Distended small intestine / slow gut motility

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MissyRogers

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Pretext: Vet has now been out twice - feels the cause is a mystery. A second opionon will be sought next week. I can't afford another emergency call out.

7 year old cob mare. Kept with a 14 year old welsh gelding. No changes to diet, routine or general health since we moved yards late last year.

Friday 14th Feb 4pm - was not at gate to come in, and wouldn't walk over, refused a treat, was covered in mud and seemed very subded (all unusual). Felt she may have slipped in the field (as she is not a horse to lay / roll in mud). Hosed her off and with some encouragement she ate. Next day pretty much back to normal.

Thursday 21st 4pm - was not at gate to come in, and wouldn't walk over, refused a treat, was covered in mud and seemed very subded plus started yawning, looking to her stomach and odd breathing. Vet called and felt it was colic. Heart rate was only raised by 2 bpm for normal, normal temp, nothing felt rectally to be amis. Painkiller and Buscopan injected. Vet advised watered down feed and wet hay with limted turnout for the next week. Next day pretty much back to normal.

Today 1st March - normal at breckfast, normal being ridden (not excessively - no more than 1/2 hour). Seemed subduded walking down to the field and refused a treat. Saw her poo in the field so left her to it. Sharers hang 1/2 hour later to say she was laying down... went back to the yard and she walked over but did not seem herself. In stable she laid staright down and was restless. No improvement over the next couple of hours and was restless so emergency vet out. Whilst waiting for the vet we had a walk with her and she poo’d
Heart rate normal, normal temp, rectally this time her small intestine was just felt at vets fingers tips (now whether this is because this time we had a lady vet and she was able to go further is debatable). Scan showed a section of distended small intestine where food and waste had separated due to slow passage. I did ask if this could be because she had been playing down for the past 3 hours but the vey didn’t seem to this this was relevant.

The vet was at a loss as to the root case of what appears to be a partial blockage given the 3 episodes so close together.
Painkiller and Buscopan injected which perked her up immediately
Vet suggested bloods, worm tests (although feels this is unlikely) and full clip for a full body scan as diagnostics and in the inetrim changing diet comeptely to replace all hay and chaff (currently fed ad lib hay and mollychaff with pony nuts) to speedybeet as this may help passage.

A second opinion is being sought on Monday and we will be getting bloods done but has anyone experience similar. All thoughts very welcome.
 
My mare, ten years ago now, presented with colic like symptoms on and off and would eat then not, be lethargic then ok but we did have elevated temperature too. After 3 months roughly of investigation she was found to have a stomach which wasn’t emptying properly and it had enlarged and was shoving other internal organs out of the way. We only found out by scoping.
 
Midlifecrisis said:
My mare, ten years ago now, presented with colic like symptoms on and off and would eat then not, be lethargic then ok but we did have elevated temperature too. After 3 months roughly of investigation she was found to have a stomach which wasn’t emptying properly and it had enlarged and was shoving other internal organs out of the way. We only found out by scoping.
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What was the treatment / recovery if you don't mind me asking?
 
Was kind of hoping you wouldn’t ask….she spent 8 days in Glasgow university vet school being “starved” and stomach was flushed every day but it remained partially full and I spent 3 or 4 more weeks at home feeding soaked grass nut slop every two to three hours round the clock as she couldn’t eat hay ( this was the first few months of the year so in at night and not much grass in the field. Her stomach began to fill again and the vets said she wouldn’t be field sound..she had colic one night and we put her down. 🙁
 
I would get her scoped. I spent a few year trying to get to the bottom of my mare's issues. Vets, physio, scoped, supplements etc. In the end it turned out to be suspected delayed gastric emptying.
 
How is your horse doing? My 2yo had the exact same symptoms as yours friday evening. heart rate was 2BMP higher than 'normal', temp was fine, rectal exam normal. No sweating thrashing rolling, she just didnt seem herself, was breathing heavier than i would expect and generally very lethargic, but still pooing. I had the vet out stright away and they advised they would give her a gut relaxer and pain relief and that she would be fine in the morning, this was at 9:30pm. I checked her hourly until 1am and she was fine, then again at 4am when i found her laying down and occasionally looking at her stomach. I decided to take her to the vet clinic as an emergency and they ultrasounded her and found a bloackage of the small intestines and slow/reduced movement of the intestines. Still no increase in heart rate or temp. I was advised she would probably need surgery to sort the blockage as they do not normally sort themselves and there was a risk of damage to part of the small intestine if the circulation was compromised. As she was stable they allowed her to have some time to hopefully pass it herself and avoid surgery. I recieved a call saturday afternoon to say that they had re-ultrasounded her and she had passed the blockage herself (clever girl!) and was better in herself. Although they noticed she had inflamation of the small intestine that they would montor. Sunday they rescanned her and the inflamation had gone, and she was still doing well and they had started increasing her food. They kept her in until yesterday afternoon, i collected her and she was back to herself, although a ribbier than i would like.

The vets have advised to give her wet hay, add extra water to her feed to keep her hydrated(i feed her fast fiber, linseed and speedibeet anyway so pretty wet), and slowly increase her turnout by 1 hour a day. Its still early days but she seems to be doing well so far :)

I have also added salt to her feed to encourage her to drink more water. The symptoms sound so similar to your horse i wonder if it is the same thing?
 
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