08/09/2021
Horse owners.
Crucial read below from a lovely vet I follow on
FB. Really worth a read.
*** WHEN AN APPARENTLY SUBTLE COLIC IS OFTEN THE WORST TYPE ***
This is a hard hitting post, for which I make no apologies. This afternoon/evening, I have put to sleep the worst case of colic I have seen in my 13 years in practice. Was the horse rolling around on the floor? No. Doesn’t that mean it’s not colic then?! NO!!!!!!
This is something ALL HORSE OWNERS MUST KNOW. A horse does not have to be thrashing around and getting up and down to show it has colic! Why not? Firstly, you may have not seen that stage. You turn up to your horse in the morning. He is standing very quietly and doesn’t want his breakfast. He has trashed his bed and looks tired. Call the vet!!!!! He has colic.
Why can a horse suddenly stop rolling/thrashing about and look slightly better? Worst case scenario is that the intestine or stomach have now ruptured. The immense pain caused by the intestine being strangulated will subside when the intestine rupture. The pain will gradually increase again as the horse becomes septic.
A horse may not ever have rolled/gone down with colic. All horses have different pain thresholds. Some will just stand still, and hope that by not moving the pain will go away. It may be too painful for the horse to move at all, if the intestine is close to rupture.
This evening, the horse’s re**um was full of blood and ruptured colon. The horse’s mouth was ice cold and her mucous membranes were purple. She was reluctant to walk, but could walk, and wasn’t going down. I very quickly euthanised her.
Whatever the cause or reason, the incredibly important take home message, is that a horse does not necessarily have to be rolling or going down, or even pawing at the ground, for him to have severe intestinal or gastric issues causing colic. Every horse owner should know that if their horse is abnormally quiet/dull, and very definitely if he doesn’t want to eat, or is picking at bits of food with no enthusiasm, they must CALL THE VET.
Please share, and make sure everyone at your yard, or all of your friends with horses know. Do not leave a horse to rupture his or her intestine because the horse is simply quiet and you think he/she hasn’t got colic.
Only just finished my calls and got back to my yard, to be greeted by the most beautiful sunset to brighten up a tough afternoon/evening.
