Colicking mare...

[~Dan]

Well hello forum family. My mare, Polly, is colicking once again. I do not know what could be causing it. She is overweight which may have something to do with it and she doesn't drink much water. I brought her in and she was eating her grain kind of slow but was eating her hay just fine. She seemed to have a normal amount of manure in her stall this morning and this afternoon when I got home from school. She was laying down when I last checked her and was laying down but wasn't rolling or thrashing she got up and ate some more hay that fell into her stall and peed while I was talking to the vet. She told me to call her in about an hour. However there is one thing I'm worried about. I tested out some compressed ground up corn cobs where her and my gelding pee the most but I left them dry. They were nibbling on them so removed them. My gelding, Titan, seemed to have eaten more than my mare, Polly. I imagine she the shavings would have expanded a long time ago right? any ideas any one? I'm going out to check on her soon and call the vet again.

Dan.

 

[rimmerpaints]

Colic is very scary! I never play around with it and get the vet out. Listen to her tummy do you hear it moving and rumbling? If not its colic for sure. Her getting up and down like she is sounds like a sign to me. You know your horse better then anyone. Listen to your gut call the vet. I dont know if the corn cobs caused it or not wish i could help ya but i say get vet out colic can be very dangerous. Let us know how she is

 

[chandab]

I too would call the vet. And, I'd ask the vet if ulcers were a possibility, as they can present like colic; and horses with ulcers do skip their grain, but eat their hay, so just a thought.

And if she is overweight, she doesn't need grain, perhaps just a vit/min supplement or a ration balancer (with her hay/pasture) to be sure she gets everything she needs without extra calories she doesn't.

 

[Bonny]

Maybe also soaked and shredded beet pulp to add fiber and water to her diet. Could also be sand colic, so she may need some sand clear. I would also call the vet...

Hope she feels better soon.

 

[~Dan]

Thanks so much for the replies guys. I called the vet and she said to simply keep an eye on her. Since she has urinated twice and passed a normal sized pile of manure and is up and walking around her stall bright eyed and chipper. I gave her a little hay soaked in warm water which she took willingly. She does this bull garbage quite often. She does not drink nearly enough water and I'm currently soaking her grain. She is on a half of cup of Nutrena smart start? smart choice? something along the lines of that and is getting quality grass hay and no pasture (I took them off for the winter). I think I will start her on some sand clear at least until snow starts falling and give her some electrolytes on her grain anyone know of any specific brand is better than others? And I never thought of ulcers before Ill deffinatley look into. Her teeth were checked and they had no sharp points, I will have blood drawn however as you never know what could be hiding in her system. Now she does have a floppy crest and is overweight could she maybe be insulin resistant? or a thyroid problem? could and unmanaged one cause colic? my gelding is on the same diet turnout schedule as her and they both have been dewormed for the fall. She seems to colic quite often she colicked twice maybe 2 weeks ago, twice in September and twice in July and once in January and did the exact same thing the previous summer. I'm wondering if there's an underlying issue as this is ridiculous!! any other advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Dan.

 

[kaykay]

I have found when a horse acts colicky without really colicing its usually an ulcer. I would try giving tagamet, if it makes her feel better you know its an ulcer. If its not an ulcer she will be the same and the tagmet wont hurt.

Sending good thoughts on your mare.

 

[~Dan]

Thank you KayKay where would I find this tagamet Tractor Supply? Is it in the form of a paste or gel? a powder? Orally administered like a dewormer through water or sprinkled on the feed?

Dan.

 

[chandab]

Thank you KayKay where would I find this tagamet Tractor Supply? Is it in the form of a paste or gel? a powder? Orally administered like a dewormer through water or sprinkled on the feed?

Dan.

Tagamet is a human a "heartburn" medicine, the generic would be fine too (its a tablet, you might be able to get by with putting it in her feed or you can crush it mix with a little water or applesauce and syringe it in). You can also get horse ulcer meds, like Ulcergard paste, U-gard pellets or liquid, and others; TSC would probably have one of the horse ulcer meds (not sure, but I think I saw Ulcergard there last time, but could be mistaken).

 

[~Dan]

Tagamet is a human a "heartburn" medicine, the generic would be fine too (its a tablet, you might be able to get by with putting it in her feed or you can crush it mix with a little water or applesauce and syringe it in). You can also get horse ulcer meds, like Ulcergard paste, U-gard pellets or liquid, and others; TSC would probably have one of the horse ulcer meds (not sure, but I think I saw Ulcergard there last time, but could be mistaken).

Thank you Chanda. I will deffinatley look into this. I am going to be calling the vet in the morning (she wants an update) and suggest ulcers to her and ask her about tagamet and using some other ulcer meds. Next time I'm at TSC Ill look for Gastrogaurd.

Dan.

 

[Carolyn R]

Did you check her temp?

It is not unusual for an infection and low grade fever to be the underlying cause for a mild colic.

