My 'paranoia' about colic is starting to ruin the fun of having horses

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redriverrock

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I am hugely paranoid about colic after 2 incidents with my Tb (sounds bad but ive had him 4 years) The first colic was an impaction which didnt need surgery but was bad enough for us to spend a week on high alert with him at Rase vets over xmas for 4 days. The last incident was a gassy colic which the vet wasnt to worried about but was very traumatic for us to witness, lots of manic rolling and we were lucky not to get hurt trying to stop him. This was as a result of a forced change of routine which has now convinced me he would never cope with box rest but thats another story.
I check he is drinking, pooing, weeing, gut sounds, farting (too much/not enough) he is on 24/7 turnout and has a pro biotic from the vets. But still i am constantly worrying and getting anxious...has he drank anything today, checking his poo...if he rolls Im checking...all things that I happily do but it is just starting to get a bit much and I feel anxious all the time. It is great that they are all kept at home but it also means I can 'check' all the time!
Would love to hear from anyone else who maybe has felt the same but has learnt to cope!
 
About 6 years ago, Ebony was having colic attacks at least 3 a year. The vet could come up with no real reason, but said she might be getting upset about things for example if it was to windy or a storm, then he thought it could be when there was a frost. I spent years tracking the weather and watching out for frost and then she would stay in for the day. I would worry all the time, do not want to tempt fate but the last 2 years just treated her like a horse and she has been fine. I do understand how worried you must be as its not nice to see them go through that.
 
I am the same, my girl had three bouts within about 12 months - the last episode was serious and the vet gave her 30 minutes and if she didn't respond we would have to think about Pts. She recovered...

Anyway, I have constantly worried and she wears a muzzle every day as she gorges and this has been the problem. Each time it has been escaping and gorging which has been the problem. I am much more confident now as it has been over 12 months and I have changed her management so that the colic is less likely. Muzzle, gut support, occasional bran, fennel to help with bloat. I figure that all I can do is limit the possibilities as best I can and as long as I know I have done everything possible then that is the very best that I can do.

It is hard and a worry but I am much less anxious now as some time has passed. It is also encouraging that the gut support has had a clear effect as when she changed paddocks she didn't suffer with the runs as badly as she may once have...... Getting there, hopefully limiting the impact and slowly getting her used to taking in more grass.

Is there anything else you could do? If not you have to let it go and understand that you are doing all that you can and what will be will be.
 
So glad I am not the only one though I knew I wasnt really! The thing that causes me the most worry is he is quite gassy, though I guess better out than in feel sorry for whoever is behind him when we are hacking out though. If im being honest I dont think I have got over the sight of him rolling and then just laying flat out groaning...it was heartbreaking and the 15 mins it took for the vet to arrive felt like hours.
Other than moving about and diet can anyone rec' a herb or supplement that will hely with gas...Ive been told fennel which I have ordered from my fed supplier.
 
Yes, it is hard to think of them like that. I also have the image of her flat out, eyes rolling, tongue lolling - my worst nightmare. I use Yea Sacc and fennel powder. I have seen an improvement in her tolerance of more grass over time and she is less bloated.
 
My horse had an impaction requiring surgery, became totally obsessed about amount of poos and any slight change in behaviour panicked me. Its taken a long time for me to settle down although i am quite vigilant still.
 
ebonyallen said:
About 6 years ago, Ebony was having colic attacks at least 3 a year. The vet could come up with no real reason, but said she might be getting upset about things for example if it was to windy or a storm, then he thought it could be when there was a frost. I spent years tracking the weather and watching out for frost and then she would stay in for the day. I would worry all the time, do not want to tempt fate but the last 2 years just treated her like a horse and she has been fine. I do understand how worried you must be as its not nice to see them go through that.
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Oh gosh..not knowing the cause must have been awful...the thing I find most difficult to cope with is not knowing. I am hoping that we never have to see him like that again...my son was actually physically ill with the sheer stress of it though while he needed to be calm he was amazing and helped keep Red (our TB) moving which helped alot...I was a very proud mum
 
Billie1007 said:
Yes, it is hard to think of them like that. I also have the image of her flat out, eyes rolling, tongue lolling - my worst nightmare. I use Yea Sacc and fennel powder. I have seen an improvement in her tolerance of more grass over time and she is less bloated.
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Do you feed the yea sacc and fennel all year round? The Bio Premium that the vet prescribed has brewers yeast in it which I did wonder if that would make his gas worse...its difficult because he needs the Protexin Bio Premium for his gut balance.
 
debsflo said:
My horse had an impaction requiring surgery, became totally obsessed about amount of poos and any slight change in behaviour panicked me. Its taken a long time for me to settle down although i am quite vigilant still.
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It is nice to hear of a good story post surgery and I can imagine how obsessed you must have been...I bet you were an expert on horse poo :o
 
Only my second ever posting and it's on the same subject as the first! Please give activated charcoal a try - it really, really helps with gassiness.
 
