Recovery from colic surgery

Kat

Kat

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Not my horse, asking for a friend who isn't on here.

They have only had the horse a few months, but he's a lovely lad. Dealing with surgery and box rest so early on is a bit of a case of being thrown in the deep end though! I'm looking for some ideas advice etc to help them and the horse get through the recovery as well as possible.

He had a left sided colonic displacement, this was corrected surgically with no resection required. He's had a week as an inpatient and is now home with antibiotics and NSAIDs, the vet seems very happy with his progress. Instructions are for him to be box rested with regular hand grazing for 10-12 weeks. He's allowed, and is getting adlib hay, he is also getting small feeds of beet, with a bit of chaff, a balancer, linseed oil and a gastric supplement. He's barefoot so diet needs to be barefoot friendly as well as suitable for his recovery.

So any tips for keeping him happy while in his box, he does crib a bit at feed times so ideally want to keep him happy and distracted so he doesn't crib.

He has lost weight as a result of the surgery and restricted food during recovery, he was a bit poor to begin with so really needs to put some weight back on. He doesn't look like a complete welfare case but I am used to dealing with a poor doer and I was concerned, obviously they need to be careful about what feed he gets and how much so as not to upset his digestion. I have suggested adding a third feed to avoid increasing quantity, I have also suggested swapping the linseed oil for micronized but don't want to mess with his food too much because of risking colic. His weight seems to have gone from his topline, his ribs aren't too obvious but his spine and withers are looking really prominent, I am worried that his rugs are going to start making him sore. He needs to be rugged as he's got a fine coat, and is a bit poor. So suggestions for increasing his weight safely, and then building some topline muscle back up ready for when he comes back into work and needs to wear a saddle, and for preventing rug rubs/pressure.

Any tips for helping him (and his new owners) come out of this as positively as possible would be greatly appreciated.

Finally any encouraging/positive stories of recovery from colic surgery?
 
Mine took months to get the weight back on, he was also not a good doer, I would give 3 or even better 4 -5 tiny feeds each day and replace the oil with micronised which will be easier to increase gradually without putting him off eating, but otherwise they will need to be patient, mine had the op early spring, was not out until autumn and didn't really look completely right until the following spring when the grass picked up, he was in full work by then so his muscles were built up on his topline.
If haylage is allowed that would be worth trying a mix of both could really help.

Longer term mine was best out 24/7 or as long as possible every day, he did have several minor colics over the following 12 years and it tended to be when he had for some reason had his grazing restricted, he had a generally normal life, competed in all spheres and was lost to a serious colic 12 years later aged 22.
 
Thanks that's all good to know, and reassuring.

I'll suggest increasing the number of small feeds to get some more feed into him.

Their yard offer a choice of hay or haylage, they went with hay as that was what he was on before they got him and they didn't want to make any sudden changes. I think the vet has told them to stick with hay, not sure whether that is just to avoid changing things or whether there is another reason.

Once he is allowed to be turned out he will be turned out as much as possible. He lived out for the first month or so they had him just coming in for a couple of hours for a feed, net, groom and work. This was in an effort to keep things similar to the routine he had been on to help him settle and because they felt it was best for his brain and his body to be out as much as possible. He then started coming in at night for winter. I think this will be the routine that he goes back to, getting as much turnout as the yard can provide.
 
One of mine had colic surgery but fortunately did not need a resection. I was really surprised at how well he looked when I picked him up and he had only dropped a little weight. We started off with very short periods of hand grazing which we were slowly able to extend although this was in the summer so the grass was better.

I would advise your friend to ask the treating vets as to what they recommend regarding feeding but with B it was little and often. He was also on hay. I keep my horses at home so it was easy for me to arrange for him to always have company whilst he was on box rest. He also greatly enjoyed his treat ball which kept him entertained.

8 years on and he has never had another episode of colic.
 
Can't help with any useful advice, but if they're worried about rugs rubbing over withers/spine, I'm sure I've seen a post (either on here, or in the Twitter Eventing group on facebook) where someone has sewn foam pads along the rug to lift it off the horse's back? Might be worth a search, just in case they get rubs. Hope his recovery goes well.
 
Oh @sport horse it absolutely isn't getting overfed, it only has about half a scoop of soaked beet at a time with a handful of chaff, they are small feeds. The vet care plan is being followed, and nothing will be done that conflicts with the advice. I'm looking for extra tips, and these will (if relevant) be checked with the vet before implementing.

I got some brilliant advice here when mine was lame with hoof problems, suggestions that the vet would never have made but which the vet agreed to and which helped enormously. I am hoping HHO can do the same this time.
 
Kat said:
Oh @sport horse it absolutely isn't getting overfed, it only has about half a scoop of soaked beet at a time with a handful of chaff, they are small feeds. The vet care plan is being followed, and nothing will be done that conflicts with the advice. I'm looking for extra tips, and these will (if relevant) be checked with the vet before implementing.

I got some brilliant advice here when mine was lame with hoof problems, suggestions that the vet would never have made but which the vet agreed to and which helped enormously. I am hoping HHO can do the same this time.
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Just concerned - I have had one have colic surgery and it is always touch and go and the after care has to be spot on. I would not add any single thing without running it past the vet. Good luck - I am 18 months on but it was a truly awful experience.
 
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Another to suggest going back to the vets and asking their advise as they will know what and how much extra to feed and when.

When OH's oldie lost condition due to overzealous use of dental drill I used boiled whole Barley which I cooked overnight in a slow cooker. It was sloppy he loved it and it did the trick. Following winter he was fine as teeth had grown and been floated correctly. Only problem is he is now head shy for dental treatment and has to be sedated..........
 
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I actually wouldn't be trying to add weight for a while. His gut needs some time to heal, and he'll do better if he's a bit underweight for a month or two.
You'll probably find that he starts to put weight on with the existing diet, after a few weeks anyway.

I'd also be wary of building topline muscle - to do this you really have to tighten abdominal muscles - and he's got a rather large hole in his abdomen at the moment (the skin is sewn, but the other tissues don't heal very quickly). That's why you are box-resting in the first place (with controlled exercise) - so his innards don't become his outtards. :D
 
Shilasdair said:
I actually wouldn't be trying to add weight for a while. His gut needs some time to heal, and he'll do better if he's a bit underweight for a month or two.
You'll probably find that he starts to put weight on with the existing diet, after a few weeks anyway.
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He's more than just a bit underweight. He was a bit underweight before the surgery and they were being very careful to add weight slowly with a fibre based low sugar diet. I have a poor doer myself, I'm not one of those people who thinks that the slight hint of visible rib means a horse is too skinny, and I felt he needed to gain weight before the surgery. Post surgery I was quite shocked by how much his spine was protruding and how skinny his neck was. I appreciate that it is going to be slow going though and everything needs to be approved by the vet. Luckily they have some decent grassy areas for hand grazing so hopefully he will be able to get a decent amount of grass.

Shilasdair said:
I'd also be wary of building topline muscle - to do this you really have to tighten abdominal muscles - and he's got a rather large hole in his abdomen at the moment (the skin is sewn, but the other tissues don't heal very quickly). That's why you are box-resting in the first place (with controlled exercise) - so his innards don't become his outtards. :D
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Good point! That's probably more the medium to long term!
 
Mine gets ready grass which he loves is putting weight on him but is a slow drip feed ... he dropped a lot of weight 6 weeks post surgery and we added the ready grass which helped a lot. It I ran everything past the vet before I added it
 
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