Urgent advice please spasmodic colic....

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Gemsie

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Hi there everyone,

My old lad (29 yrs) was showing mild colic symptoms yesterday morning, I gave him a full syringe of coligone and walked him for half hour and he instantly perked up, the craps and kicking stopped and he looked much more comfortable.

Last night when I went to bring him in he was cramping up again and cow kicking so, even though his symptoms were mild - I called the vet out.

He has had an internal - nothing sinister to be felt, he had a little bout of colic last sept and had full bloods done, nothing came up there, he is wormed up to date (last worming 2 weeks ago) heart rate is normal, vet gave him some buscapan and pain relief and said basically not to worry about him, the vet left me some bute incase he is still a bit off colour this morning.

This morning he was cramping and kicking again, so have given another syringe of coligone and 2 bute sachets.

He has settled down again and has been turned out in a small paddock (vet advised last night to keep his routing as normal as symptoms were so mild).

He is still having the odd tail swish and a cramp perhaps every 5-10 mins (was every few mins when I got the vet last night)

He is passing droppings and weeing as normal..

He had the bute about an hour ago, and has improved since - shall i give him another hr to see if he is back to normal or call the vet out again?

Just to reiterate his symptoms are mild - no sweats, no pawing, not trying to roll , heart normal - but he just seems a bit off colour with the odd cramp and kick...

I got the feeling last night the vet thought I was being a bit melodramatic last night calling them out when the symptoms were so mild - I just worry about the old fella had him 20 yrs.... and other than a wee bout of mild colic last sept and now has always been tough as old boots.....

Many thanks for reading and I welcome your comments..

Gem
 
Here are some indication if our pet horse are experiencing colic: lack of appetite, elevated pulse rate no digestive sounds, sweating excessively, pawing at the ground, turning of the head and kicking to the belly and rolling violently. If you encounter this signs, don’t panic, just call your vet and take his vital signs, include the digestive sounds, respirations, pulse and temp. and be ready to report it when the vet came. Don’t give anything until the vet arrives.

But what are the causes of colic in horse? Internal parasites are the most common cause of colic in horses. And it can contribute to many problems like respiratory, digestive and performance problems. As an owner, you can prevent it by pet wormers and following the instructions of your vet.

“Animals are reliable, many full of love, true in their affections,predictable in their actions,grateful and loyal. Difficult standards for people to live up to.”
Frontline From IVET and Drontal Plus Veterinary Supplier. Derbyshire, United Kingdom
 
Hi

We went through a similar problem with our 20 year old gelding. He started having colic symptoms at the beginning of March. The vet came and gave him the usual stuff but the colic kept coming back. He spent the next few months in the field having mild colic symptoms, sometimes once a day, sometimes every other day. He was able to cope with these and once the symptoms passed he was fine again so we left him too it. We only had to call the vet out once in all this time when he was a little worse than usual. However for the last few weeks he has been fine, no colic at all.

We think that possibly it was the new grass coming up through the spring. Or possibly it was a tape worm. He had his tape wormer quite late (end of April) and the vet said that a tape worm can cause mild recurrant colic.

I hope your boy is alright and that this might reassure you a little.
 
Thanks Jojo2404,

Yes your message is reassuring, I dont think that my lads problem will be due to worming as I am a complete control freak about my worming plan and pooh pick the field everyday... I am a control freak about pretty much everything with regards to my babies routines so know that some of the usual causes (worming, change of field, change of feed etc etc) are not relavant in my boys case.

The vet thinks it may just be that his digestive system is getting a bit less hardy in his old age,

I have spoken to the vet this afternoon and as his symptoms are mild they dont think it necessary to come out again at this stage - but will do if he goes downhill.

For now he is just out in the field with the occasional cramp and kick but other than that is fine in himself...

Thanks again, and I hope your geldings phase of colic is well and truely over - its so stressful and worrying..

Gem
 
My horse had had about 25 attacks in the five years I've owned him. Out of those 25 I've had the vet less than a handful of times. The vet advises me to give him 3 - 4 bute (he is 17.1hh) and put him on the walker for 20 mins. Then put him back in his stable, and if he is not displaying normal behaviour or if I am still worried to call him. This has always worked well, but it is important to reiterate that my horse has always had the same gassy spasmodic colic, even when on very limited grazing with limited turnout. Our yard used to be a dairy farm and the grass will always be richer than anywhere else.
 
Hi there dozzie,

Thanks so much for thinking of us, he is still a little bit twitchy and has a little bit of minor cramping this morning - but he is much better than yesterday.

He has eaten all of his (very tiny) haynet and his toilet (both wee and pooh) are normal, as is his water intake.

I am just about to call my vets and update them, but am sure that they will not feel it necessary to come out to him again today.

I am going to head into work shortly (I actually feel like I can leave him today) and my Mum is going to keep a check on him every hour and text me with progress reports, obviously if he starts to go downhill she will call me and the vets.

So fingers crossed it was just a nasty bout of spasmodic colic which seems to be easing now.

Thanks again for thinking of me and my old fella, it means a lot.

Gem
 
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