In 2 months, four cases of colic and two deaths

Tootsie4U

Tootsie4U

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Aug 19, 2002
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Im begining to worry. Thats alot isnt it?

Another horse, aged 28, died last night. Not just of old age, but from impaction. Last month, a 9 year old died of the same thing. Two other non-fatal incidents of colic also.

Its winter here, full blown, with about 20 inches of snow on the ground, and more expected this week. I have always heard winter is rough on horses, but is this typical!?!?!

Could it be about them not getting enough water/hay?

:( :( :(

Is Bonfire in danger? He is thrown two flakes in the Am in addition to his one coffee can sized scoop of pellet grain. Then they go out to a bare field where all they have to munch is tree branches. THen they bring him in around 5 pm, give him three flakes of hay for the evening, plus one coffee scoop of grain + one coffee scoop of hay cubes. When Im there to intervene, I ration his hay so that he gets one flake to eat as soon as he's in, then gets the grain, and then about an hour later, I give him his remaining two flakes.

Gosh, am I over reacting? :S
 
It does seem very worryingly high:( I know you have rough winters over there but surely it shouldn't be that hard on them. I'd definitely be concerned about them not having any hay/grazing when they are out. The combination of the lack of water in the am and the lack of food during the day will certainly increase the likelihood of colic. I'm sure Bon will be fine, but I think you are right to be concerned as it does sound a very worrying situation.

We don't get that amount of snow but I am certainly expecting my 23yr old to be fine in a foot or so of snow this winter, with only natural shelter, no rug and only basic feed (hay and a handful of pony nuts).
 
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i'd be concerned i think. horses are designed to be trickle feeders, so long periods with no food will mess up their peristalsis and give rise to impactions.
but bonfire is young and healthy, and i very much doubt he's in danger. can you give him a bigger water bucket, so that he has enough left in the morning to last until he gets more? quantity-wise, the amount of feed is fine, but i would be anxious about it being given infrequently.
 
Water wise, give Bon a plastic dustbin fulll of water. It should last him all day and you'll only need to wash it out and fill it each evening.

And yes, it does sound above average.
 
Is Bon wormed regularly? Tapeworm damage has been attributed to a very scary percentage of all serious impaction colics. I hope there is a good (ie recommended by your vet) worming schedule at your new barn as tapeworm damage plus the lack of grazing and water is just asking for trouble (even with a young horse).
 
As Es said horses are trickle feeders and should not be without fibre for longer than an hour.

Is there anyway that you could split his rations, maybe divide his feed into 5 or 6 rattions over 24 hours.

Another thing to consider is that have you checked the hay is of good quality, also is your worming programme effiecient.

Best of luck Tootsie
 
I think it sounds high too. The impaction could be a water issue since a lot of horses don't like to drink in cold weather but they need more water than normal. I have heard of putting a little table salt in their grain to make them drink more water. How much turn out is BonFire getting? A lack of exercise can contribute to impaction too.

I'd be watching very closely.
 
About worming, Bon's done every two months in the winter and every month in the summer. Rotating wormer schedule of course. He's due January 1st.

He's still drinking one regular sized bucket of water through the night, in addition to free choice trough water in turn out. His poops seem fine.

He's boarded full time and I work full time so I cant help that he's fed two large meals :(

I have never worried about colic before - he's the hardiest horse I've ever met. :( This is not fun.

Ah, I need my own place!
 
Surely if he is boarded then you should be able to talk to the YO and ask if they can change his feeding regime? If needs be offer to pay a little extra (like £2/$3 per feed) for each feed on your weekly bill or offer to pay for extra hay. Most yards will do that as they appreciate that not all horses are the same and can't have the same routine each day.
 
what wormers have Bon been given over teh past 6 months? Since the first frost has he had a tapeworm wormer as not all wormers cover tapeworm. In the UK we use a double dose of Strongip P or a singel dose of Equimax, but I have no idea what the products in teh US are that cope with tapeworms. I'm sure some others on this board can help.

bye!
 
Ivermectin (Ivercare, Equimectrin & Zimectrin), Panacur, pyrantel pamoate (strongid paste), and Anthelcide EQ (Benzimidazole) off the top of my head. He's scheduled for some Ivermectin in January. I always compare and read labels, but I cant remember if any treat tapeworm. Thanks Sarah for the input so far.

Have you any experience with "Quest" - I think thats what its called, the wonder wormer that is supposed to kill all and last forever? I've heard that some horses cant take it.

anuvb, yes, I can talk to YO and she will, for an additional half the board Im paying now. Man power, extra hay, extra grain :( Im still trying to get to that other western barn to see what its like there. From their website, it says free choice hay 24/7 so that would be a plus....
 
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Did you say hay cubes???

One of our mares cannot have hay cubes. She doesn't drink enough water (although she has plenty of free-choice water) to prevent them 'clogging her up' so she's no longer allowed to have them. She colics when we give her more than a handful every once in a blue moon.

Just an experience...
 
Tootsie - are you in an area where there aren't a lot of barns?

Around where I am (Ontario, Canada), there is so much competition for boarders that almost every barn offers round bales in the winter and three feeds a day. If boarders ever thought the horses weren't getting water, there would be a mass exodus!

I would definitely be worried about the colicking. Colic can hit any horse no matter what age.

If I were you I would look for another place. Nothing is worth worrying about your horse when you are not there.
 
hello!

Is it obvious that i can't be bothered to do any work?

Anyway, back to your wormers, Strongid paste is the only one listed that can deal with tapeworms. You need to give twice the normal dose (about 2 tubes) with the first and last frost - we do ours in October and march in the UK.

Quest is a great wormer, but doesn't touch tapeworm. There have been a few problems with it due to the pulnger being abit sticky then horse being given too large a dose when it finally starts to move. If you squeeze a bit out first then it all moves more easily.

There is a lot of confusion about how often horses need to be wormed, but it looks to me like Bon might be dosed a bit too frequently, and not at all for tapeworm. You do need to rotate your wormer, but annually - ie worm year one using say Ivercare, then year two using Panacur or whatever, with the tapeworm dosing done twice every year and an annual dosing for encysted small redworm.

bye!
 
I know Kelsey :( Im 5 hours away from family and plan to leave for a few days over the holiday. I cant run to the barn and check on him :(

I live in a place where every YO feels that her boarders are there to bow down and worship the place. She is doing us a favor and if we dont like it, there's the door. I've heard my previous YO say this in fact.

I just cant wait to find my dream house on 20 acres...
 
Wow are you serious Sarah!? An entire year giving only one type? I think thats unheard of over here! Every month in summer and every other in winter is pretty standard too, at least in this area.

With double dosages, do you have to worry about allergic reactions?
 
I've heard the other problem with quest is that its extremely important to get the correct weight because if you overdose (Ie most people give their horse the whole tube rather then bother adjusting the weight.) the horse can have a bad reaction. I've only read about it in a deworming article, so don't know if its true.
 
Originally posted by Tootsie4U
Could it be about them not getting enough water/hay?
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Yes. Impaction, from everything I've read and seen, is most likely to be caused by poor management.

(That said, Kat had a mild impaction colic a little while ago, and the vet told me that I was doing it right. He said not to change anything about how she was managed.)

Is Bonfire in danger?
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Could be. I'd worry. Of course, I'm manaically paranoid about such things.

Gosh, am I over reacting? :S
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Definitely not.

Nothing much to add to what everybody else said...just that I hope maybe this other barn works our for you?
 
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