post colic surgery help

[hellywelly1]

afternoon all
kinda wanted some info really but might ramble so excuse me.
my big polish warmblood got rushed to rainbow equine 3 weeks ago for colic surgery for a left dorsal displacement.
surgery went well and he came home after 6 days
however since returning home he is loosing so much weight.
he is having roughly 24kilo of hay a day and 3 feeds of half a scoop of chop.
my question is what else can i give him?
im so nervous of adding things to his feed as dont want to give his gut more than he can handle.
i have asked the vet and to be honest they said it takes time ect which i understand but he has a poor weight score.
every rib is clear to see and is his spine.
i know grass will help but he cant go out for another week and when he can its only for an hour for the first week.
can any one help??
was going to ring dengie on monday but worried now

 

[redriverrock]

My Tb had a colic over xmas 2011 and was pretty poor looking when he came back but with lots of ad lib haylage, fast fibre, equi beet and micronised linseed he came back looking like this...5 months later. This was his first ridden session since his colic, we gave him so much time off as a...his condition was awful and we didnt want to burn off any calories and b...the weather was rubbish, please excuse my sons 'interesting' attire...boys

 

[be positive]

I would start by adding oil in some form, micronised linseed should be safe, a soaked feed such as speedibeet of fast fibre may be better than chop, they will not make much difference to his weight but are easy on the guts, will be easy to digest and increase his fluid intake.
A probiotic such as protexin may help restore his hind gut flora which after all the drugs could be having an effect on how well he is actually absorbing what feed he gets, I would check with the vet before using anything just in case it is not considered appropriate.
They can take ages to recover from major surgery, mine that had 2 colic ops took months to regain his condition and going out on grass helped.

 

[hellywelly1]

thank you for your reply. your horse looks cracking. mines only on chop but going to add a bit of c&c but so unsure. i really dont want to mess this up.
he is a big lad at 17.2 and normally very stocky. at the mo he looks like an rscpa case.
i dont want to sound like a drama queen but totally clueless on this sort of thing.
will try the linseed as friends have said that works.
he weight 625 after op and more like 550 ish now but he should be around 750.

 

[redriverrock]

I would start by adding oil in some form, micronised linseed should be safe, a soaked feed such as speedibeet of fast fibre may be better than chop, they will not make much difference to his weight but are easy on the guts, will be easy to digest and increase his fluid intake.
A probiotic such as protexin may help restore his hind gut flora which after all the drugs could be having an effect on how well he is actually absorbing what feed he gets, I would check with the vet before using anything just in case it is not considered appropriate.
They can take ages to recover from major surgery, mine that had 2 colic ops took months to regain his condition and going out on grass helped.

This is exactly what I did...protexin is brilliant and Im quite surprised your vet hasnt already suggested it...activated charcoal is also great at alleviating gas build up, especially as he isnt get a lot of excercise/turnout.

 

[palterwell]

Could you cut him some grass? I spent most of last summer cutting buckets full of grass for my pony after his surgery.

 

[hellywelly1]

hmm thats an idea... im on f/l tho so kinda diff i could do it in an evening.
will calm and condition help? vet warned me off fast fibre as can slow his gut down??
he is drinking loads.
the feeding info from the hospital was non exsistant really. so working blind,
we have some linseed at yard how much would you recommend??

 

[redriverrock]

hmm thats an idea... im on f/l tho so kinda diff i could do it in an evening.
will calm and condition help? vet warned me off fast fibre as can slow his gut down??
he is drinking loads.
the feeding info from the hospital was non exsistant really. so working blind,
we have some linseed at yard how much would you recommend??

Not sure about fast fibre slowing gut down, my horse had impaction colic and was advised to give fast fibre, equibeet and micronised linseed...he has necer had impaction colic again, touch wood and has come out of this winter looking amazing and colic free...phew. The really great thing for me is how much water is needed to soak the feeds in as it really helps with water intake.

 

[hellywelly1]

might try him on chop calm and condition and lind seed... having never feed lindseed how much do you give??

 

[Slightlyconfused]

Calm and condition didn't help my tb with weight gain plus it has a high starch content so isn't good for gut....why not try alpha beet? You soak it in hot water for 15 minutes and then give them it once its all mashy. That along with Alfa a molasses free and ERS pellets from dodson and horrel helped put his weight back on from his ulcers but I don't know about feeding for colic rehab......

 

[hellywelly1]

Calm and condition didn't help my tb with weight gain plus it has a high starch content so isn't good for gut....why not try alpha beet? You soak it in hot water for 15 minutes and then give them it once its all mashy. That along with Alfa a molasses free and ERS pellets from dodson and horrel helped put his weight back on from his ulcers but I don't know about feeding for colic rehab......

thanks trying to read up on it all. others have said ready mash?

 

[Rockchick]

obvs my 2 have never had colic surgery etc but ive had them both on Fast Fibre and 1 of them on C&C in the past for various reasons, and to be quite honest the only thing it did was send them both crackers! they were in a decent amount of work but still had too much excess energy however much/little feed i gave them. I know all horses respond differently but im just thinking if your lad is out of work/on box rest/limited turnout then a sudden boost of energy may not be ideal - for you or him

 

[Po Knee]

Going way back when my mare had colic surgery, she initially had Dodson & Horrell Convalescent mix and then later I moved onto Allen & Page Old Faithful which contained protexin for gut health. Although the feed is designed for older horses, and she was only 8 at the time, it did a great job until she was back up to weight

Mind you, that was about 15 years ago so there may be something more new fangled these days

 

[Dreamer2005]

Hello, my boy is nearly 9 months post op and although its been hard work its worth every penny! He was operated on at Leahurst and they were fantastic. After 8 days he came home he had lost a hell of a lot of weight. My vet and consultant told me to put him on fibre mash (the green bag of ready mash) and I had him on equivite selenium and vit e version! He is doing great, I hope everything goes well for you!

 

[Zerotolerance]

My oldest boy who's had 2 colic surgeries at 19 and 25 actually put weight on in hospital after the first surgery. He lost a bit the second time mainly due to the additional general anaesthetics resulting from the hock infection. Anyway he's been on Curragh Carron Oil for the last 6 years,recommended by vets after first surgery. It's a digestive aid with a lot of linseed oil and calcium. About £25 for 4.5 litres lasts ages. Looks like custard! Distributed by Battles so most feed places can order it in. Feed wise he has (twice daily) 1 rounded Stubbs scoop Hi Fi Senior as it's quite soft and contains grass, 1/2 scoop bran (vet recommended) and 1 scoop D&H Equine Sensitive - hollow nuggets, easy to chew, (for sensitive digestive systems).. All his feeds are very wet. i've posted pics of how well he looks under other colic topics so don't want to bore everyone by posting again.
Fingers crossed for yours.