Please be vigil

guido16

guido16

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Folks,

Looking around here there is an abnormally large number of us who have lost horses to colic over the pased few weeks. I don't know why but this really is not sitting comfortably with me.

Why?

Please keep a close eye on your horses and ponies for any signs. I don't want to hear about anymore horses dying with colic.
 
nothing at our yard (touch wood) thankfully yet but your post got me thinking and maybe horses aren't drinking enough because water is too cold or people forgetting to break ice in field troughs.
Don't know if its that that seems to be increasing numbers but I had a mare that was a bit collicky a couple of winters go and she wasn't drinking her water at night. I had to turn her out 24/7 in the end and she picked up straight away, think she got water from the grass /snow as she still was't keen in the water in the trough.
 
I'm not sure if its perhaps so raw in your head that you now see it everywhere you go. Not comparable, but when my lad got PSD thats what everyones horses on here seemed to have at the same time :)
 
I'm wondering about Equest Pramox now. I have seven tubes of it ready to give to the horses, but as this is the time of year that pramox is given to combat encysted red worm and tapeworm, I wonderif there could be a connection. OP, I've been thinking there have been a lot of colic cases on here recently too.
 
Thanks wagtail, glad you agree.

Yes it's raw but there really are a lot of cases lately. I have a very strict worming programme and my lot are out 24/7 so not standing with empty bellies as they have a bale of haylage all the time.
Will wait and see if my girls bloods show up anything.

I know what it's like, you buy a red car, then all you see is red cars, just seems a lot of colic cases on here just now. All in different parts of the uk.

Like I said, none of us want to read about anymore!
 
there are no more colics than normal. Being on a forum makes the world a very small place so it's easier to hear about them. My oh has taken 3 colic cases to the clinic (not mine) and has taken 2 back home after being operated on. The third was successfully operated on but went berserk on coming round and had to be destroyed after he trashed himself and the recovery box . Poor owner has to pay full bill plus transport plus rendering fee and has no horse coming home :( Hate to think how they are feeling!
'Keep them drinking' is my rule for the winter, especially the older ones who have less natural stimulus to drink.
Sorry about your mare Guido!
 
We lost two to colic last week.

I can't say it was anything to do with anything as one has had colic before this year and at 26, vet confirmed his problem was fat deposits blocking the gut. The other was 35 and had extensive melanomas and the ones in her stomach are what finally took her away. RIP lovelies x
 
Have to say I know of 4 personally in the last few months, including my own lad, and he's never had colic before in the ten years plus that I've owned him. I think it is more prevalent than in previous years.

Definitely worth being extra careful with your horses.
 
agree with christmaschick there has been alot of colics down south, in a very short period of time, something is definatly a miss down here... :(
 
I tend to agree, wether it is perceived or not I dont know. I have two friends whose ponies have both had colic severly in the last couple of weeks. Both needed hospitalisation but no surgery and are recovering well
 
I would agree colic seems to be everywhere at the moment and no one wants another story like yours op...what a horrible thing for anyone to go through. I have had my TB 4 years and he has colicked twice but I am extremly careful with him...especially this time of year. My biggest thing is making sure he gets enough water...I take warm water to the field twice in the day and then at 11.30 every night and he loves it...which also makes me happy. I also listen to his gut sounds twice a day...he thinks Im mad but I love to hear a good gurgle. I am determined that I am going to do everything I possibly can to make sure I never seem him suffering again. Colic is so cruel and sometimes no matter what you do horses will get it :(
 
My friends pony had colic last week, its a fear of mine as I lost one of mine a few years ago to colic, mine have been having a warm diner and I tip hot water in there buckets in the evening and they have a little sip as I am tipping it in.

Sorry for all of you that have lost a horse to colic recently its horrible.
 
Obviously I do not know if it applies to any of the cases on here/mentioned on here but my vet told me recently that they had more colic cases in whenever there was a spell of bad weather,due to people keeping horses in/stabled for longer (or permanently in some cases) cos of bad weather and the horses therefore not trickle eating AND being relatively immobile in the stable. Of the cases,lots were impaction. Worth bearing in mind:-/
 
I thought the same when my boy was taken down with chronic grass sickness. Raising awareness of horrid diseases and conditions can only do good! The original post got me thinking of how much my boy drinks! Thankfully he's still doing a big tub over night :-)
 
If these deaths raise awareness and saves lives, that can only be a good thing. I have just been out to give my boys their evening drink of warm water. Very popular in this freezing weather.
 
guido16 said:
If these deaths raise awareness and saves lives, that can only be a good thing. I have just been out to give my boys their evening drink of warm water. Very popular in this freezing weather.
Click to expand...

I learnt so much about colic after my Tb had compaction colic last xmas and have spent alot of time and effort learning how to reduce the chances of any of mine getting it again so totally agree about raising awareness...its just so sad to see them in such a state. Mine also love there warm water...in fact Im sure they drink more this time of year than they do in the summer!
I know how much your heart has broken but it is nice to hear you have your boys to look after...hope they are both OK
 
Ironically my big chap got impaction colic from eating too much snow when he was turned out a lot :-O so it doesnt always work to help avoid it.

