Do you ever get over being paranoid about colic?

Casey76

Casey76

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I must drive my YM mad...

I lost my first horse to complications of colic last year, and although my two are now on a different yard I'm still (overly?) sensitive to anything out of the ordinary stomach wise.

E.g. yesterday when I got to the yard I noticed that my mare hadn't eaten any of her hay/haylage since she had come in, and there was only one poo in her box. Although she seemed happy enough schooling, she was very gassy, and when putting her to bed again she didn't touch any of the hay/haylage even though I'd put it into a haynet (silly girl prefers eating out of a net than from the floor???) When I left for the evening (four hours after I got there) she had only done one more poo, though had eaten her sugarbeet.

I just mentioned to my YM that I didn't think she was 100% right, and would she mind just keeping an eye out for her.

Of course I got a message this morning that she had eaten her hay overnight and her box was it's normal messy state ;)

I do wonder if I will ever stop being so vigilant when it comes to tummy troubles (I automatically count poos when mucking out/poo picking, also check for "dryer than normal/wetter than normal")
 
You never stop worrying. I nearly lost my boy to colic with a twisted gut last winter. Two weeks ago he had colic again. I recognised the signs and with an emergency call out and hours of walking in the dark and fog, he pulled through.
 
I'm super paranoid about it too. My lad survived chronic grass sickness in 2010 and has been prone to colic since. Everyone on my yard thinks I'm nuts apart from my YO (my best friend who helped pull him through and the only one on the yard who knew us back then). If my stable is more messy than usual the next morning we're convinced he's colicked overnight, I'm constantly investigating poo and how much hay he's eaten, trying to decide if he's looking uncomfortable etc. I don't think you ever get over it
 
It's good to be vigilant and aware of what is normal and what isn't. I sadly lost a mare to colic 5 years back and current mare had two bouts. The second time I recognised the signals immediately (gassy, twitchy tail but otherwise normal) and vet was called straight away. Within 10 mins, mare was on the floor but because the vet was already there, we were able to make her comfortable very quickly. I too count poos, check the texture and volume. Any abnormalities and I make sure there is someone around to keep an eye. Yep, 9 times out of 10 theres no problem, but colic is such a horrible, indiscriminate condition, in my opinion you can never be too careful.
 
After seeing too many of the riding school horses have to get pts because of colic I'm always super paranoid about anything remotely odd. In fact, the YO lost her gelding just last week (after several years of various problems - it was just his time to go, but of course none of us were really ready for it). My anxiety is quite high at the moment anyway so of course that just makes everything worse. I think I must definitely drive my mum to distraction with my paranoia. Still, better safe than sorry.
 
No. And you never should. I have never had colic because I am paranoid and I take steps to make sure there is little to no possibility of colic. Thus far it obviously works..
 
Ive lost two to colic, no apparent reason for it. I do wonder how many horses colic overnight and have sorted themselves in the morning.
Really worries me more than anything else
 
No,it pays to be on guard all the time.If you know the signs(and your horse) you can then catch it as early as possible and thus increase the chances of a speedy recovery.Observation is the key,it can strike totally at random.Sorry to hear of your loss.
 
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Completely agree with all other posters - once you have seen a horse colicking you never forget it and you do everything you can to prevent it happening again and are super vigilant for the signs. I think losing my first horse to colic has made me a better horse owner now but it is was a horrible education and even knowing what I know now doesnt mean it cant happen again.
 
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Casey76 said:
I must drive my YM mad...

I lost my first horse to complications of colic last year, and although my two are now on a different yard I'm still (overly?) sensitive to anything out of the ordinary stomach wise.

E.g. yesterday when I got to the yard I noticed that my mare hadn't eaten any of her hay/haylage since she had come in, and there was only one poo in her box. Although she seemed happy enough schooling, she was very gassy, and when putting her to bed again she didn't touch any of the hay/haylage even though I'd put it into a haynet (silly girl prefers eating out of a net than from the floor???) When I left for the evening (four hours after I got there) she had only done one more poo, though had eaten her sugarbeet.

I just mentioned to my YM that I didn't think she was 100% right, and would she mind just keeping an eye out for her.

Of course I got a message this morning that she had eaten her hay overnight and her box was it's normal messy state ;)

I do wonder if I will ever stop being so vigilant when it comes to tummy troubles (I automatically count poos when mucking out/poo picking, also check for "dryer than normal/wetter than normal")
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I suspect it's like any major illness/injury or trauma . . . once you've come close to losing them to that (or once you lose one to it), it becomes the one single thing you focus on. For me, I'm obsessed with Kali's right fore . . . I stare at it constantly . . . it's counter productive because he is now sound on that leg, but I can't help myself. In addition, I am very worried/guarded whenever he prats about in the field now . . . I used to love to see him running and playing, now I worry and am obsessive about checking his legs when he comes in.

I totally understand why you would be so hyper vigilant about colic . . . in your shoes, I would be too. It's natural to worry after losing a horse to any illness/injury or disease.

P
 
It is def import to be vigilant but I find on my yard it's the horses who are fed a very structured & measured diet full of various additives & supplements to try & avoid colic are the ones who tend who suffer from bouts/symptoms of colic or in worst cases lose the battle with it. Those who are fed a more basic simple diet live long happy lives with trouble free tummies :) often owners over complicate feeding & that's one reason I think we see more colic
 
Lost a young horse to colic earlier this year (it was a physical problem - called epiploic foramen rather than stomach ache) but even so I now monitor my new horse very closely. I never want to go through that again, he suffered so much.
 
No, I am very cautious. Better to be safe than sorry & to know what is/isn't normal for your own horse- thankfully I have never had to deal with it with my own horse.
 
equi said:
No. And you never should. I have never had colic because I am paranoid and I take steps to make sure there is little to no possibility of colic. Thus far it obviously works..
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What steps do you take to make sure that your horse never twists a gut or gets a lipoma?
 
When my boy had colic two weeks ago, it was because he hadn't drunk any water but had eaten a hay net. I recognised the signs when I arrived to turn him out. I couldn't have foreseen that or prevented it. 8 litres of water tubed down and extensive walking produced a small amount of chaff like poo cake and then instant relief. First colic case was Oct last year. He came in from the field colicing and ended up with twisted gut in Newmarket for two weeks. No hay in the field at that time. Shall never know why. So, yes you can take obvious precautions I.e t feeding regimes etc but probably most colic cases are a total shock to the owner s. Put them to bed all happy and safe and then find them in a terrible state the next morning, usually too late.
 
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