foal who has or had colic surgery

[MBhorses]

Our friends 11 week old filly had to have colic surgery this week. Will you all pray for the little filly? The filly had a fecal ball that would not pass. This morning the hosiptal told our friends the filly was doing better. So please pray for the sweet filly. I know that we have alot of praying folks on here. So i want to let you all know so you all could pray for her. Once a filly has colic surgery do they colic again? Can the filly have future foals?What are signs effects from the surgery?Who has been throught this so I can share with them?They said the surgery and bills from the vet could be $5,000 and up.

thanks again

 

[lyn_j]

Melissa, maybe Jill will come on and say how things went with her filly. I know that Wendys filly also had colic surgery and I believe that they eventually lost her . When a horse has a colic surgery they can colic again. IT doesnt prevent it from happening again it just removes the blockage and whatever dead bowel is there. Sorry about the baby.

Lyn

 

[zoey829]

Please keep us posted. We will pray all is well

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[MBhorses]

This little filly is sister to one of my minis.

thanks everyone.

 

[Lisa Strass]

We've had two colic surgeries in minis. One filly and one colt that were each about 9 months old when they coliced due to blockages. Both came through their surgeries just fine and knock on wood, have been fine since. The filly had her surgery 2 and a half years ago. The colt just had his just a couple of months ago.

Believe me when I say I know how scary and expensive it is, but so far I've had relatively good luck with the little guys. Because of their small size, the sutures are able to heal much faster (less weight pressing down).

In my OPINION based on my non-professional experience, if the horse makes it through the first week after colic surgery, chances are they will continue to heal up just fine and their chances for colicing again really aren't any higher than they would be otherwise.

Good luck to your friend's filly!

 

[Joanne]

We had one colt have colic surgery years ago just before he was weaned. He has done great. The hardest thing is the post op when they want you to keep them from doing everything a foal wants to do (run and jump).

It is a bit easier when their dam is at their side. The babies seem to have more problems with ingesting hair balls. It would be good if they could tell her what they found the blockage was. In case it was sand, or an enterolith etc.

She is in our thoughts and prayers.

 

[kaykay]

we have had a couple done and all came thru with flying colors. One went on to have beautiful foals. Cody had surgery over the winter at 3 months old. Hes a sweet little gelding know playing all over the pasture

 

[frekles93]

[SIZE=14pt]I had a yearling have an impaction this last April and he is doing wonderful. The one the we had to worry about was contamination due to a tear but was on antibiotics and did great..... My cost was very cheap due to knowing the vet and staff (work there) if i hadnt it would have cost about 2000.[/SIZE]

April

 

[Jill]

Okay, the only time I've had a horse require colic surgery was when I had a 11mos old show filly, Triple H Buckin Khaki, in 2003 at a trainers. I am sure the reason she colic was that the hay that was fed at the stable was SO coarse. Some of the stalks in it were almost as big around as a pencil. The reason I feel this was "the" factor is that the surgeon told me it was as if she had access to very coarse feed.

Khaki first showed sings of colic around 4pm. Had the vet out 3x to treat medically but at the first time, I asked if it were to be surgical, when do we need to decide. My filly was insured, so money was not even a consideration. The vet said we would need to be deciding soon. We were hauling her to the hospital around midnight and were told we had an advantage as to long term survival because we acted so fast.

However, a day after they performed the initial surgery, they called to say they had to go back in. A portion of the intestine that they normally should not empty in minis (but should in biggies) wasn't emptied, but in Khaki's case, it should have been.

When we got her out of the hospital, we brought her directly to my house, where she has been ever since. We have had no more issues with colic in her and she's now 4 years out from the surgery and, we hope, pregnant with her first foal. The vet told me a long time ago it was time to start thinking of her as "a regular horse" and do what I want with her no matter if that meant showing, driving or breeding.

At the time of the surgery and for a year or so afterwards, some of my friends who I considered more knowledgable than myself were very pesimistic about Khaki's long term survival, however, the surgeon was always optimistic. My vets told me at least a year before I was ready to do so, to think of her like a regular horse vs a hot house flower.

Here is my colic surgery survivor, who I am sure happy is still with us

: I beleive she is currently about 1 month along in foal to DunIT!!!

Triple H Buckin Khaki

PS I don't actually remember how much it cost, but I'm thinking it was right around $5,000.

 

[wildoak]

We've had several colic surgeries too over the years, all are still alive and kicking.

The youngest was a yearling colt, vet said he could fix it but because of the configuration of his colon it would happen again. They actually attached the colon to the belly wall and created adhesions (ordinarily a no no), he's 9 now and just as ornery as ever. I do know someone here who had surgery on a 2 or 3 month old foal, and they came through with flying colors. Not cheap, but we have a surgical clinic in the area with an outstanding success rate on colic surgeries.

Jan

 

[Margo_C-T]

I have had two colic surgeries done on youngsters. The first, on a weaned filly, was successful at first, but the filly just kept having problems, and ended up having to be euthanized. The second, on a 2 1/2 mo. old colt, who colicked because of his 'personal habits' of being a ground vacumn, was fully successful, with a relatively uneventful recovery(within the first year afterward, he had one episode of mild colic, probably due to adhesions, which the vets had warned me about- the vet advised me over the phone what to do, and luckily, I had a bit of the needed meds on hand from when my beloved 'country' vet had literally 'lived' in my barn a time before, saving the life of my original miniature stallion who had a blockage!!-I was able to administer it and do follow-up activity, and he was fine from then on.) He was gelded after the first year, sold w/ full disclosure of his health history. He is 14 this year! About 5 years ago, he underwent ANOTHER colic surgery, this time due to sand accumulation-and he survived THAT in fine fettle, also! He now lives in a fully matted stall AND pen, and is muzzled for turn-out in the arena--because he is STILL a 'ground vacumn--but he is healthy and hearty, has garnered numerous AMHA points, and has one of the highest point totals ever in PINTO, after several years of attendance at Pinto Nationals!!

I do believe that the horse's basic 'constitution' is a big factor in its chances of recovery, no matter what the age of the horse.

14 years ago, the cost of this surgery to me was just under $2,000.

Edited to add: FWIW--I am a believer in giving pure aloe vera juice daily for a good amount of time after such a surgery. I have no proof, only anecdotal evidence from other people, but I do believe in doing so! I believe I gave @ 1/4 cup daily, via a dose syringe. Ask your vet, of course. I got mine at Walmart; it is fairly inexpensive. No color, no additives, just pure aloe juice.

Margo

 

[RobinRTrueJoy]

Had one that was impacted. They did not have to remove bowel. They made a small opening on either end of the impaction, and squeezes it through and sewed him up. Had great results The colt grew into a real nice stallion and has been healthy all these years as his new owners say.

Results may not be as good if they have to remove a piece of bowel and reattach it together, sometimes adhesions form and cause problems. Not as much as it used to since they started using Carolina rinse, it helps stop scar tissue from forming.

Surgery cost me $3500.