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Re: [RC] [AERC-Members] vets?--colic - Susan GarlinghouseHaven't heard a definitive answer back from any vets yet re: whether stomach ruptures can occur other than as a result of an impaction colic--but several people have posted me privately with examples indicating that they can. Yes, they can, although I'm not a definitive answer on the subject. I do know that any sort of lesion in the stomach can contribute to weakness in the wall and thus to rupture. And lesions can be the result of gastric ulcers, neoplasia (a cancerous tumor), some forms of parasites. Primarily, stomachs are going to rupture just because of a buildup of pressure of gas and fluids because of some sort of outflow obstruction, whether that be a mechanical blockage (such as a twist) or dysfunction in motility (from electrolyte imbalances, loss of blood flow, etc). There are lots of other issues that also commonly cause impactions, such as enteroliths, sand, fecal impactions and so on, but those more commonly occur back in the large intestine, which would not cause problems way up front in the stomach (it's not impossible, though---NOTHING is impossible when a horse is colicking). Anyway, the bottom line is that we just don't know what caused these stomach ruptures, and there's no way to point a finger at any one factor, or even a group of factors and say, "this is what did it". I know the vet committee is working hard to try and figure it out. In the meantime, we just don't know. I assume all the horses were necropsied, I've only heard of two---and neither of those horses had lesions such as ulcers sufficient to explain a rupture. Therefore, that leaves pressure as the most likely issue, without a lot more information to pin it down further. Susan Garlinghouse DVM =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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