Re: colic jitters

[avpinc@bellsouth.net]

Betty,
     No one in their worst moments would think any horseperson "stupid"
for
being
worried about and wanting to know more about colic.  My 27-year old mare
colicked for the first time in her life one month after we moved to
Florida
from
CT.  I've had her since she was 3 yrs. old.  Preceding her colic she had
been
"sqirting" and had diahreah on a regular basis, but my vet up north
didn't seem

to think anything of it, just "something that older horses do".  I
wanted to
have
her checked more thoroughly, with an ultra-sound or something but he
poo-poohed

my concern and treated it with a prescription to bind the diahreah,
which
worked
temporarily but she continued to have symptoms.  Meanwhile, no colic, so
I
really
didn't do much else at the time.  It turned out that she probably had a
'lith
started
in her stomache but we'll never know because when she colicked here in
FL, I
had another barely competent vet (who is no longer in business) who
waited so
long, and screwed around for over 24 hours, until she was obviously in
severe
distress.  He also did not tell me (although I requested information)
about a
treatment
center in Ocala, 1 hour away, where they specialized in colic treatments
and
surgery.
     Thank God for a lady in the neighborhood, Edith Whiting, to whom I
spoke
at
a friend's suggestion.  Edith is a long-time endurance and LD trail
judge and a
very
experienced senior horsewoman who had had similar problems in the past.
Without
knowing me from a hole in the wall, Edith was at my house in 20 minutes
with
her
trailer, loading up my little mare and hauling us to Ocala to
Peterson-Smith
Veterinary
Hospital.  At first the Doctor thought she would be O.K. but kept her
overnight
for
observation, and when she didn't pass any manure, they did a "sound" on
her
stomache
and discovered a large impaction which required major surgery.  During
the
surgery,
they discovered that her intestine was twisted, and the only thing that
kept it
from
strangulating was the impaction pushing against it.
     The good news is I now have a very healthy 28-year old mare who
gets
imported
alfalfa hay (the local "coastal" hay being the partial culprit), much
better
dental care,
a very thorough worming program (Strongid C 2X-with Ivermectin twice a
year),
bran, oil, alf pellets.....you name it, she has it.  Plus I watch her
like a
hawk.  My
present vet (who took over while she was in the hospital for a week)
says he
has
never seen such a remarkable recovery from this type of surgery, even on
a
horse
half her age.  (I attribute it in part to my singing to her every day 
when I
visited in
Ocala--and the vet techs agree...smile)
      The point of this is, sometimes, even the most cared-for and
beloved
horses
can colic and only people like yourself who are on the ball and catch it
early,

can save them from disaster.  On the other hand, if I may make a
suggestion,
I have been told by experienced travelers that they never give their
horses hay

during a trailering trip unless it is a long trip and water is available
during
frequent
stops.  If they cannot drink and are given hay, they may be prone to
getting
impactions
or blockages (same thing?).  Personally, I would baby a horse for a
while after
a colic
experience, and ask myself, just how important competition is compared
to the
life and
health of a friend.  It probably wouldn't hurt to err on the side of
caution.
     I now keep one of my company's products, Anico syrup of Buckthorn ,
on
hand
just in case I get a scare.  It is a mild cathartic that helps settle
the
upset, gets things
moving along, and moves gas out of the system--at least that is my
experience.
E-mail
me privately if you want some other suggestions for my personal "ounces
of
prevention"
which, in my case could have been worth $4,000.00 cure!
                                         With best wishes for good
health,
                                                       Linda Flynn & 
Mecca's
Ayhan--one of the
                                                            greatest
horses of
the Universe and especially
                                                                  
Ormond Bch,
FL
Wolgram wrote:

> I hope that all you very experienced ridecampers and endurance riders won't
> think I am totally dumb and/or paranoid but I just had my first experience
> with a colic last weekend and it scared me to death and now I am looking at
> my little mare like she is going to drop dead any minute.  My husband and I
> trailered our horses to a wilderness area about two miles from our home and
> rode for about 4 hours, then trailered home. I had fed my horse some hay in
> the trailer manger going and coming home and about 15 minutes after we got
> home (thank god before I turned her back out to pasture) she started
> wanting to go down, no kicking at her belly or sweating or anything that
> really looked like what I had read about colic but I started walking her
> around and she pooped and would walk fine for a few minutes then almost
> crumple up.  We called the vet who got there in about 45 minutes, kept
> walking her ...when he got there he gave her banamine in the vein and some
> other pain killer, then mineral oiled her...she had pooped three or four
> times before he got there but was still in a lot of pain.  When he passed
> the tube he found an obstruction of hay at the entrance to her stomach...it
> went on through and then she was fine.  It's been a week and she is OK, her
> gut sounds have been a little quieter than usual but still good.
> What I am mainly concerned about, never having experience this before, is
> we have a 2-day 50 mile CTR in two weeks and do you think she could do it
> all right?  I took her back into the mountains this weekend and rode her
> pretty slowly Saturday and Sunday; she ate and drank well and seems to be
> fine.  Maybe I'm overreacting but I don't want to hurt her.  Pace for this
> CTR should be no faster than 5-6 mph ride time.  Any feedback would really
> be appreciated.
> Thanks.  Betty in Craig, Colorado
>