colic

[siani1989]

My friends horse went down with colic 3 weeks ago today and was not overly bad laying down not eating odd roll every now and again - vet came and gave sp? gascopan? and there was no gut movement horse recovered fine - then today she got to yard to find horse down again 9.30 am laid down but not rolling not eaten anything - contacted vet who adv to walk her round - owner did this and horse come round and did a little poo at around 11 am - horse turned out and by 2pm was back down rolling and getting up and spinning in circles - vet phoned at 2.10 and came out at around 4.30!??! and was given gascopan sp? and has overactive bowel movement and high temperature - vet said collic what can cause colic - nothing has changed in her diet or anything - hay is fine - but said horse does windsuck. sorry for been lenghty

 

[Echo Bravo]

Anything can trigger colic, but I'd be a bit worried that she's had several attacks, even with her windsucking.

 

[misst]

I expect it was "buscopan" which is for the cramping pain. However high temp and colic sounds quite serious to me. One of ours used to get spasmodic colic a couple of times a year and he used to be given this. He did not, however, ever have a raised temperature.

If it were my horse I would be asking for an urgent visit from the vet - preferably one who was taking things a little more proactively. Colic left untreated can be very very serious.

 

[iconique]

There are several things that can cause colic, colic only means stomach ache and having lost a mare to colic in august and now having a 6 month foal (her orphan) who is 4 weeks post op colic surgery, i would in your friends shoes be taking it seriously as should her vet!

Things that are common include dehydration, sudden change in environment/feeding/stress, ulcers, sand/sediment, infection, impaction, to name only a few. Windsucking is a known cause of ulcers.

If the colic is not solved by the buscopan then the normal is to tube the horse for reflux, scan and take a sample from the gut (using a needle), if any of this is normal and the pain occurs the options are fairly simple, operate or put down. I know this is blunt, but if there is an impaction or twist in the gut, the gut wall can be damaged and then cause more problems due to the toxins caused.

I hope your friends horse recovers, there have been a lot of cases of colic with unknown causes - that can only be put down to environment (including the wet rich grass that we currently have at this time of year that is not normal.) But this isn't something to take lightly.