Colic :( never thought it would be me

nicolenlolly

nicolenlolly

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I need some positive vibes and happy stories of recovery please to get me through the next few hours.

I feel terrible, the horses were left out last night as we were going to go cross country riding today so I thought hubby's 4 year old would be better off out. As they were out, I did not rush to bring them in this morning (not the first time they have been out or overnight or for so long) so I went outside at about 10.30. Its half term so I was playing with the children but I had seen them and done a head count first thing this morning, watched them grazing so knew they were all ok but didnt go out there.

Anyway when I opened the doors hubbys big chap and little pony trotted straight over and into their stables and as always rolled as if they had never seen bedding before :) but big chap wasnt right, he stayed down, wasnt interested in food and then kept standing up and going down again and again. super restless, kicking at tummy, swishing tail, digging the floor, heaving when he was down and making dying noises :(

I called the vets (in floods of tears) I was on my own, I have never seen a horse colic before and sunny is hubbys 4 year old 17.2 dream horse.

Vet came, did all the checks, gave meds, walked up for a bit and left saying walk him up in half hour when sedation has worn off and then call us and update...half hour later I took him out of stable, first thing he did was drop and he wouldnt get up again :'(

Finally got him up and put him straight on trailer to the vets to be kept in for observation and further tests/surgery if need be.

And that is as far as I have got, I am waiting to hear back but when he got there, his heart rate was a little high and his colouration in his gums was a little dark but he seemed loads perkier just for the ride in the trailer so on the face of it there didnt look like there was anything wrong with him.

What would you have done? If he seemed lots better when you arrived would you have carried on with asking them to keep in or would you have brought him home? I am worried that I might be wasting their time and panicking when I could have just kept an eye on him but I didnt know what to do for the best
 
If you are at all worried he is in the right place. Do not worry about wasting their time!

I'm afraid I have no positive stories for you, only negative ones I will not share. But he is in the right place for for treatment.
 
I think you did the right thing. Sometimes a ride in the trailer can sort out a horse with colic. If he has perked up then things look promising. I would leave him there though until he's out of the woods. Keeping my fingers crossed.
 
How scary for you, especially on your own with a big horse! I generally prefer to take the conservative route so would have left at the vets too. In my experience you just have to do whatever gives you peace of mind, so if you're happier that he's at the vet then that's the right place for him.

I hope he makes a speedy recovery.
 
Having dealt with countless colics I would say he is in the best place he can be. You did absolutely the right thing. You'd be surprised at how many horses perk up just by being jiggled about in the lorry for a journey. If they haven't been out for so long for a while and you still have good grass then he has probably just stuffed himself to the absolute brim and could possibly have a wee impaction in which case monitoring and drips are the way forward.

Try not to worry, not easy I know but he is in the best possible hands and you never waste a vets time with colic!
 
I've done the emergency run with a friend's colic prone horse probably 7 or 8 times in the last few years. Each time she stays a few days and resolves without surgery. Don't get me wrong - friend is experienced and not a panick'er - each trip has been on vet's advice and a couple of times the horse has gone down en route. But the point is they do resolve - surgically and non surgically. We've also had a couple of horses with successful colic surgeries behind them on yard. (Fair sized yard and I've been there a long time - not a colic magnet!) I did loose my own horse to colic a couple of years ago - but that was a deliberate decision as he was very old, had cushings and surgery would never have been an option. It is scary - very scary. But you've done the right thing. Huge hugs and positive vibes!!
 
It totally depends on what type of colic the horse is experiencing. Often movement; trailer ride, rolling or bouncing around, can shift a blockage or relieve them of gas. Colic can often be more scary for the owner and it often clears without much intervention, however twisted gut is something totally different and is a very serious condition; knowing the difference is important. We don't have colic on my farm very often at all but when we have had a horse with it, I've managed them properly and the horses have recovered fine ... except for one who had a torsion. I knew straight away she had torsion and phoned the vet immediately to come and put her down. It was one of the most awful time period waiting for the vet so I just pumped her full of banamine to take away the pain until the vet arrived.

You did the right thing and I hope your horse is back being a happy chappie in no time.
 
You probably did the best thing you could so don't worry. Been in that position, 'leaving' my colicing mare at the vets felt awful but she was in the best place. She was fine the next morning!
 
Oh my goodness thank you all so much, you have made me feel so much better. I didnt realise I loved him so much!! I havent cried so much in a long time either! Thankfully hubby was working locally so he came straight home and vets were with me within 15 minutes so we think we were probably within the first hour of him starting. You just always wonder if you are doing the right thing dont you?!
 
