Colic

[Roger]

I thought I knew how to treat colic. Banamine,walk, get to the vet for an oil drench more banamine after 8 hours if needed. Colic caused by twisted gut can get fatale really quick, but just how quick depends on where the blockage is (new knowledge to me).
Wed night my 3 yr colt coliced and we banamined him and called the vet no vet would see us at night and we finally got him drenched at 2:00 pm the next day. The vet said his gums were good and he was not dehydrated. We gave another banamine just in case and things looked good. Yesterday morning he was in distressed and I hauled him a horse hospital, now he has 6 feet less gut and he may have a 50-50 chance to live.
The hospital vet said that the only thing he would have done different ( this is the reason for this post) is after two shots of banamine and still seeing signs of distress, he would have had him at a horse hospital, not a general vet practice. Poor old Sam had something like 5 shots and we lost a lot of sleep. I hope non of you ever have to go through this, but if you do, take it very serious and know a head of time a good horse hospital that has emergency help 24hours 7 days a week.

[serenarider]

Roger
I am sorry for you and your colt. My rule of thumb with any belly issue 1 shot of bam. If I do not see anything get better or it stays the same vet is called and out to treat. I am lucky that I have a vet 24hrs a day. I hope your boy pulls through.

[Shammy Davis]

Roger: I am glad you posted this thread. A number of years back I lost a very valuable stallion because a local equine VET failed to see the emergency involved and then failed evaluate the circumstances my horse was in. That Vet gave me the same instructions that you were given. With no improvement the next morning, we shipped to the hospital. Twisted gut! We had to put him down. I wasn't as polite as you have been in this post. I filed a formal complaint w/the state veterinary board. They didn't even do an investigation until 2 years after the fact. The final report was the vet didn't do anything wrong. I accepted the report, but I do this vet one better. I tell every horseman I know about this incompetent Vet in hopes that they don't have to go through the same thing we did. I understand this particular Vet is now struggling to keep a once profitable practice afloat. I've also learned that I wasn't the first.

I wish you the best.

[cewright]

Roger

I hope some vets will comment on this. My protocol has been a little different. I always take vital signs before initiating any treatment. This normally includes heart rate, respiration, temp and capillary refill time. I then make a courtesy call to the vet and communicate symptoms and vital signs. Then I administer 10 cc of flunixin (Banamine) and 2 cc of xylazine (Rompun) per instructions. If we don't see immediate relief we generally haul the horse to the clinic for further examination and treatment. Treatment usually includes fluids, oiling and electrolytes.

Sadly, I cannot justify/afford surgical intervention on most of my horses so I communicate this to the vet up front. Fortunately, we have been able to resolve everything so far favorably while keeping the horses relatively comfortable. I think the xylazine is a big part of this.

I am surprised to hear you had so much problem finding competent vet support in Texas. PM me with your phone number and I can share some North Texas contacts.

Chuck

[KamiBrooks]

One of the best things I've read on this topic is that you should know in advance of any colic if the owner is willing to pay surgery, because a horse that is a sugerical candidate is treated differently than one who is not.

I also to 1 banamine, if symptoms return after it wears off, then there's a problem. I've always been told that if the horse is a surgical candidate, that is the time to start coordinating to load up and haul in.

If there's not going to be surgery, that's went the vet comes out on emergency call.

I've been fortunate, all of mine have resolved without vet. I'd hate to be faced with colic surgery because it's iffy in itself and long term survival is also iffy.

Praying that your guy pulls through.

[Strategic Maneuver]

Roger, I am so sorry for your troubles and I pray your colt will pull through. I have had the same problems as the closest 24 hr clinic is three hours van ride away( and that's if we don't hit a snafu on I30). But keep the hope as both my mares that had that surgery pulled thru and went on to have more babies. I will be thinking of you and please keep us updated on your colt.

[Jenny]

I have had some experience with this and fortunately my vet is very good. We did however have to send a mare to the hospital and they got is resolved without surgery. I have even had my horse tied to the wall and on bags and bags of IV at home. I do know one thing that when a rectal is done they can tell, or are supposed to be able to tell if the horse needs to go to the hospital or not. There is something in their rectum that changes and they can feel this by palpation. I can't remember the name of it right now, But if this one little part changes position, you are in trouble!! I know also they can tell if they are really impacted or not and if they could deal with it at home by just meds and oiling. Some times they just have gas, best case scenario. I feel really sorry for you out there who have incompetent vet care. It must be the most helpless feeling. Good luck with your boy Roger. Keep us posted.

[Karie]

I had a mare down in distress... We brought her in, the vet was actually at the farm checking some mares.. he palpated thought she MAYBE was twisted... Gave her Banamine.. walked her and then she was still in tons of Pain, He Palped her again and said there is for sure an issue... Advised us to head to Michigan State with her.

I hauled her there.. There were 3 HUGE piles of poop when I got there in the trailer and they took her right in, did everything they had to do and she was FINE. $800 later they told me she was still pregnant.. and they had no idea why she acted colicky..

$800 was better than $5,000 surgery

but it still sucks!

[LKR]

We do banamine and we also administer Gas-X. It is amazing how trapped gas makes them miserable and stops everything. We crush about 14 Gas-X and mix with some applesauce, syringe into the mouth with an old Bute Tube or similar. This works in about 20 minutes. I have loaded a couple into the trailer and given them a ride for good measure.
It usually works. We did have one mare who colicked on a holiday weekend during calving season and the vet couldn't get here. We kept the banamine and Gas-X going for 36 hours before she finally broke loose like a shotgun. She was reasonably comfortable during that time and passed minuscle amounts of manure until the big blow. It was something to witness, I can tell you. She had rolled violently before we got the banamine into her and the Gas-X. She was a month away from foaling and fortuneately had a nice foal. We dodged a bullet.

[Roger]

Thanks for all the nice comments. Old Sam had his first grain and hay today. He's not out of the woods quite yet, but he is improving. Thanks again.

[spex4me]

Get well soon Sam!!

[Roger]

Sam is home about 150# lighter. He was sedate acting at the hospital, but as soon as he realized that he was home a lot of the old Sam showed up. He is still not out of the woods, but each passing day improves his chances, we can start back on him in about two months if we take it slow. Thanks for your good thoughts and prayers and I hope you will still keep him on your mind.

[spex4me]

Goooooo SAM!! Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

[soundfast]

I hope Sam has an uneventful recovery. Putting vegetable oil in a horses food every day can help prevent impaction and gas build up. Horses like oil in their food especially corn oil. I have seen oil mixtures for sale for horses that were corn,soybean and wheat germ oil mix. Vegetable oil is good for treating frothy bloat in cattle also. It would be nice to have competent veterinary care. My complaints about incompetent vets did not result in any disciplinary actions either and one vet cut the front half of my mares dead foal off and shoved the rear half back inside her. He killed her and did not even get a fine. I do not trust any vet around here to be fully competent. Around here one needs to be their own vet. Never had a horse colic even before I started giving them oil every day but I have treated injuries. I saved a sick calf I bought back when with a cup of oil and antiserum. I used vegetable oil to remove an exterior manure blockage in a baby goat. The vegetable oil made it soft and easy to remove. Oil can help coat the stomach and intestines and help to heal any irritation. Corn oil has Omega 6 fatty acids and increases prostaglandin levels and counteracts the effects of fescue toxicosis so mares will have milk and deliver their foals on time.

[spex4me]

Oil is awesome...... so many try to over compensate by over graining when all you have to do is add oil and you've got multiple benefits!