 

[Eagle]

When you mentioned floppy crest and overweight it made my heart sink. I have been through heck and back with my stallion in the last few months. His first symptoms were floppy crest and bloated tummy. I had his blood tests done and then it all went down hill. He was on deaths door for several weeks. We still don't know what is wrong with him but many things have been mentioned.

Pssm. Cushings, Hypothyroidism, Hyperlipemia,

He is starting to pick up now slowly but he still looks awful. If I were you I would monitor her carefully. Take her temperature and measure her heart beat as well as listen for stomach movement.

Fingers crossed.

 

[mizbeth]

I doubt that TSC supply has Gastroguard as it would be a prescritpion. Tagament would be at any drug store, grocery store. I mix tagement with mylanta, disolve and give by syringe via mouth two times s day. Gastroguard is your best bet but is expensive to give - again worth it. I would also take her off her grain and give her only hay for a while, if you have fresh grass, let her eat that too. Try a salt block or minieral block for her as well, it will make her thirsty so she will drink or simply add electrolytes to her feed or by mouth to make her drink.

Is she bred? Some bred mares have morning sickness (I call it) it acts just like colic, well is colic for them.

Is your hay soft stemmed? It is important that they get good quality hay, green, soft stemmed so it is easy to chew and easy to digest.

Good luck.

 

[LAZY J MINIS]

RECENTLY I'VE HAD A STALLION WANTING TO COLIC. TALKING TO MY FEED GUY ABOUT IT, BECAUSE I HAVE SANDY SOIL HE SAID HE COULD BE INJESTING SOME WITH HIS HAY. HE HAD ME TRY ROLLED BARLEY, ADDING SOME TO HIS FEED. IT HAS BEEN 2 WEEKS NOW AND HE HASN'T HAD ANY PROBLEMS. HE IS ALSO AN OPTIMUM POOPER NOW, HE WASN'T BEFORE. WORTH A TRY, IF NOTHING ELSE IS SUSPECT.

 

[kaykay]

Yes you have to get gastroguard from a vet. If I dont have any on hand I try to tagament first because if the horse gets better, then I know I am on the right track before I purchase the gastroguard. This is especially good if its the weekend and you cant get to the vet office.

 

[~Dan]

Once again thanks so much guys. She is doing much better and passed 4-5 piles of normal sized/consistency of manure in 6 hours! I unfortunately have no thermometer (yes I know i MUST get one) does anyone know if I can find an equine digital thermometer? Id feel much better using one of those then a regular glass one. I will be getting in touch with my vet over the weekend. Now I was thinking the next time she acts colicky (yes I would contact my vet first) but doesn't seem to be in too much pain I think I would try giving her some form of Ulcer meds Gastro Gaurd or otherwise and see if it helps any. It isn't all the time she acts "off" but maybe if she does have ulcers its whenever they flare up? And thanks for your concern Eagle, but Iv owned her for coming 3 years and shes always had a floppy crest even at her old barn and she was slim and driving at the time (hope to get her started again in the spring).

Iv been researching symptoms of ulcers in horses and she seems to have some such as the chronic seemingly senseless colics etc, shes not on a very large amount of grain and I think the reason should she have them is all my fault. Im in high school so I stall the horses during the day as I don't trust my fence the horses respect it but I simply don't feel safe leaving them out in that type of fencing. So i think the long hours of stalling may be causing it.

She gets good high quality soft leafy green mixed grass hay which both of my horses love.

Any other suggestions still would be appreciated. Thanks.

Dan.

 

[sfmini]

You don't need a horse thermometer, any digital will do, just go to the closest pharmacy or grocery store.

 

[kaykay]

Now this is just my thinking and this is your horse so you do what you think is right

I would go ahead and try tagament for a few days to head off another attack. Ulcers can be very serious if they are left untreated. It cant hurt her and it could help heal things up in her tummy.

But please do what you feel is best or better yet call your vet and discuss it over the phone.

I absolutely agree that horses stalled alot are at higher risk of ulcers. this is why you see it in a lot of show horses.

Sending good thoughts!

 

[Matt73]

Your vet may have a cheaper form of Gastroguard. It's a suspension of Omeprazole (the active medication in Gastroguard). Gastroguard is just a very expensive brand name. I used the Gastroguard on my filly but then my vet gave me the cheaper suspension; it would have been much more expensive using Gastroguard as they have to be on it for a minimum of 28 days. Exact same stuff, but much much cheaper (I believe it was $35 for the bottle of suspension that lasted the full 28 days compared to almost $50 for a tube of Gastroguard that lasts 5 days...$300! compared to $25

).

Sending good thoughts...

 

[~Dan]

Thanks so much guys. I will deffinatley purchase a new thermometer and keep it solely for the ponies. I will also get some tagamet and keep on hand and try some different ways to get it into her maybe syringing it or crushing it up on the grain. Thanks for the good thoughts Matt. I will do a trial run with the Tagamet and see how it goes.

Dan.