There is no such thing as an overreaction where colic is concerned, particularly in a horse that isn't prone to colic. Touch wood I've only had one of my own, although have dealt with several on yards. Ours was when Spud stuffed himself full of dry haylage on the way to a ride, but the first thing we did was vet, now. That resolved non surgically but it took about 48 hours before he was back to his normal self. It was very scary, but its never (touch wood) happened again.

Even with horses that are prone to a bit of windy colic, you know what is normal for them and if it's anything outside that then it's vet, now.

You absolutely did the right thing.
 
There are no decisions with a horse presenting colic symptoms, it will always be vet now. They class it an emergency and will always be with you asap.

Hope the big fella is home soon.
 
Hope he is back home with you soon. One of my boys coliced on Wed, he was in a terrible state when I came home at half 3, had obviously been down & rolling for a while. Had vet out asap, hes much better today but still not 100%
 
Sending you lots of vibes - my 3yo had the worst impaction colic our vet had ever seen and took days of treatment to get her through it, I hadn't ever been through that much stress! It's a horrible horrible situation so wish you all the best x
 
Vets will never think you are wasting their time with colic. They will much prefer to have him in with them where they can do colic obs every few hours, get him on fluids if needed and be able to react immediately to any change. Even if it does turn out to be surgical try not to worry. I am not playing down the severity of it, it is big operation and you will have to think about whether or not you want your horse to go through it, but I have seen horses who were at deaths door come through colic surgery and never look back. Fingers crossed for you xxx
 
You poor thing, its horrid when this happens to them. But I agree with what the others have said, he is in the best place and they can keep a close eye on him I do hope he gets better soon. Sending virtual vibes to both of you x
 
I can give you a happy colic story. It's not very dramatic, he colicked, I called the vet, the vet gave him meds & he got better.
I sincerely hope you have as happy an ending to your story :)
 
You definitely did the right thing, absolutely no such thing as 'wasting time' when it comes to colic - and it sounds as if you caught it nice and early, and great that the vet was with you so quickly as well. Colic is so scary to witness. Fingers crossed & good vibes coming your way, keep us updated and try not to worry (hard as it sounds) - he is in the best place xx
 
I hope he is improving, what a tough day, the one thing everyone dreads. I think the weather is causing the grass to be so much richer and longer than it would normally be so we've really had an extended autumn flush. Quite unusual to have such good quality grass at this time of year I think. And I'd always err on the side of caution with colic symptoms. Mine had what I thought was colic symptoms once and vet came and we just had to rule it out due to the way he was behaving, pawing at ground, repeatedly looking like he wanted to go down, very high respiratory rate, not eating, so he got the full works - rectal, peritoneal tap and anti spasmodic drugs and all of that was OK and the drugs seemed to ease it a bit for him and then 3 hours later we saw the cause of his pain reaction - back leg came up like a balloon all the way up to to the hock due to an infection so that's what was causing him the distress/pain reaction But I was really relieved the vet gave him a thorough colic check as I've seen others go from mild colic to being very ill so I think you've got him in the right place until he's better.
 
Hope he is improving OP. I have a happy colic story too, my first ever case. I was impressed at how quickly the vets responded.

No change of routine or feed or anything else and pony was displaying obvious colic symptoms - rolling and flat out on the floor, uncomfortable, not eating. Vet came, examined, heart, guts, internal, gave pain killer and took dung sample for worms. Left in stable for several hours, looked a bit better, turned out and then was looking bad again after about half an hour. Phoned vet again and nearly immediately a diffferent vet appeared. Gave another couple of injections, and put back into the stable. Looked at a couple of times in the evening, last one late-ish by which time pony was eating and looked OK again. Has been fine ever since, but I do tend to look at her quite hard from time to time to make sure is OK.

The only explanation the vet could come up with was the funny weather making the grass grow and said she had seen quite a lot of gassy colics with no apparent reason.

It is horrid. Your horse is in the best place where they can monitor.

Good luck.
 
Was in same position last October with a late night drive to the vets. Unfortunately he had a twisted gut. I declined surgery. He was in hospital for 10 days but pulledt through. Although touch and go. Last October and this year's has had a large case of colic. Vets think mild autumn with flush of grass.
 
Hope he's ok op, charlie had colic last December and he was ok thankfully after seeing the vet but it was very scary when he kept going down and I was in floods on the phone to the vets too
Best wishes xx
 
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