Dolly Colicked! Very mild, but why?!

HairyCob

HairyCob

Has anyone seen my mind?
Mar 18, 2002
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Dolly has been living out so far this year, and is very happy with that. However it's been so wet and windy this past week, I decided to bring her in on Tuesday night, to give her and her rugs a chance to dry off and give her a break from the mud.

No problem, bed laid, haynet filled, water done, Dolly in and fed, stable rug on, and all seemed fine, for once Dolly actually seemed grateful to be in!

Got to the yard at half seven Wednesday morning, haynet just about empty, little white head whickering at me over the door, all seemed fine.... except for a suspiciously clean stable.

Got Dolly out, seemed OK, tied her up on the yard to change her rugs, and she started swishing her tail and kicking at her belly:eek:

Having panicked and run round like a headless chicken for a few minutes, I got my act together, checked for gut sounds (minimal) and started walking her round.

She settled down pretty much immediately, and when I tied her up on the yard after about twenty minutes, she was straining to get to a lone tuft of grass and did a huge sloppy pooh!:rolleyes:

Needless to say I rang the vet for advice and was told it was probably mild colic and as long as she was no longer kicking herself, was eating and had Poohed, to keep an eye on her but she'd probably be fine.

And she was/is fine:D

What I'm not sure of is WHY she colicked (if indeed there was a reason!)

My initial thoughts were change of routine being in, having more hay than she's used to (usually has a flap in the field at night, but rarely eats much as there's still grass!) and being unable to move around so much.

Does anyone agree?!

Now I'm terrified to get her in incase she does the same again only worse- she was supposed to be in tonight as farrier coming first thing tomorrow, but she's out in the mud and I have a VERY early start instead!

Any advice on how to avoid her colicking in similar circumstances in future would be welcome!:)
 
To be honest i dont think theres much more you can do, unless you fill up your haynet with grass. Maybe she's eaten her bedding as well or something? (thats if she's on straw). I think once she's settled into her routine it shouldnt happen again.
 
Did she get hard feed that she doesn't get in the field???

Maybe this is a one off and she might have just eaten summat in the field!!!

Nikki xxxx
 
lady did that on me quite recently too. although she had to get an injection to relax her gut and pooped about half an hour later. vet said they have mild bouts of colic all the time. we don't realise because we're not with them 24/7. don't know how true that is though. vet might have been trying to calm me down. lol:D
 
Thanks for your replies!

Not recently wormed, had same hard feed as she gets every night and doubt she'd been eating bedding as she's on shavings...though with Dolly-fat-bird, anything is possible!:D

Haven't 'extended' her fencing tonight, in an attempt to encourage her to eat a bit more hay and get used to it- the field is usally 'expanded' by a bit every day and evening, just to make the grass last a bit longer (she and her field buddy really don't need 4 acres all at once!!) but there's still loads of grass in there;)

Guess I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and get her in again soon and hope the same (or worse!) doesn't happen again:eek:
 
My welshie has had several bouts of mild benign spasmodic colic in the years we've had him. Apart from trying to keep routines same / change slowly, there's not a lot you can do (apart from obvious like ensure no access to acorns etc!).

Our vet said exactly the same as Keep The Faith's did - that these episodes are more common than we realise but we're just not there to witness it every time. Try to think of it as a bit like a grumbly tummy after we've eaten a curry!
 
Skeeter colicked for no apparent reason last December. Relatively mild like your case. His routine had not changed in any way - there was just no reason for it I could think of. Sometimes it is just a one-off and hard to see why it happened. He has not colicked (at least to my knowledge and while someone is around to see it) since then.

Glad Dolly is feeling better. :)
 
My vet always says why don't horses get colic, not why do they. Their digestive system is very badly designed, the gut is very long & only anchored at each end so bits of it tend to wander about & get kinked, very like a hose can when you're washing the car so nothing gets through. Apparently it is also far better to digest in the foregut & burp like cows than digest in the hindgut & fart like horses. So if you're really worried about colic, buy a cow & ride that.

Seriously, I have more reason than most to be obsessive about colic having lost my wonderful cob to it suddenly in June. The fact is that you will never foresee or prevent every attack, however, so I think avoiding things that we know can increase the likelihood of an attack & having good awareness of symptoms and treatment is probably the best you can reasonably do as a conscientious owner.
 
Is your soil sandy at all?, my girl suffered terrible colic after picking up to much sand while on restricted grazing, just a thought.

TBH the only thing I would probably do is soak her hay, it could just be that she didn't drink enough as she is used to getting alot of mositure from the grass, then she stuffs on dry hay and it just kinda bunged her up a bit.

There often is no explaination for colic, I would just carry on but be a little more aware of it, and ask everyone to keep an eye on her, just in case :D
 
Apparently it is also far better to digest in the foregut & burp like cows than digest in the hindgut & fart like horses.
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FOFL! Sorry I know this is a serious thread but that is such a brilliant funny way of putting it!
 
Oh dear! :(

I'm glad she's better now! Maybe, she just took advantage of the warm dry surroundings and scoffed her haynet too quickly. We all do it! [Maybe not with haynets though!] :)

xxx
 
She probably colicked because of the change in routine upset her gi tract. Grass is essentially a natural laxative, so to go from that to hay is a bit of a shock to the system. This would've been made worse if she'd been eating straw. I think she may have been impacted (essentially constipated) which would explain the lack of droppings. Best things to help are mild exercise (within reason, don't necessarily walk a colicking horse endlessly around, they'll only end up knackered) and offer something like a bran mash or a pick at grass, again both have laxative actions. If signs persist though, need a vet to check. Mild impactions can resolve spontaneously, worse ones need medical treatment (pain relief, fluids etc). Hope this helps!
 
She could have just had a bit of gas that she needed to pass! Tali had a little bout two weeks ago when she was first on the last of the long grass. We reckon it caused a gas build up and it went away within 2 hours. My sister felt a bit guilty because she was getting cross with her on the way back on our ride as she wouldnt go forward into a contact, then when we got back Tal colicked, but we weren't to know that was why she wasnt being her usual self!

The only thing you can do is bring her in again and see what happens. Perhaps check on her after 2-3hrs in and go up a bit earlier in the morning if you are worried.
 
HC--had she drank any water that night? My mare colicked this fall and we realized the tank was empty plus it was very warm that day. She was dehydrated, and the skin pinch proved it. She recovered quickly after some electrolytes and many attempts and getting water down her throat.
 
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Phantom had mild colic once from being put into a different field, luckily he was at livery at the time and I had a very nice man on site who kept an eye on him through the night.

Strange thing, colic, hopefully it was just a one off. These horses are so damn sensitive aren't they?

P.S, haven't seen a post about Dolly for aaages, maybe i've just missed them!
 
Echo Jessey, what's her water intake like? My welsh mare coliced twice because she'd stuffed herself with hay but drunk hardly any water. Colic eventually claimed her life in july, so now i'm neurotic about soaking hay and making sure my 2 horses drink plenty.
 
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