Urgent colic advice needed

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showjump2003

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First off I am not posting this instead of getting the vet out. Vet has already been and is on stand by.

My horse was found in the stable at about 5pm cast with colic. Not sure what came first, getting cast or colic. Vet came straight out whilst mare was calmly still on the floor and upon administering an injection she got herself up. 4 hours later she seems fine but obviously on pain killers. Told to keep her off food and just leave her in with water over night and contact him if needed. Now I was 2 hours away when all this went on so not spoken to the vet myself (parents have) so got straight in my car and drove home. I'm checking on her every 15 mins and will continue to do so. My question (will be phoning the vet later to ask anyway), her tummy is pretty noisey, good or bad sign?
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if her stomach is really noisy this means that it is contracting trying to remove any blockages and if it is making no noise at all that is when you have to worry as nothing is working but as you said ring your vet if you are worried
 
i would say good in a way if no noise at all coming from tummy it can mean gut stopped functioning and possible impaction, i dont have much experience of colic i just know thisfrom when our horses had grass sickness, i hope your horsey is ok, are you camping with her for awhile, some of horses at my livery where a bit colicey last winter from being in so much not moving around but all were fine next day. good luck hun x
 
My understanding is the same as applecart14's. If the noises seem significantly louder than normal then I'd call the vet again, I'd rather be safe than sorry.

I hope she's looking better soon.
 
Ditto what the others have said about gut noise. my mare had major colic surgery just over 6 yrs ago and has had a few further bouts of mild colic since. My vet always tells me that gut noises are a good thing as it means that the digestive system is working and what ever is inside is working its way through
 
What kind of colic did she have? Gassy colic causes excess noise in all areas of the belly. Listen to her belly at the top near her flanks and then lower down, should sound equal on both sides. you should be able to hear gurgling noise/gas moving and a 'ping, ping, ping' noise. If there is excess gas then you will hear constant excess noises, maybe even without putting your ear to her belly.

If it is an impaction, then you are more likely to hear diminished or no gut sounds on one of the 4 areas. If she just had an injection, rather than tubing, probably was a gassy colic or spasmodic. I am however sure that your vet won't mind you ringing to check what kind of colic it was and what to watch out for.
 
When my horse has had gassy colic, she has had a noisy tummy during the recovery period, and a few farts, it's all good! Did your vet give buscopan? If so, that's likely to help disperse any gas and the noises going on will be consistent with that. If she is otherwise calm and quiet then I wouldn't be worried.

Hopefully she'll be fine in the morning. Do you have any clues what might have caused it ... pasture, worming, stress etc?
 
She was wormed on sunday (made vet aware of this).

She seems ok? I'm just worried it's just the pain killers masking it? She's starving! Trying to pick up individual blades of hay out of the hay bar! God, horses are such a worry! This horse lives at my parents farm. I live 1.5hrs away with another horse who half an hour before my parents phoned bolted on the leadrope and went through an electric fence! Grr!
 
Excesive tummy noises are also bad.....my lad had this...at first thought was spasmodic then turned out to be colitis....it's very difficult to tell really unless your vet has said what kind of colic she has....obviously not impacted then??? as he wouldn't have left her.....
Please keep informing us of her wellness...and fingers crossed for you both hun
oh and yes call the vet....you want to know more he/she will be able to help you.....I asked all the time they rather this!!!

XX
 
No the painkillers will not mask colic pain for long, the pain will come through and the horse will get his initial symptoms back. That is my interpretation of things, as my vet advises I treat my horses colic (which incidentally has always been gassy colic) with 3 to 4 bute (he is approx 600kg) and then to put him on the walker for 20 mins. If the horse is displaying colicky pain after this period has elapsed when back in the stable then you should call the vet out. I am not a vet I hasten to add, and the vet knows my horse pretty well which is why he has advised this regime. He has had approx 30 attacks in 5 years at present yard, but they are all gassy and I have only been doubtful in a couple of occassions so called the vet out. Does anyone else agree that colic pain will not be masked by pain killers, only intitially?
 
