Lost a herd member

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SO1

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Not all colics are easy to diagnose with rectals.

I lost my pony to a gastic impaction. They are apparently very rare and don't come up with normal colic examinations. His was only identified as part of scoping for ulcers which we thought might have caused the colic.

He had a very bad colic nothing showed up on first two rectals the third showed some distention believed to be gas. He made it through the night with a lot of tubing and walking but it was touch and go.

YO recommended scoping for uclers as this was his second colic with 6 weeks and his fourth in 10 months (he had had a long period of active box rest due to tendonitis) and vet found his stomach was not emptying after overnight starving. It took a week to clear it using coke and he went into clinic after 3 days of trying to clear it at the yard.

Came home went on a special diet with no hay or long grass. 7 hours grazing on short grass with muzzle then 4 feeds of soaked chaff. Went back into hospital to rescope after 5 weeks again his stomach was full again with food being seen in his oesophagus. Vet recommended PTS as he said his stomach was not emptying properly and was at risk of rupture. He was pooing but he had delayed gastric emptying and vet said it was like a ticking time bomb, he would colic again and be in pain and his stomach would rupture if it kept getting fuller and not emptying at the correct rate. We couldn't constantly tube him with coke to empty his stomach it would be cruel.

I bought him home on the Tues and let him go on the Friday. He looked amazing and was only 20. My heart broke on 29 July.

It did make me wonder if other colics that did not fit the normal pattern and not identified on rectals might be gastric impactions. It was the first time our vets had had a case but a couple of weeks later they had a second case thankfully that one survived and the impaction did not return.

dorsetladette said:
Feeling a little numb right now. Still feels a bit surreal. And I'm thinking about it all very practically, which is not normal for me.
I asked the vet every question I could think of. He wrote off worms, sand (we have very sandy soil), me giving him psyllium husk, urine infection (he was standing to wee but not going). We tubed him and nothing came up. He couldn't feel anything in the first 2 internal examinations. The 3rd time the vet came things had changed internally dramatically. Vet took bloods which came back normal in the first test (2nd visit) but really high on 2nd test. I cant remember what vet said he was testing for but it was to show if gut was twisted. Bs heart rate stayed pretty normal throughout the night. But he was given a pain killer which could of masked that. Vet said he couldn't of called it in first 2 visits and would of treated him in the exact same way if he had been one of his own.
I walked just over 25,000 steps on Friday. A friend walked B and so did my OH while I sorted beds, rugs, naughty baby ponies etc etc. So poor B walked his little socks off in the hurrendous weather on Friday night. At least the pain relief woud of worked on his legs as well as his tummy.

There is a Bert size hole in our little world right now, which i can't see anyone filling. The babies have lost the guidance he gave them. Everyone including the 2 sheep (berts ladies) are all very quiet. We gave them all the opportunity to see him before he was collected yesterday morning and they all gave him a sniff and a little nudge. They aren't looking for him just quietly standing in the field.
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Ratface

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I'm so sorry for your loss, dorsetladette. Our horses are such a huge part of our lives and consequently leave a gaping chasm of grief when they go. You made the only kind decision for him and he is now at peace.
Much love.
 
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maya2008

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Sometimes there is nothing you could have done. Allow yourself and the other animals time to grieve. We lost two in August, and I felt like I was living in some kind of dream world for the next six weeks - physically present but not really so mentally. The yard still feels empty without them, but we are all adjusting now, humans and ponies, and it’s no longer so raw. I see parts of my oldest mare in the younger ones - tricks she taught them; traits they share with her - and now I can smile and remember her fondly, rather than just being numb with loss.

Time does heal, but
 
ILuvCowparsely

ILuvCowparsely

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dorsetladette said:
We lost B last night to colic. It's a horrible thing. He was fine at breakfast, but down at 4.30pm. We called it in the early hours of this morning.

Hold your ponies just that little bit closer today. You never know what's round the corner.
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so sorry for your loss, I lost mine a few weeks ago to colic, my heart horse I bred.
 
cauda equina

cauda equina

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Errin Paddywack said:
Another here to lose a much loved horse to colic. So many of us it seems and so often completely out of the blue and nothing to be done. Horrendously hard. So, so sorry for your loss.
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Me too
One of the saddest things was seeing how 'lost' his buddy seemed without him
I wish we could explain that we haven't just taken their dearest friend away for no reason
 
Lyle

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Didn't want to read and run. We lost one to colitis about 6 weeks ago. He was absolutely fine all day, didn't come down for dinner. Rushed him to the nearest clinic (a proper equine hospital) and there was nothing that could be done, everything in him was failing. It was heartwrenching and numbing just how quickly it happened.
Take care of yourself. Xx
 
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