One Sunday Morning - A Horse Colic Story
By L u n a r
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7th Oct 2010 •
5,686 views
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5 comments
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I have been riding for quiet some time loving every minute of it and learning every step. From Colic, to cuts, stitches, to being cast I've seen a lot of it. I don't have pictures for every one, but I do have a story for each and this one starts something like this.....
My Dad had brought me to the barn for my regular Saturday lesson. My horse was out in his field along with his Buddy Dollar. I've had Moose for about 10 months now and we have gotten to know each other pretty well. I am him and he is me. Our personalities match almost perfectly. SO when I walked to fetch the pair, everything seemed fine. He cantered up to the gate and whinnied, excited for me to take him to his breakfast of grain and hay and maybe even for our ride.
I led the two in at the same time, one on my left and the other on my right. Moose was walking particularly slow. But I just figured he was tired from the night out. we got near the barn door when Dollar spooked and side stepped out of my loose grasp. He just wandered two feet and stopped at the grass but then Moose did this odd move. He bent all four of his legs slightly and just stood there, lowered. I started to get a feeling something was off but dismissed the thought immediately.
I grabbed the two and put them in there stalls. The morning was cool and the temp had dropped the night before so I didn't even bother to check and see if they we're hot. Neither had shown any signs of running or exercise so I thought nothing of it.
I then went to get my tack out and put on my chaps and spurs. I then went out and talked to an older rider about a young horse she was trying, The gelding was very cute.
When I went back into the barn to get Moose for the he was standing in front of his fan napping. I slid open the bolt and got him out. When I reached out to pet him, he was sweaty. This was very odd. I pulled him out and cross-tied him and he did another strange move, almost like he was falling. That was it, I grabbed a lead shank and started walking him around the farm. I called my trainer (who is also a non-practiceing vet) and she said she'd be out soon. As soon as I hung up the phone, I pressed my ear against Moose's stomach. Nothing. My beloved horse was colicing.
I began to hand walk him (A process that lasted for over 3 hours) and he only got worse from there. He started trying to throw himself down, pushing me out of the way, he knocked me down once or twice. He got worse and worse, we gave him a laxative (similar to Pepto Bismol),but that didn't help either. We gave him sedatives a couple times, he burned through them too fast. We had since called the vet and he too gave my poor horse tranquilizer and 8-10 IV bags. My horse still tried and tried to trow himself down.
We decided to haul him to a near by Horse Hospital. We loaded him into the trailer and drove for two hours. Two hours or forever, which ever you like to call it. He stayed up in the trailer and still. the Medic team was waiting for us when we got there. When I went around to the trailer to get my horse he seemed better, ears up and alert. They put him in the stocks and did a full exam. The found a little edema around his colon but nothing else, they still wanted to keep him over night though. So, horseless we went home.
In the car we discussed the possible causes of the Colic, the best we could come up with was this:
He had gone out earlier in the morning and hadn't had water in his stall before that. They had put him out before filling his water buckets. Although there is water in the field he did not drink it, he most likely rolled impacting his colon and the lack of water had made it stick. When I brought him in, he chugged a bucket of water, making himself uncomfortable. This led to the colic. most likely his colon jolted loose in the trailer which is why he was better when he arrived.
He is fine now and Showed the next weekend.
The moral of this story is to be sure to know your horse and trust your instincts. Even though in the very beginning he seemed just a little off, I knew him well enough to know better. Also, be sure your horse has water at all times, I now check my buckets constantly when I'm there.
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weezapony
Moosey! Glad he was okay!
Moosey! Glad he was okay!
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Oct 7, 2010
• 4,335 views
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Oct 7, 2010
• 4,353 views
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Run Free
ya glad hes ok he so cute
ya glad hes ok he so cute
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Oct 9, 2010
• 4,346 views
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Pintie
I am so glad he is okay!
I am so glad he is okay!
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56 days ago
• 4,348 views
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May 2, 2011
• 4,372 views
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