hay or young clover.
The stomach distends causing muscles at both ends to close which in turn
prevents the gas escaping.
Treatment
Call vet immediately.
Impaction
Signs
- Develops more slowly and signs may disappear for a few days before reappearing more violently.
- Horse will appear to be ‘dull’
- Small quantities of dung passed which are drier and harder than usual
- Horse will keep looking at flanks
- May lie down and then get up again … and repeat
- Lying on side with legs and head extended is a characteristic pose
Causes
Impaction of small and large intestines (constipation) due
to bolting food or intake of poor quality roughage – causing difficulty in
digestion. A large bolus will form!
Treatment
Call vet.
Prevention.
Similar to Choke. Slow horse’s eating, large stones in
food, small holed haynets. Only feed good quality food.
Obstruction Colic
Signs
- Violent pain
- Restless
- Pawing ground
- Looking at flanks
- Kicking out
- Throws self on ground
- Violent rolling
- Sweating
- Rapid breathing
- Rapid heart rate
- Rapid pulse
- Dehydration
- No gut sounds
Causes
There are various causes, may be a twisted bowel or
strangulated intestines as the result of a hernia. Sometimes the
intestines can ‘telescope’ one section inside the other.
Treatment
Call vet URGENTLY.
Spasmodic Colic
Signs
- Sudden and severe pain followed by an interval of calm
- Pawing the ground
- Stamps hind feet
- Kicks at stomach
- Crouches as though to lie down
- Looks at flanks
- Stretches as if to urinate
- Pain attacks will become more frequent and last longer
- Rolling and getting up
- Frequent, rapid and loud intestinal sounds
Causes
The pain is caused by strong and rapid contraction of the
muscles in the walls of the intestines. Poorly digested food will upset
the mobility of the intestines and this leads to spasmodic colic. This
can be due to sharp teeth so the horse finds it difficult and painful to chew.
If a horse is excited, exhausted, stressed or overworked the mobility of the
gut will also be upset. Migrating immature red worm larvae can also cause
spasmodic colic. In addition spasmodic colic can be an early sign of
small intestine obstruction.
Treatment
Call vet. Gently walk the horse whilst waiting to help
ease the pain and prevent injury.
Prevention
Regular Worm Egg counts and when necessary worming.
Also, regular dental checks and treatment to ensure teeth are not sharp and are
able to chew food adequately.
Treatments
The vet will use a variety of methods to assess and treat
colic. The vet will listen to the
abdominal sounds, take a pulse and check the respiration rate. Pain killers are usually given to ease the
pain and reduce the horse’s distress.
Depending on the type of colic suspected the vet may perform an internal
examination and try to remove any faeces that may be causing a blockage. Other drugs may be given to alleviate the gut
spasms.
If the horse does not improve then fluid may be given
through a stomach tube inserted into the nostril but guided down the
oesophagus. This is intended to soften
any blockage and/or ease it along. It
can be quite distressing to watch and often causes the nose to bleed
considerably.
Sometimes colic surgery is necessary to save a horse’s
life. It needs to be performed early to
have the highest chance of success. It
is also important to weigh up the distress this could cause to the horse or if
it would be kinder to end their pain.
Preventing colic is sometimes difficult, however, there are
things that we can do to reduce the chances of it occurring.
- Always have clean fresh water available
- Regular dental check ups
- Gradual changes to diet
- Worm/Egg count regularly
- Good quality hay and feed
- Limit access to lush pasture
- Don't leave a horse without roughage for too long - upsets gut mobility
- Don't exercise too soon after bucket feed
- Allow horse to eat in a calm environment
- Slow horses eating
- Do not feed on the ground in sandy areas - ingestion of the sand causes colic
- Get to know what your horse's 'normal' dung looks like - and monitor for changes
You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates on Basil, Tommy and Daisy.
Until
next time!
Jo
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