I think unusual weather patterns will probably have an impact - poor grass growth, what grass there is will be more stressed. Also tapeworm occurrence is supposed to be increasing in horses, and that is implicated in some colics.

To the earlier poster, I wouldnt avoid Pramox unless one of the following applies 1. not wormed regularly and effectively in previous months 2. prone to colic 3. previous history of worm issues 4. any other health issues. Such horses might not cope with a combination wormer fullstop or might in the case of 1. have a very big burden of encysted redworm which could be expelled en masse - if thats going to happen you dont want the horse to have to cope with the tapewormer as well at the same time.

You can get the pramox ingredients in individual wormers if you are concerned (Equest for encysted redworm and Equitape for tapeworm).

Definitely better to Pramox than not to worm if thats the choice. But I prefer to spend a couple of ££ more and get the wormers individually - I (well my vet) also blood test for tapeworm so I only worm for it if it is a positive result and so actually needed.
 
I read on another forum that there is a belief that its due to use of haylage since the poor weather this year has lead to some very poor haylage. One poster said they would now only feed hay.
 
lachlanandmarcus said:
Ironically my big chap got impaction colic from eating too much snow when he was turned out a lot :-O so it doesnt always work to help avoid it.

I think unusual weather patterns will probably have an impact - poor grass growth, what grass there is will be more stressed. Also tapeworm occurrence is supposed to be increasing in horses, and that is implicated in some colics.

To the earlier poster, I wouldnt avoid Pramox unless one of the following applies 1. not wormed regularly and effectively in previous months 2. prone to colic 3. previous history of worm issues 4. any other health issues. Such horses might not cope with a combination wormer fullstop or might in the case of 1. have a very big burden of encysted redworm which could be expelled en masse - if thats going to happen you dont want the horse to have to cope with the tapewormer as well at the same time.

You can get the pramox ingredients in individual wormers if you are concerned (Equest for encysted redworm and Equitape for tapeworm).

Definitely better to Pramox than not to worm if thats the choice. But I prefer to spend a couple of ££ more and get the wormers individually - I (well my vet) also blood test for tapeworm so I only worm for it if it is a positive result and so actually needed.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I'm going to give the pramox today. :)
 
Mine get salt in their feed and warm water to drink, not cold, they always have a good drink when i have filled their buckets with warm water.
 
Guido, your case is particularly poignant to me as my horse was suffering at the same time as yours. I'm still waiting on bloods coming back, but I do think that my mare's case was due to not drinking enough in the cold weather.

I'm tipping in buckets of hot water now and she is drinking, plus she is back to full appetite which is a relief. She's eating all her hay too, of which I am being strict on quality now (I normally just got what I was given as I get it free from my dad but it could be variable).

It is possible worms could be a factor here too, but i'm not going to worm her until i'm completely happy she is better, unless the vets say otherwise.

I never ever want to go through that again. To top this horrible week off, my 22 month old daughter has tonsillitis, and I had to attend an inquest with my husband today as he was involved in a fatal road incident and had to give evidence. Another experience I never want to have to go through ever again.
 
Orchard, thank you for your posts.

Bloods back today, nothing abnormal at all, everything showing perfect health, so to speak. Spoke at length with vet, they said if we had taken her to hospital, she wouldn't have made it there. I know I made the right decision, just a shame for them that nothing showed up.

Only abnormal thing was that fate was against her on that dreadful day
 
The other thing with wormers is do make sure they arent given too close to annual flu vacc!, my horse got very ill, and was poorly on and off for several years, probably due, RVC thought to him not coping with the wormer and the vacc effects in combination which were given several days only apart. (He no longer has the flu element of the vacc as he doesnt mix as is semi retired and I use worm counts and blood tests for the worms I can, tho always worm once a year for encysted redworm as there is no alternative to that)
 
Guido, I sympathise entirely - if i'd have been told to take her to hospital she wouldn't have got there either - there was no way she would have travelled. As it was, the vet knew I didn't want to put her through anything more - he told me the next day he was just waiting for me to say the word that night. We were just very lucky that she pulled through, but your tale was such a shock to me when I read it the next day. I'm so very sorry.
 
I lost one to colic earlier this summer after a few weeks box rest although she was led out in hand for grass twice a day. She had no change in routine or feed. At the time my vet said that the unduly wet spring and summer here had increased (or changed, can't remember) the bacterial balance in the grass hence the high number of colics around us. Don't know if its valid but thought I'd throw it into the melting pot!
 
Well I had 2 very minor colics this fall. My previous total was 1 in 10 years.

To be honest I am blaming the ground. Nothing has changed and all are up to date on worming. The only thing different this year is ground that was mud for almost the entire year. And this fall its been diabolical. So while I do put plenty of hay out the ground still terrifies me. This year wasn't normal and I worry about what's lurking there.

Terri
 
My boy has bever colic'ed in all the years i have had him (10+) but I think having also been wondering about all the colics this year, poor horses and owners :(

Hes in on hay for the next few days as in for farrier and leading him up the lane was treacherous today (puddles with ice inder 2 inches of water :eek:) and I wasnt happy bringing him out the field on it, it was fine to walk on before all the water and I will be keeping an eye on his water intake as he has had haylege the past two winters.
 
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