Colic - To walk or not to walk?

[Taboo1968]

Just interested to know what people's beliefs are regarding colic and what to do with the horse? Do you leave it to roll or get it to its feet and walk it......

Had a rather nasty suprise yesterday when my golden boy had a sudden colic attack, and I walked him and walked him and walked him.....

Am pleased to say he is alright, vet came out and gave one injection and all calmed down and he is fine this morning...... but just wondered what others would do in the same situation?

 

[Dougie]

if it was rollong i walk it in a school if safe to do so....although evert colic is different

 

[Happy Horse]

It is a myth that a horse with colic rolling will twist its gut - it is more likely it is rolling to try and untwist an already twisted gut and by forcing it to walk you are more likely to put yourself and the horse at risk.

 

[Ferdinase514]

Walk and walk and walk and....

Finni gets lots of colic so am an expert

I usually give small amount of bute and walk. If not improvement get vet.

Not advocating other people medicate though as is individual in each case and type of colic.

 

[spaniel]

Get the horse out of the stable and walk it. The major problem with colicky ones that roll is they get cast in the stable of a confined space and trying to get them up is dangerous for everyone!.

 

[Tempi]

definately walking, the horse next to Bloss used to get colic all the time, had to have colic surgery after one very serious bout. The vet said to always walk them for similar reasons to what spaniel said - if they get cast ad stuck wilst rolling it can be even more dangerous.

Everyone i know whos had a horse with colic at my yard has always walked it.

 

[Blizzard]

We have always walked ours too.

 

[S_L_J]

There's been times I've walked the horse in hand and there's times I wouldn't, it would just depnd on the situation and the horse involved.

Even if I didn't walk it, I wouldn't (if at all possible) 'let it roll' but try to keep it calm, quiet and on it's feet, and I think walking some horse's will just make them more stressed and just tire them out. Also, at our yard, you'd be walking on concrete or gravel and if a horse is dead set on going down and rolling, it will do so regardless & I'd be more inclined to let it roll it in a stable than a concrete floor.

Sophie x x x

 

[CrazyMare]

We take them in the menage or roundpen and walk and walk and walk and walk.

 

[Ferdinase514]

I don't agree wth trying to prevent them from going down in the stable (whuch I've seen people do) best to let them do their thing and get vet.

 

[Kezza]

Walk if it's safe to do so i.e. not on concrete in case the horse falls down.

 

[Sags_Deer]

walked my old mare years ago when she had swear she would be gone if not and she had to have surgery as well. so walk walk walk.

 

[mat]

Walk, if you call a vet whilst a horse is trying to roll they will 9 times out of ten tell you to walk it.

 

[Tia]

Yes I always allow any horses who have colic to roll if they so wish. Generally when I have a colicky horse, I will walk it around for a little while and place it in a safe corral area where it cannot hurt itself. If it chooses to roll then that is fine.

Very often the horse rolling will dislodge the problem and these days I would think that most vets advocate allowing the horse to roll. Research has moved on a lot since the days when we were all taught never ever to let the horse roll and to walk it for miles on end.....thank goodness, those poor horses.

 

[kayleigh_and_rocky]

Its interesting reading the replies to this post - from a young age i was always taught to walk the horse and not allow it to lay down - particularly not in the stable or enclosed area where it could get cast (have seen some very nasty accidents with a colic horse getting cast)

 

[Gentle_Warrior]

WALK

 

[sillygillyhorse]

If the horse is down and lying quietly I will let it lie, if it is pacing round its box then will walk or gently lunge in the school. Often the vet will advise lunging about an hour or so after any drugs are injected, gets the circulation going and guess makes the drug more effective?

Really does depend on the situation and the horse in question, certainly would not want the added complication and danger of a cast horse.

 

[Dougie]

colics are only lunged if they are gas colics to allow the gas to pass, or for certain types of displacements!

