Recurring Colic - Hormonal Problem

[belle31]

Recurring Colic - Hormonal Problem

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Bit of background, 15 year old TB mare (ex racer/eventer) I have had her 3 years and YO had her 8 years before this out of racing. For the last 5+ years she has had recurring colic getting increasingly worse the last couple of years. Always gassy colic helped by buscapan and bute. Last year she ended up in an equine clinic where she had a full MOT on her digestive system including scoping for ulcers, scanning of kidneys, worm counts, blood tests and biopsy of spleen, nothing! she had her diet changed to Horsehage HI Fibre, Slobbermash and Coligone. She had restricted turnout on cold frosty days and when the fructane in the grass would be high. All to no avail. This horse has had lots of pain, I have had lots of anxiety and worry not to mention cost as colic is now an exclusion on my insurance. But i promised her i wouldnt give up on her! There were two common factors in all this, one was the time of year as she always started early Feb around the 11th and both years she has been drinking but not urinating properly. In depseration and with a hunch I trawled the internet to see if it was possible it could be to do with her first season of the year. I found lots of information that pointed to this and colic could be a symptom. I rang the equine clinic to run it past them and they point blank dismissed it and said they would rather open her up to see if they could find anything. I was certainly not putting my baby through that. I then rang my local vet who probably thought I was losing the plot but agreed to have her in to scan her ovaries. Luckily the day she went a new vet who specialises in breeding was on duty. She asked me what she did when she had 'colic' and then went on to scan her. Lo and behold it turns out she has a big cyst in her uterus and when she is coming up to her first season she produces a hormone called prostaglandin which causes her uterus to contract which can be painfull itself but doubled with the cyst it is really painful and crampy for her. they also said the last bout of 'colic' she had was the day she ovulated. It also can cause her a hormonal imbalance. The vet said as she was in pain she would then tuck up which would cause her to gas up and also urinating could be uncomfortable. Bingo at long last I have got somewhere!! She is now on her 8th day of Regumate to stop the ovulation and vet is confident the cyst will shrink. I have a different horse, she is so much happier, pain free, not trying to kill all the other horses, is a pleasure to ride and i dont have to dodge teeth to put her rug or tack on!! i wanted to do this post incase anyone else was reading it who had a mare with unexplained recurring colic. Please insist the vet checks the reproduction system as well as the digestive system as you would never know like me. All I need do now with the help of the vet is to try and get the insurers to lift the exclusion as after all that it wasn't 'true colic' - thank god!!

 

[Sparkly Snowdrop]

Wow that's really interesting. I don't have a mare but it's still always good to know these things, thanks for posting. Well done for sticking to your guns and getting her checked, I'm so pleased you found the cause of her pain.

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

Thank god for determined owners and second opinions! Your mare is so lucky to have you Belle31. Fingers crossed the cyst shrinks xxx

 

[fatpiggy]

Are you sure the not peeing properly isn't just an in-season mare squirting? They do look as though it is painful and hard work. My old girl used to be very bad for the 5 days before she came into season properly and anyone who didn't know her would have said she was colicing. The old name for this sort of thing is, not surprisingly, womb colic. Usually I found a little walk around in hand and a bite of grass sorted things out, although I did have to get the vet out to her one day when she just went and lay down flat in the field as soon as I turned her out. Typical of her though, 2 minutes before the vet drove onto the yard the old bag got up and set off grazing as though nothing had happened!

Hormones are a right pain. They are so powerful, its unbelievable.

 

[yovon01]

Hi Belle31
I too have a very colicy mare 15 times in the last 12 month!! Gas colic usually lots of attacks in May, then a few more over the summer....never colics in the winter.
It was so good reading your post and reasuring that Im not the only one with a horse who has mystery attacks. She has been scoped for ulcers none...camera up the bottom nothing. Blood tests showed an allergy to 8 types of grass pollen. Fasting blood test showed no metabolic disorder. I too wonder whether its hormones and ovaries?? Unfortunately we have reached our limit on the insurance claim for colic and now my insurers have decided not to renew my policy as she has had a lot of treatment too for pulled ligaments in her back. At the moment she is on a course of injections to try and desensatize her allergy...not headshaking or runny nose/eyes tho?? Alice gets shape up and coligone powder everyday and carefull not to turn her out on frosty mornings or restricted if we have heaps of rain the glorious sun cas of the fructons. Coligone is such a fantastic product wouldnt be without it.
good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

 

[Livvyx]

I'm glad in the end you found out what the reasoning was, my mare had low grade colic frequently for a few months, until our vet did a scope and found out she had ulsars. Glad to hear she is feeling much better too !

 

[twilight01]

This is an interesting read, my mare had a bout of "colic" in April however she was more buckling with back end than kicking her belly and when they checked her was gassy and her overies were enlarged so they put it down to her first season of the year being strong. It's unusual for her as you wouldn't normally know she's in season apart from the eating me when her rugs are put on. I'll bear it in mind for next year and be more prepared.