I agree. If it is a serious colic, they will break through the pain killers in a matter of a couple of hours. This happended to my boy in March 08 when vet came, felt something out of place on the internal and just gave horse buscopan and finadyne. Within 2 hours he had broken through the painkillers. Proper vet then came and it ended up with him going to Rossdales for colic surgery for multiple twists in his guts.

Showjump2003, seriously your vet won't mind you ringing him/her. My vet is more than used to me ringing him.

My boy regularly gets colic as well, even had a mild bout last night. I too ended up staying at the yard late to check on him. It is worrying when they are ill but hopefully by morning your horse will be fine.
 
Just off the phone with the vet. He didn't seem too concerned with how I described her.

My main worry is that my parents live miles from anywhere, we only have farm vets. If a horse needs surgery you are talking a two hours drive. Very worried because I have been through it before. Pony had a twisted gut and by the time we got her to a vet who could operate it was too late.
 
I know how worried you must be expecially after losing one to colic before (RIP little mare), it was 10 hours between my horse first showing signs of colic to actually getting on the operating table (thanks to having to wait another 5 hours for vet to return after he broke through painkillers and then over an hour transporting to hospital), I was very lucky not to lose him. Best thing to do is to check on her every so often. Look for signs of discomfort e.g. pawing, rolling, straining to wee, pained expression in her face/eyes, tucked up tummy.

From personal experience and vet advise, I offer picks of hay/grass every so often to help keep the gut moving however, as your vet has recommended not to feed her tonight, then best not to do this.

Really hope she settles down for a comfy night and you can update us in the morning on how much better she is.
 
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She was wormed on sunday (made vet aware of this)...

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I think this is significant, both of my horse's bouts of gassy colic came on a few days after worming. One thing I did discover is that she had at some point had a tapeworm burden, because the ELISA blood test came up positive. Worming can obviously cause an impaction, but less seriously but more commonly it can cause gas colic by upsetting the gut. I think the tapeworm may have damaged my horse's gut temporarily making her more susceptible.

I put my horse on Coligone powder for about a year to rebalance the gut and she never had a further episode. Any pre/probiotic will help, especially around worming time. You could also get a syringe of Coligone for emergencies.
 
ive had this and i wont go into it to painful! are you still sappost to keep them moving? if it was me i would be up there on watch but i did that last tim eand it never helped sending you all the vibes i have
 
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She was wormed on sunday (made vet aware of this).

She seems ok? I'm just worried it's just the pain killers masking it? She's starving! Trying to pick up individual blades of hay out of the hay bar!

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If wormed on Sunday with a GOOD wormer, then the colic MAY be due to the success of the wormer. but don't worry about pain killers 'masking' serious pain - they don't!

I lost an old broodmare to acute colic 2 months ago and it was the total failure of even strong opiates (not just Buscopan) to ease her pain that forced us to decide it was time to let her go. And that state was reached over about 5 hours!

If there are good gut sounds, and she's hungry, you're PROBABLY out of the woods. Has she passed any droppings?? The other sign to look for is the colour of the mucous membranes of her mouth - are they normally pink? And if you press quite hard with your thumb on the gum, how many seconds before the whitish area you create returns to pink (should be 2 seconds or less!)
 
no noise is bad some noise is good but do much noise can be bad as well there are different noises with different types of colics make sure she is drinking pooing and weeing if worried at all call the vet!
 
Fingers crossed your horse is feeling better today.

My horse had spasmodic colic last winter, due to sudden onset of cold weather I think, not really sure what caused it.

My instructors horse has just had it - he tends to get it when they are changing their coats.

My pony was still off for a few days after, tried Pink Powder but didn't really make a difference but found that the Coligone liquid really helped pick him up, I would highly recommend getting some asap.
 
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