DO NOT LUNGE WITHOUT VETS ADVISE!!!! if the horses has anything twisted or partially twisted you could kill the poor beast

 

[sillygillyhorse]

Should have made it clearer that do only lunge on veterinary advice, dont inject the drugs myself, the vet does all that and advises further action to be taken.

 

[Dougie]

i thought thats what you meant was just making it extremly clear in case some tubes start treating there own colics

 

[annie02]

If I have a colicy horse I tend to walk it, usually with a light fuzzy rug to keep it warm. I evaluate after a couple of minutes. I always call the vet, tell them about temperature, breathing, heart rate, gum colour, skin and what the horse has eaten/drank and what has passed when. In every case so far the vet has told me to give 10 cc of banamine IV and walk for 30 min and call back to report.

As far as I understand, walking will help gas colic, 9/10 enough movement passes the gas and all is well. Walking can also help a twist however if the twist is bad then you will have a hard time walking a horse, it will be in a lot of pain. It also needs to see a vet ASAP before you have intestines die beacause of twists. Banamine acts as a pain killer and helps relax the horse, if there is an impaction the drugs can help stop spasms and then walking will help pass the blockage....a good bucket of oil down the nose by a vet also helps.

I NEVER let my horses roll if they are thrashing. If they want to lie quietly or roll on their side fine but if they are going to thrash around they are walking. They can do damage to other parts of their bodies doing that or make the colic worse.

 

[PapaFrita]

Bbmat, could you pleeease reduce your siggy in width (around 600 pixels is good) as it makes reading posts very hard as I have to scroll back and forth. Thank you!!

Incidentally, I'd walk a horse with colic, but if it wanted to go down I wouldn't risk life and limb to keep it going.

 

[air78]

http://www.horsevet.co.uk/colic.php
You might find this site useful; i found it after my boy had two bouts of colic.
I have also found that my horse responds well to homeopathic remedies, which i have given whilst waiting for the vet. If you would like the details PM me.
Hope he is feeling better

 

[Leg_end]

Ive found its very dependent on the horse and the colic! Ive done both walking and leaving them in. Vet told me to let the horses roll though should they so choose. If i had the perfect solution i would let it into the sandschool and let it roll without risk of injury and then walk it around aswell!

 

[Fairynuff]

I give 20 ccs of Buscopan IV, alert the vet then wait for 45 mins to see how he reacts. If its a violent colic I will inject Meflosyl and get the vet out straight away. Gassy colics are walked and given a bottle of stuff bought in the chemist. Its for humans and contains herbs and rubarb, is slightly laxative and helps digestion. Its also low alcohol, so, two tablespoons for me and the rest syringed via the horses mouth-they all love it!
Violent colics are turned out in the paddock and allowed to go down if they want, non violent will be left in their box and can do what they want (apart from rolling due to risk of getting cast). If the horse is dehydrated Ill put it on a drip using Ringer solution while waiting for the vet. Mairi. Ps, I worked in a clinic so was taught to do these procedures.

 

[Dougie]

and she is in the middle of no where, surronded by twat vets!! with the only decent one miles away

 

[Fairynuff]

Thankyou Dougie

Mairi.

 

[wizzi901]

depends on type and severity of colic. My oldie doesnt seem to get it any more (coffeeee!) but tends to lie down quietly and groan, whereas others on the yard benefit from being walked......compactions they tend to leave be and spasmodics they tend to walk...if we can tell of course!

 

[PapaFrita]

Mairi, from what you've told us, I'm sure you do a much better job than the vets!

 

[0]

The only reason I would stop the horse from rolling is to prevent it getting cast.
Usually put horse on the lorry and go for a drive (after the vet has had a look) - it works wonders. Also, when the horse has to go to the vets it is amazing how often they have dramatically improved after the trip in the lorry.
Sometimes walk if waiting for the vet but I've been told it doesn't do that much good - mostly make the owner feel like they are doing something.