The Lowdown on Colic - Part 2
By mosquito
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1st Jul 2010 •
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In our last article we talked about what colic is and what causes it. But how can you be sure your horse has colic, and if it does, what should you do?
Recognizing the symptoms of colic:
The most telltale signs of colic are the signs of pain. A horse in mild discomfort will be irritable, may paw and stamp at the ground, and will often bite at its flanks or rub its side against a fence, tree or wall. A horse in more severe pain will sweat, may roll its eyes, throw itself at fences or walls, and will try to roll. The greater the pain form colic, the more determined the horse is likely to be to roll, and the more violent his rolling can be, even to the point of thrashing, twisting, and kicking out.
However, it’s important to remember that not all horses, and not all cases of colic will show the same symptoms. Sometimes, a horse can be in the early stages of a bad impaction and show very few symptoms at all. Other horses may thrash about violently, seem fine for several minutes or even hours, and then start to show symptoms again. Basically, any time your horse seems uncomfortable or unwell, colic should cross your mind.
Less obvious symptoms include a clean stable – a horse with a bad impaction may be unable to pass droppings. If your horse’s stable seems unusually clean, especially if it has also kicked up its bedding a lot, then colic is likely. A colicky horse may be unwilling to eat or drink, and may have left hay or feed uneaten, or not touched its water bucket.
When you suspect colic, you can also investigate other symptoms if your horse is calm enough. If you listen to its gut and you don’t hear any gurgling or noises – a horse’s gut should be busy all the time – then you should suspect colic. Try listening from your horse’s ribs all the way to its quarters, to see if the noises stop along the way, suggesting an impaction. A high temperature, rapid heart rate or breathing are also warning signs – you should practice checking these when your horse is healthy and know its normal vital signs so you can tell quickly if something is wrong. Take a pinch of about an inch of your horse’s skin on its shoulder or neck, hold it for a few seconds and let it go. If it doesn’t snap back into place right away, your horse may be dehydrated, which is not just a symptom of colic, it’s a common cause too.
Write down everything you observe about your horse, because you will need to remember it all when you call your vet.
When it isn’t colic:
Many symptoms of colic are also symptoms of other conditions. Kidney stones and urinary infections often appear very much like colic, with the horse reluctant to eat, anxious to roll, and clearly in pain, and even snapping at its sides. Some cases of laminitis may look like colic too, where the horse is clearly in pain and may roll to ease the pain in its feet – and it’s also possible that a horse with colic may founder too. In any case, it doesn’t matter if you get your diagnosis wrong, any of these conditions need immediate veterinary attention, as does any horse in pain.
What you can – and should – do:
There are a lot of remedies – some store bought and some homemade – that you can use for colic, but your first course of action should always be to call your vet and not try to treat your horse yourself with these preparations. Trying to medicate your horse yourself is going to be difficult if your horse is distressed, and your remedies may interfere with treatments your vet needs to give. Even if your horse appears to be recovering, the colic may recur. Your horse may dislodge an impaction, only for it to get stuck again later further down the gut. Early treatment is vital to prevent severe complications form colic such as permanent damage to the intestine or a twisted bowel.
Do not feed your horse. Offer water, a few sips at a time, if your horse will drink. Prevent a twisted gut by keeping your horse on its feet and not letting it roll. Take your horse out of its stable and into an open area so that if it does lay down, it won’t risk getting cast or stuck. The best way to prevent rolling is to keep your horse walking, and this too may help to loosen any impaction or help trapped air move through the gut. If your horse is in a lot of pain, you may need some help someone to keep the horse moving from behind, although everyone should be careful because a horse in pain is not itself and may behave uncharacteristically aggressive and bite or kick.
Keep a note of your horse’s symptoms. Record its temperature, heart and respiration rates and the symptoms you have observed your vet will need to know these to determine how best to treat your horse. When your vet arrives, keep your horse walking until the vet is ready to examine the horse, and then keep your horse as still and quiet as you can, and answer all your vet’s questions.
If the colic isn’t too severe, your vet may dose your horse with paraffin or another lubricant, often using a tube that goes down the horse’s nose into its stomach. He or she may give your horse a pain reliever and a muscle relaxant to make it more comfortable and keep it calm. If your horse is badly dehydrated, the vet may set up an intravenous drip for fluids. Often these treatments, given at your stable, will be enough to help your horse recover, although it may take several hours.
If the colic is very severe, or the horse is too agitated to treat at your stable, chances are the vet will want to hospitalize your horse, especially if there is an equine hospital nearby. If your vet suspects a twisted gut or a very severe impaction, then urgent surgery is required. Any delay can result in sections of the bowel dying, which can lead to the horse dying too. Severe cases of colic are dramatic and very upsetting to witness especially when it is your horse. The best thing you can do is to stay calm, and try to assist your vet as much as possible. Remember the vast majority of cases of colic can be treated and the horse will recover fully, sometimes in just a few hours. However, treat all cases of colic seriously, because the consequences can be very serious indeed.
The best way to handle colic is to prevent it in the first place, so take the precautions we talked about in the last article. But even with the very best care, some horses will develop colic no matter what you do, so be prepared. Don’t panic, stay calm, call your vet, and remember chances are everything is going to be okay! |
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