Hi - not much of a poster, but sometimes when a subject strikes a chord I have to :). Activated charcoal comes either in granular or powdered form and I guess it must be tasteless because my extremely fussy mare ate it straight off with no issues, even though it turned her food black!
 
Po Knee said:
Hi - not much of a poster, but sometimes when a subject strikes a chord I have to :). Activated charcoal comes either in granular or powdered form and I guess it must be tasteless because my extremely fussy mare ate it straight off with no issues, even though it turned her food black!
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It sounds like a great product and also used on laminitics which is interesting...I like learning new things! Have tried a quick google search but am struggling to find a UK supplier...where do you get yours from? Good to know your fussy mare is happy to eat it as mine is also abit fussy with strange things in his feeds!
 
Hi I get mine from Stable Label - that is in powdered form, but I have also had the Happy Tummy one which is more granular. Good luck with whichever you decide on - I was amazed at the difference it made :)
 
Thankyou Po knee I am def going to give it a go as he is always abit bloated and though he isnt colicking in ridden work he can be quite lazy until he has had a good few ******** which makes me think it must be abit uncomfortable.
Will let you know how we get on.
 
I think most horse owners worry to some extent - you're not alone!! One of my TB mares gets it every couple of years she throws in a nice impaction out of the blue with no change in diet etc at all, and my old cob mare goes down if she wants to come in - vet is always called of course but nothing ever comes of it and she happily spends a few days eating indoors and watched and fussed over, although it doesn't do much for her waistline!!
At least you haven't got a friesian - they are more prone than any other breed and I have lost a few to it, one of which was a yearling, so I'm always staring at poo too and watching out of windows at horses rolling and always wondering if they are colicing!! I think you just have to take things as they come and do any management/diet changes gradually, worm regularly etc, other than that there's not much else you can do really if they're going to colic they're going to colic, horses are just badly designed!, you may find with yours you won't have it for years now if at all - always happens!!:)
 
Thankyou Alexart...I think my main advantage in dealing with this is that actually both times with hindsight I know exactly what caused it and so now avoid these situations. With the impaction it was lack of water intake because it was cold so know when the weather gets cold we make sure his water is kept tepid and his feeds are very watery. The gassy colic was caused by a sudden change in routine because he needed a couple of weeks box rest which lasted all of 2 days before he colicked...vet told us to just kick him back out as he was causing more damage in his stable!
I never knew friesans were so vulnerable to colic...what a shame they are beautiful horses and I thought TB's were the worse !
 
Just thought i would update on the recet purchase of activated charcoal from stable label which was rec' to me...well what can I say! Have fed 3 lots, 1 a day in his evening feed and it seems to have had an almost miraculous affect. We fetch him into the yard to feed him as the others pinch his feed but this does mean he can crib on the yard fence. We have tried to stop him but in all honesty it just make him worse so we kinda let him get on with it...well for 2 days he hasnt tried to crib once and he is also alot less gassy when we are riding him so that is def a good thing, especially when down wind.
A big thumbs up so far for activated charcoal!
 
Yay!! And hurrah!! :D I am so pleased it has helped. It really does seem to have an almost instant effect doesn't it? I have to say it is the one product I will not be without in my feed shed :)
 
So guys, do you feed this because colicky in the past, prone to it, prevention method? Every day? Could it be one more thing in my armoury?
 
Hello Billie1007. I feed it every day to prevent my mare from gassing up. She has had a few bouts of gassy colic including one massive bout a few years back when I was sure I was going to lose her as she was displaying exactly the same symptoms as when she had a twisted gut years ago which obviously required surgery. So, yes - it's a preventative for me, and a small price to pay for a little peace of mind :)
 
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