I had the privilege to have known one of the best riding school horses at our yard. He passed away a couple of months back due to Colic. The most hated and feared word in the horsey community. It took me a very long time to deal with the heartache and pain and some days I am still struggling. Putting flowers on his grave and just a quick, we all miss you, does not take the pain away. I am so afraid to think what will become of me when I have to say goodbye to my own horse.
Watching him in so much pain and fading away was definitely one of the hardest things I ever had to do. Realising again, that we are not in control of some things and we cannot fix everything. Actually, while trying, we are making it worst. I have done a poster that can be printed and put somewhere visible at all stable yards in the Helderberg area with emergency contact numbers. Please contact me for a copy. For next time. Because there is always a next time. We miss you Bushmen.
HORSE COLIC
Behaviour will depend on the cause of the colic and the personality and breed of the horse. Any mild looking signs of colic in Friesians as well as Percherons, Clydesdales and other cold-blooded horses needs to be addressed as urgent, due to their very high pain threshold. A veterinarian needs to be called immediately. The age of the horse can also play a role. Young horses can develop severe colic from worm impaction after first deworming while older horses (over 18 years old) often get impaction colic due to poor teeth, not drinking enough water and being prone to constipation.
Clinical signs to watch out for:
- Pawing (mild)
- Irrational kicking up at abdomen with hind leg (mild)
- Flank watching (mild)
- Lying down more than usual (mild)
- Not interested in eating as well as a change in drinking behaviour (mild)
- Diarrhea (mild)
- Tacky gums (guarded)
- Gum colour – Pale pink to medium pink (good)
- Very pale to white gums (guarded)
- Dark rings forming around incisors (severe)
- Muddy brown-pink gums (severe)
- Less than normal to no manure in paddock as well as fecal balls smaller than usual (guarded)
- Increased heart rate (heart rate over 45 to 50 beats per minute) and sweating (guarded)
- Groaning (guarded)
- Appearance of being bloated (severe)
- Throwing themselves on ground (severe)
- Rolling up onto their back (severe)
- Stretching out (severe)
- Lying down, getting up, circling, lying down again, rolling repeatedly (severe)
- Rolled to a point where hair and skin taken off face (emergency)
Contact a veterinarian at the first sign of colic so you can manage it together from the start.
TYPES 0F COLIC
- Impaction Colic
Will occur when feed built up in part of the gut (usually colon) and the horse cannot easily remove it. Pain will occur due to the gut wall that is stretching and contracting trying to push the feed through the colon. Horses with impaction could only show mild pain and be off feed. The severe behaviour could only show up several days later.
Causes of impaction:
- Poorly chewed feed
- Poor motility
- Dry feed; poor water intake; dehydration
- Blockage in the digestive tract
- Gas Colic
Could occur due to dietary changes or highly fermented feeds. Gas stretches the gut wall and will cause mild to moderate pain. Gas colic may cause the colon to move out of its normal place. Luckily most gas colic clear up with little treatment.
- Colon shift
Horses have very long colons and also not very well attached to the abdomen and can sometimes move out of position (displaced). This could lead to impactions and gas. If a twist occurs, blood flow and oxygen cannot reach the colon and can damage or even kill it. This will cause severe pain and illness to the horse as toxins enters the gut wall. Emergency surgery will be required.
Gathering information to give to your veterinarian
- Listen to the presence or absence of gastro intestinal sounds. (Gut sounds)
- Abnormal colour of gums/ tacky gums
- Abdominal distension (bloated)
- Digital pulse of the hooves and temperature
- Skin turgor (elasticity of the skin)
- How long has the horse been showing colic signs and what is the signs
What to do while waiting for the veterinarian
- Walking slowly and calmly with your horse, can provide some pain relief and encourage motility if your horse is in the early stages of colic or has cramps. It will also calm you down and give you something to do. Stop immediately if it makes the horse worse.
- If the horse prefers to roll in a safe manner, let them do it in a safe environment so they cannot hurt themselves or someone else. As long as they don’t throw themselves on the ground let them be. Rolling will not cause the gut to twist.
- Remove the horse’s feed.
- Keep a watchful eye on your horse.
- Take your horse in a horse box for a 30-minute drive. This will help with motility. The horse needs to contract his abdominal to balance in the horse box.
What NOT to do while waiting for the veterinarian
- Never walk your horse or yourself to exhaustion
- Never aggressively exercise your horse
- Do not do bodywork or physiotherapy on your horse – let the body deal with one thing at a time
When veterinarian arrives
The veterinarian will do a thorough examination and then medicate the horse.
Intravenous injection will take immediate effect. Intramuscular injection will take about 30 minutes to start working and oral will take about 60 minutes to start working.
The only time to lunge a horse at a brisk trot is after the medicine takes effect as indicated above and by your veterinarian’s instructions.
How to lunge after medication takes effect.
Lunge at a brisk trot or canter only 2 minutes on each side. The abdomen will sway in those 4 minutes helping with motility.
Follow-up treatment
- Do not feed any grain or hay until they pass manure and the colic resolves. Feed may add to an impaction.
- Grazing on a small amount of fresh grass may help stimulate motility.
- Keep water always ready for the horse to drink.
- Most cases will respond to this type of treatment within a few hours. If not, the horse would need to go the hospital.
Prevention
- Always have fresh clean water available. (Horses without water for one to two hours increases the risk of colic, this increases 10x in horses over 6 years old)
- Avoid feeding in sandy areas
- Allow pasture turnout
- Routine floating of your horses’ teeth
- Parasite control
- Older horses: Add +-100 gram of Epson salts per day to concentrate and feed very wet and add apple juice to water bucket at night
- Invest in hospital insurance
