colic type symptoms but vet says not colic?

[sherwood']

My OH 5 yr old has had colic type symtoms every morning for now 8 days. When he goes to feed him he he standing head down at back of stabel with signs of rollign etc and looking back on his flank. He doesnt eat his breakfast. He has then been putting him out int he field and by the afternoon he is fine again.

The vet was out yesterday and said he wasnt blocked and all seemed ok.

He wa sputting it down to this tiem fo year the new feed stuffs in course mix and/ or new hay so he has cut down on the hay he is giving and the feed.

any ideas? I woudlnt be happy if this was my horse but we cant think what to do and how to stop it. It hasnt got any worse over the 8 days but it is the fact it is persisiting?


thanks

 

[AmyMay]

Is he rugged - too hot??

Does he have any hay left??

 

[sherwood']

he is rugged but actually put another one on him during the week as he thought he was too cold. He is eating his hay but now he isnt giving him as much as he thought it mite have been causing it as it was new this year and maybe too rich.

Alhtough i am not convinced as his legs or anythgin havent swollen up?

 

[AmyMay]

Is the horse clipped?? Are you sure they are drinking enough.

I wonder if you would be better making sure that they had an ad lib source of fibre throughout the night. If you think the hay is too rich (unlikely) then you could soak it for an hour or so before feeding. If it's haylage - then yes it could be hitting the system to quick. You could replace part of the ration with something like a big tub of HiFi.

Perhaps it needs a probiotic feeding????

 

[sherwood']

yea he is clipped. what sort of prebiotic woudl you suggest? Would this just settle his stomach and balance out anything that is upsetting him? thanks!

 

[sleepingdragon10]

You could try Naff Pink Powder,a small 700g tub last about a month,and cmay help his tummy to settle down

 

[AmyMay]

[ QUOTE ]
You could try Naff Pink Powder,a small 700g tub last about a month,and cmay help his tummy to settle down

[/ QUOTE ]
That was what I was thinking.

 

[sherwood']

Right great thanks. Ill sent him out for some now! I have used it in the past for preventitive rather than medicinal purposes and found it good! Thanks for your help!

 

[SSM]

Coligone????

 

[sherwood']

i had thought of that too but my oH is a farmer and i no he wouldnt spend that on a supplement!!!

I would without a problem to get horse right but he just says i am mothering my lot too much!

 

[sleepingdragon10]

You're welcome

Once you've finished the Pink Powder you could try adding Mint to his feed.This has certain things in it that help ease any digestive discomfort and may help him in the long term

 

[SSM]

I really don't think Coligone is expensive in comparison, and certainly not as expensive or heart wrenching as losing a horse.

 

[Stasha22]

Has your vet considered Gastric Ulcers?

My mare behaved in a very similar way for a few weeks and she was scoped and found to have Gastric Ulcers.

I would definately ask your vet about it.

 

[Ravenwood]

My horse showed signs of colic yesterday morning. Just for about five minutes she was kicking her stomach and looking a bit distracted, when I put her in the stable to phone vet she did normal droppings and seemed fine - I rather wonder if the horses are eating fallen leaves and this may be causing it as it seems to be quite common this time of year (colic symptoms that is - not falling leaves!!)

 

[Heidi1]

I second Coligone and it's certainly not expensive........

 

[loopylucifer]

may not be related but my horse shows colic type symptoms with choke. vet said can be very common

 

[GTs]

Colic is a symptom nothing else - did the vet pull blood on him. I do not really believe too much in supplements (they are too expensive, unregulated and are more of a feel good for the owner then have any proven results), but many people have said marvelous things about coligone, to the point where I would make an exception and try it. Infact if I was in a situation I would love to try it. My only is leaving an illness it is often more expensive to keep, so I would be tempted to get a referral and have a full work up on my horse, scope, ultrasound, ab x-rays (not sure you do that in the UK, in part of the US you do), blood work, just to make sure things are OK. Of course it all depends on how expensive it is, if the horse is insured, how it will effect your insurance, etc - if that is not an option I would try coligone.

 

[H's mum]

GTs - if you PM me your address I'm more than happy to send you a sample out
Kate x

 

[GTs]

Kate, THANKS! I would love to take you up on your offer, however currently the only 2 horses I have access to are the cart horses I drive, and I only see them when they are in town to work (they are trailered in when they come to work). As soon as I buy something or in a position where I deal with more horses I would love to try some!! As you know I am very skeptical about supplements, however I do not believe so many people would say so many good things about something unless it truly does what you say it does.

Did anyone understand what I wrote above - I could not - missed words, wrong words, etc - you guys must think I am dumb!

 

[Tamski]

My old chap had similar symptoms last month and he had a problem with his sheath. Might be worth checking out

 

[hussar]

My friend's horse had what looked like an attack of colic at the weekend but wasn't. Vet thinks he might have been passing a kidney stone as he was clearly in pain to the point of collapse in the morning but right as rain in the pm and subsequently.

 

[H's mum]

...you see that's what I don't understand... "Colic" merely refers to pain/discomfort in the digestive tract - so "passing a kidney stone" would definitely be classed as a form of colic!
Kate x

 

[hussar]

I take your point. I suppose we all use the term as shorthand for 'digestive colic', with all the usual symptoms such as sweating, looking round at/kicking the belly, trying to roll etc. In my friend's case it was the vet who said it wasn't colic, so maybe he was dumbing down for us!

 

[Sarah1]

Get vet to take bloods and test for liver enzymes - my horse showing intermittant colic symptoms and has viral infection in liver ascending from guts! It's a form of equine hepatitis I think - anti-biotics should sort it out though!
Other thing I'd perhaps ask them to do is a worm count - could be tapeworms or redworms.