Recurrent low grade colic

[Holidays_are_coming]

Worried about my mare for the last 8 weeks she has had recurrent low grade colic, first time she was really distressed and rolling so got vet and it was mild a shot of buscopan and she was fine, she tends to do it when she comes in from the field and usually the onlt signs are pawing the ground and floppy ears, with sometimes a bit of tails swishing and belly kicking. She had a worm test which is clear, and I put her on a balancer which seemed to help, but now its happening again, she is on a high fibre diet of adlib hay and grass with hay in the field. The only feed she has is chaff and balancer, so ulcers are not a obvious option.

Her work has not been affected nor has her weight, I spoke to a vet tonight and Ive had to give her a bute, and im calling the vet in the morning, im thinking maybe blood tests and a scope but Ill see what he recomends does anyone have any ideas or experience?

 

[glenruby]

I would certainly recommend a blood test at this stage. Then probably a scope if nothing else shows up. She might also benefit from a pro-bioticas well as any treatment necessary.

 

[Nari]

I'd get another worm count done & a blood test for tapes since they won't show in a standard worm count. If they're both clear then I'd be pushing to get her scoped, just because a horse isn't an obvious candidate doesn't mean they can't have ulcers.

 

[Holidays_are_coming]

Thanks she has had both a blood test and egg count for worms and both were clear, thanks for your ideas

 

[hairycob]

4:18 am - crikey you must be worried! She was fine at 6am

 

[twinkle]

maybe think about gastric ulcers.

my girl who has never had colic had it over christmas twice with another milder colic ended up scoping her and she had gasric ulcers easy to treat but very expensive so hopefully insured.

 

[vetsbestfriend]

Could also ask your vet to see if it is worthwhile doing a rectal biopsy. The tissue sample reveal can reveal what is going on inside her.

Hope you mare picks up soon.

 

[Holidays_are_coming]

Thanks hopefully will speak to vet tomorrow, she was fine today and she has been eventing recently with no problems!! Its seems just to be when she comes in from the field some days!!!

 

[brightmount]

Maybe Coligone would help your mare. There are 2 varieties, the liquid which is aniseed or the powder which is mint. I have experience of using the powder for my mare who went through a phase of gas colic. It's quite strong so if your horse is fussy, you may have to start with a little bit and increase up to the recommended dose. It is very good though and well worth giving it a go.

http://www.hbradshaws.co.uk/

 

[Birker2020]

Worried about my mare for the last 8 weeks she has had recurrent low grade colic, first time she was really distressed and rolling so got vet and it was mild a shot of buscopan and she was fine, she tends to do it when she comes in from the field and usually the onlt signs are pawing the ground and floppy ears, with sometimes a bit of tails swishing and belly kicking. She had a worm test which is clear, and I put her on a balancer which seemed to help, but now its happening again, she is on a high fibre diet of adlib hay and grass with hay in the field. The only feed she has is chaff and balancer, so ulcers are not a obvious option.

Her work has not been affected nor has her weight, I spoke to a vet tonight and Ive had to give her a bute, and im calling the vet in the morning, im thinking maybe blood tests and a scope but Ill see what he recomends does anyone have any ideas or experience?

My horse has had about 60 + attacks of low grade spasmodic colic over a six year period. He hasn't had hardly any in the last two years but got colic last week whilst we were out competing. I rode him through it. This is the best thing to do with this type of colic. He was fine after about 30 mins. My vet has always said just to give him three or four bute, put him on the walker for 20 mins, put him back in his stable and if he still shows colicky symptoms call him out. This works really well, but I have to stress this is because of the type of colic he has, i.e gassy colic. And we know the horse really well.

His colic is due to the grazing, our yard used to be a dairy farm and the grazing is very rich. I even have to watch the haylage off our fields as it is very full of sugar and makes him fat. He has pink powder one scoop in each feed, ie. two a day and this is REALLY GOOD. He used to wear a muzzle but I found that if he lost the muzzle which they invariably do, he would gorge on the grass and then get colic, so it was better to regulate his feed with letting him be turned out for less periods of time. He can go a about 7 hours now, or overnight without developing colic, but its been a slow process, and as last weekend at the jumping showed, he will still get it from time to time especially when the grass is coming through like it is at the moment.

 

[Holidays_are_coming]

Thank you applecart, im thinking this maybe what she has but Ive spoken to the vet who is coming out tomorrow, with plan b and c, think I want to scope for ulcers just to check!! But we will see what happens!

 

[Birker2020]

Thank you applecart, im thinking this maybe what she has but Ive spoken to the vet who is coming out tomorrow, with plan b and c, think I want to scope for ulcers just to check!! But we will see what happens!

Yes it could well be ulcers. I didn't want to go down this route with my horse due to him having colics because I felt that if ever he had a colic which got out of hand and necessitated surgery I wouldn't be covered on my insurance had I had this investigated previously.