Long Lasting Colic

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kinlochallen

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Hi, does anyone have any experience with horses having colic which lasts for days?

My 14hh, 18yr old irish sports pony has had mild colic since Thursday night. He was flank watchng and lying down frequently and looked 'dull', the vet came immediately and he was given given treatment for an impaction. He seemed brighter the next day but on Saturday morning had the same symptoms, the vet re-examined and gave more injections. Same story on Sunday and he was given fluids via an IV. This morning he is just the same, his heart-rate and respiration have been normal all the way through and he is not distressed or thrashing around, he just seems to be uncomfortable. He has passed droppings, small and hard until the fluids yesterday and sloppier today but not great quantites. The vet doesn't think that it is a surgical problem and if he went to hospital they would do they same as we have done already but five days does seem a long time to pass an impaction.

Has anyone had the same problem, I would apprectiate some advice.
 
Did your vet pump paraffin and water into his stomach to shift it ? My friends horse had colic recently, wasn't stressed, pulse and heart normal but wasn't right, he'd just had some treatment where he'd been kept in for a few days so vet thought due to change in routine and treatment, my friends pony ok now
 
What are you feeding him?
Has his diet/hay supply/grazing changed?
Was he drinking as much as usual?
Keep on with vets advice obviously but try to get him to take everything ,feed if allowed and his hay ,wet.
I hope he feels better soon.
 
Horse from my livery yard was taken to Rossdales with impaction. It took about a week to clear the impaction out, that was with tubing etc daily. She was maintained on painkillers and luckily managed to pass the impaction on the Sunday night when they had already agreed with the owner that she would go to surgery first thing Monday morning. Obviously they would have taken her straight to surgery if they had serious concerns before then.

During the process of passing the impaction she did tear inside her rectum but was then given Baytril antibiotics to help prevent infection due to the tear.

I hope your horse improves soon.
 
Not trying to frighten you but please, just be aware that the rumbling colics can end up as bad as those that give stronger symptoms because of the time taken to decide horse either is or isn't bad enough to refer to a vet hospital; that's according to my vet who is at Leahurst who sees many cases that should have gone in to them a lot earlier.
His POV from his experience (both in general equine practice and at L) is that colic either recovers quickly and easily or it doesn't; treatment is usually a lot more straightforward and with better results the earlier the horses are seen (at a vet hospital which has all the right sophisticated gear) as those that grumble are weakening their systems all the time which makes things far more difficult.
Hope it goes well for your boy and he feels better in no time.
 
Maesfen said:
His POV from his experience (both in general equine practice and at L) is that colic either recovers quickly and easily or it doesn't; treatment is usually a lot more straightforward and with better results the earlier the horses are seen (at a vet hospital which has all the right sophisticated gear) as those that grumble are weakening their systems all the time which makes things far more difficult.
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I echo what Maesfen says. If my horse had colic for more than a few hours following treatment then I would ask for a referral as its better to be safe than sorry. I remember there was a horse at a previous yard for whom treatment at an equine hospital was delayed and the horse died from a caecum impaction. This horse was pts on the operating table.

I'm not trying to scare you either, but I would ask if the horse can be referred.
 
would be well worth you vet doing a belly tap as that would tell them alot about whats going on, thats what was done with my mare and with her her colics
 
My horse had impaction colic last year but it was caused by tablets vet prescribed for his other gut issues at the time.
When he coliced vet came out and we tubed him and flushed salty water and normal through his system. While he was under sedation the vet then went and allowed us to tuen out in a very small isolatation paddock to keep him moving to see if it would help. He was showing mild signs for a few days after. Vet was out everyday to check and then after few days he started to pick up and then was fine.
 
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