Please help... Colic recovery...

Jasper65

Jasper65

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my boy suffered from a bad bout of colic last night and has thankfully come through fine but as ive never had a horse colic before what do i do regards working him etc...

we think it was caused by a combination of the wormer he was given and the straw he keeps eating

we were previously hacking out 2 or 3 times a week, and doing some work over trotting poles.

he is a 4yr old tb gelding,

he is going on to a bran mash
and being moved onto sawdust (hopefully)

any help would be greatly appreciated
Thanks Jasper65
 
just take it steady with him for a few days and be carefull what he eats, he will be abit sensitive for a few days.
 
My vets have recommended in for 24-48hrs after depending on severity of colic, then bringing back into work after 1-2 days just taking it easy. Hope horsey is ok!!
 
Perhaps I've misunderstood but please don't give him bran mash as his normal feed, or he will have the opposite problem before very long.
I would give him the next week off, see how he is in himself and if all ok start work slowly and carefully with him. You might find that he loses weight (some do) while he is recovering, in which case you will need to work more slowly and more carefully after a longer time off.
As soon as the vet gives the all-clear, put him out onto nice fresh wet grass, which he will find easier to digest than anything else.
 
I don't think I'd be feeding bran mash either to be honest. Personally I think a horse is better off being turned out on grass. It's a natural laxative anyway so should be ablout the best thing to help the gut function normally. Was it just a spasmodic colic or an impaction?

My sister's horse had a colicky episode the other day - thankfully he picked the day the vet was coming for vaccinations. He's never had colic before and the vet basically just gave him a painkiller (injection) that also contained something that also encourages normal gut function (apparently they use it post colic ops). He was back to normal in no time but i think he may have just had a bit of gas/stomach ache ash he had passed stools normally.

All in all I would feed normally and not change his feed to bran. I also don't really think the straw should have caused the colis but then that depends on how much he eats! Changing his bedding will maybe give you peace of mind that he's at least not eating it!
 
Moving onto a different bedding will help, if you think that eating the bed os part of the cause. Is he eating loads of straw? A bit shouldn't cause problems & as long as he has ad lib hay I wouldn't expect him to be eating loads.

Turnout wise be guided by your vet, movement is good but grass can be part of the problem in gassy colics & the way it's shooting up now is almost a diet change in itself.

Unless your vet has advised otherwise I wouldn't change hard feed, though I would try & reduce the amount for a few days if he gets a lot. I don't have a problem with feeding bran(though not huge quantities) daily as long as the overall diet is well balanced, I feed it to one of mine as it's one of the few feeds he'll consistently scoff down that isn't full of sugar or high calorie.

Play it buy ear about starting riding him. If he looks ok then try, but if he doesn't feel like himself don't push it and give hm another day or so.

I hope he's ok & doesn't give you another scare.

ETA if he colicked because of the wormer it may be that he has a worm burden so it may be worth doing a worm count in a couple of weeks & again before you next worm. It may be that you don't need to do him again for a while.
 
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Thanks for all the advice, he is having a small amount of bran in each feed to help make it a bit more liquid as he doesnt seem to be drinking alot. If his drinking picks up we will cut the bran out but he isnt really one for drinking alot. he has gone out in the field today and is coming in tomorrow to have his feet done when we will give him a thorough check over. ive also got my yard owner watching him like a hawk, who i must say is being absolutely brilliant through all of this.

i think it was spasmodic colic but the vet didnt actually say, he had a very rumbly tummy and nearer the end was farting like a trouper ...

he seems ok in himself but hes very quiet whereas he is usually very bubbly and very noisey, Im going to give him the rest of the week off and then see how he is on thurs/friday, if he looks to be ok i think ill walk him in hand around our farm and tracks for 10-15 mins and see how he copes.

He does seem to eat a lot of straw and it seems that even if he has full fresh haynets in he goes for the straw...

it was suggested that i put him onto a pre/probiotic what do you guys think ??

thanks again
Jasper 65
 
Sorry you had a colic scare.... if you are trying to persuade him to drink more, what about adding a carton of apple juice to his water? Might make it more palatable to him. Hope he makes a full recovery and that it doesn't happen again. :)
 
Sounds like it was probably a spasmodic colic, they can poo through the eye of a needle with that :o Probiotic is a good idea, something like pink powder :) My vet told me my mare would be fine to go back to normal work 4 days after a nasty spasmodic colic that lasted a few hours & involved a fair amount of chucking herself about but I got her checked by her Bowen lady before I did anything strenuous with her, I was concerned that she might have tweaked herself and sure enough there was some treatment needed on her back.
 
My vet told me top put mine out on a bald field with company but dont give her anything to eat for at least a few hours then give her a bran mash :)

Worked a treat and she was back to normal in a few days, just a bit sore!
 
yea he is in a field that hasnt got loads of grass in it with his little pony pal. Thanks everyone for your advise i will let you know how we get on xxx
 
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