Pony colicing on weekly basis!

SavingGrace

SavingGrace

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This isn't for me its my friends pony who is a 14.1hh Welsh x Arab. The pony has been colicing on and off on a pretty regular basis for around 2yrs. She has been in the bush for further investigation including surgery to see what was going on. None of the vets have found any reason as to why she is colicing. She pretty much colics 3 or 4 times per month. She can be fine and then stop for a moment and then go round in a circle lie down some times she will roll other times just lie down. She will repeat getting up and lying down a number of times each time going down facing the oposite way. She can do this for up to an hour or so then she will lie down and sigh and stay down for about 15 - 20 minutes as if she was exhausted, then she gets up and eats or grazes as if nothing has happened. All this usully takes up to about 2 hrs altogether.

Now from what I remember these symptons started after she took laminitus for the first time just before she started colicing. The vet whom they used pretty much had her starving the pony to get the weight off her so my thoughts on it (although I am not a vet) are that it is diet related.

She is currently seeking the opinion of a second vet as TBH she just isn't getting any results from her current vet or the bush either.

Does anyone have any thoughts on it? What you reccomend feeding a pony who is both prone to lami and colic?

Thanks in advance! (Millies Cookies and sprite for those who get to the end)
 
Hollysmum said:
She can be fine and then stop for a moment and then go round in a circle lie down some times she will roll other times just lie down. She will repeat getting up and lying down a number of times each time going down facing the oposite way. She can do this for up to an hour or so then she will lie down and sigh and stay down for about 15 - 20 minutes as if she was exhausted, then she gets up and eats or grazes as if nothing has happened. All this usully takes up to about 2 hrs altogether.
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Is that all she does? None of the pawing/kicking/throwing herself about which is normal? Is it before or after work/feeding?
As if that's all she does as you've described, to me it just sounds like a habit she's got into similar to people who can only go to sleep if they follow a pattern or once they're comfortable. I have one that always goes down, stays down for a few minutes then up again to turn himself around. He's always done it, right from a foal but none of my others do it at all, once they're down they're too idle to get up again so quickly.
 
What sort of colic does she get? Is it spasmodic (ie gassy colic).
Mine goes through phases of this, I am pretty sure at the moment its a result of suddenly realising the electric fence isnt switched on and he is cribbing for england. Resulting in what is probably trapped wind - and hes quite the drama queen with it. Usually subsides quickly but if particularly upset by it he gets a shot of buscopan.
I would always suggest to those with colic prone horses to feed NAF Pink Powder - its a wonderful product and pretty cheap too.
 
Thats what my friend emailed to me I haven't actually seen her do it.. it seems more like a grumbly tummy than actual colic if that makes sense? I am heading over on saturday in the hope I might see her doing it... She is definitely uncomfortable when doing it I do know that much.
 
I have a welsh cob who is prone to spasmodic colic, he had a really bad session about 2 years ago- nearly to the point of surgery, and he would have bouts every now and again for a few months, it was quite worrying as we couldn't fathom out the problem. This year he had a bout when he was ridden for the first time after a break of a few months. Anyway when he had the recurring colics mainly grumbly tummy, I took him back to another vet for a second opinion and he did all sorts of tests on him and could find nothing wrong, other than he said as he was young -4 at the time- he said young horses are prone to part of their calceum[?] moving around until it settles down when they are older, our pony's had moved up. He said the best thing for him was to be out on grass, so we put him out and he had no more bouts of spasmodic until we brought him into work this spring, after that we brought him into work slowly, put him onto shavings so he couldn't eat his bed, fairly low quality haylage and a handful of ordinary pony nuts, and touch wood he has been alright since.
 
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