KanoasDestiny
Well-Known Member
Being a newbie myself, I wanted to share my experience with others, so that it may help someone else one day.
On Monday, my gelding stopped eating hay, which was not like him. Five hours later, my filly stopped eating her hay as well. Both acted very lethargic, but still ate their grain. I called the vets immediately, just to find out that my mobile vet had retired. I called around, and there was another vet who could see them, but I had to get the horses to him (I had no truck or trailer). So I started rushing around, trying to locate one, while still monitoring them. I found a trailer right away, but still had no truck to pull it.
I was still making calls to several vets, and they told me to go ahead and treat it as a colic. I had absolutely nothing here to treat them for a colic, so I had to have my aunt come out. She gave a shot of banamine, we walked them, gave them bran, and then oiled them. Things did not get any better, and it was three and a half days before I could get them to a vet's. During those three and a half days, neither one of my horses went down and rolled. In fact, while I did catch my gelding laying down once or twice, my filly refused to lay down. But thankfully, I had a book which I had already read 4 or 5 times, and I did recognized that they had signs of colic and not just a bug. Since I have always expected "thrashing around" to be the first sign of colic, I believe that having and reading that book saved their lives.
Both horses showed very different signs of pain. While both of them acted very tired and yawned a lot, my gelding hid his pain a little better. He would back himself up until his rump touched the shelter wall, then he would rest one hind foot, then immediately the other. He would also cross his back legs, and curl his lip up. His personality was still really mellow. My filly on the other hand, was very irritable, and when you touched her, she would reach out to try to bite you. She pawed at her stomach (some times while grunting), and she would lift one front leg just a little, then the other one (her movements resembled a nursing kitten, when they knead their mother). She also continuously rubbed her head and body against anything she could find, and swished her tail A LOT. Every now and then, they would reach back and bite at their stomach, but it was more like itching their sides, not a violent biting. Both of them also passed quite a bit of manure the first two days. But it was next to nothing all day Wednesday. They also took turns with drinking, they would seem really thirsty one day, then wouldn't touch water the next. By day three, my filly's lips were white. And by the second day, they had really really bad breathe.
Until they could be seen, I was told to try to keep them as painfree as possible, to prevent thrashing (which could lead to twisted gut). So my aunt gave them a couple more shots during those three days. We also walked them around as much as possible (in 10 minute sessions) to help relieve the pain. We fed them very little, until my aunt brought over some Kwik pellets (molassis free, so it didn't hurt their tummies), which soak up water really well. I knew I had to keep food going in them, even if it was just "teeny tiny" amounts every few hours. I also had to try to keep them hydrated. I had to soak the pellets that they did eat, and syringe water into them. We also had to give them small amounts of oil, and electrolites all day Wednesday.
When the vets treated them, he said that they had a constipation blockage, but it hadn't progressed to an actual impaction yet. After three and a half days of colic, I was beyond lucky. He told me that they probably either ate something bad, or they ate too much hay with too little of water. He also said that they had quite a bit of sand in them, which worries me because I have been giving them pysllium weekly. But he treated them easily, and they have been home recooperating for the past day and a half. They are pooping normally and acting like their old selves again.
The downfall now, is that I have had to feed them "tiny" amounts of Kwik pellets every couple of hours to try to build up their appetite without over doing it. They also can not have any hay just yet, which is really bothering them because they feel like they are being starved. And neither of them will let us approach them with halters, because they fear either they'll get shots or a mouth syringe filled with nasty stuff. I have also been checking on them every 2-3 hours to make sure that they are doing well. I have gotten very little sleep since this all started, and had to take off three days of work, so I could watch them.
So what have I learned? I have learned that a book came in more handy than I could have ever imagined. That I need to be prepared for transportation, because next time it could be worse and I now have no vet who will come out to me. That having someone with horse knowledge there for you, is very important. That I need to keep medical things stocked up, incase I'm faced with ANY emergency again. That paying close enough attention to my horses habits, saved their lives. I was able to pick up on a little sign, and know that something was off before it got to the thrashing stage. That you have to stay calm, and use your best judgement in times of crisis. But most importantly...that you have to do research BEFORE something happens and to call your vet IMMEDIATELY after noticing that something is wrong.
On Monday, my gelding stopped eating hay, which was not like him. Five hours later, my filly stopped eating her hay as well. Both acted very lethargic, but still ate their grain. I called the vets immediately, just to find out that my mobile vet had retired. I called around, and there was another vet who could see them, but I had to get the horses to him (I had no truck or trailer). So I started rushing around, trying to locate one, while still monitoring them. I found a trailer right away, but still had no truck to pull it.
I was still making calls to several vets, and they told me to go ahead and treat it as a colic. I had absolutely nothing here to treat them for a colic, so I had to have my aunt come out. She gave a shot of banamine, we walked them, gave them bran, and then oiled them. Things did not get any better, and it was three and a half days before I could get them to a vet's. During those three and a half days, neither one of my horses went down and rolled. In fact, while I did catch my gelding laying down once or twice, my filly refused to lay down. But thankfully, I had a book which I had already read 4 or 5 times, and I did recognized that they had signs of colic and not just a bug. Since I have always expected "thrashing around" to be the first sign of colic, I believe that having and reading that book saved their lives.
Both horses showed very different signs of pain. While both of them acted very tired and yawned a lot, my gelding hid his pain a little better. He would back himself up until his rump touched the shelter wall, then he would rest one hind foot, then immediately the other. He would also cross his back legs, and curl his lip up. His personality was still really mellow. My filly on the other hand, was very irritable, and when you touched her, she would reach out to try to bite you. She pawed at her stomach (some times while grunting), and she would lift one front leg just a little, then the other one (her movements resembled a nursing kitten, when they knead their mother). She also continuously rubbed her head and body against anything she could find, and swished her tail A LOT. Every now and then, they would reach back and bite at their stomach, but it was more like itching their sides, not a violent biting. Both of them also passed quite a bit of manure the first two days. But it was next to nothing all day Wednesday. They also took turns with drinking, they would seem really thirsty one day, then wouldn't touch water the next. By day three, my filly's lips were white. And by the second day, they had really really bad breathe.
Until they could be seen, I was told to try to keep them as painfree as possible, to prevent thrashing (which could lead to twisted gut). So my aunt gave them a couple more shots during those three days. We also walked them around as much as possible (in 10 minute sessions) to help relieve the pain. We fed them very little, until my aunt brought over some Kwik pellets (molassis free, so it didn't hurt their tummies), which soak up water really well. I knew I had to keep food going in them, even if it was just "teeny tiny" amounts every few hours. I also had to try to keep them hydrated. I had to soak the pellets that they did eat, and syringe water into them. We also had to give them small amounts of oil, and electrolites all day Wednesday.
When the vets treated them, he said that they had a constipation blockage, but it hadn't progressed to an actual impaction yet. After three and a half days of colic, I was beyond lucky. He told me that they probably either ate something bad, or they ate too much hay with too little of water. He also said that they had quite a bit of sand in them, which worries me because I have been giving them pysllium weekly. But he treated them easily, and they have been home recooperating for the past day and a half. They are pooping normally and acting like their old selves again.
The downfall now, is that I have had to feed them "tiny" amounts of Kwik pellets every couple of hours to try to build up their appetite without over doing it. They also can not have any hay just yet, which is really bothering them because they feel like they are being starved. And neither of them will let us approach them with halters, because they fear either they'll get shots or a mouth syringe filled with nasty stuff. I have also been checking on them every 2-3 hours to make sure that they are doing well. I have gotten very little sleep since this all started, and had to take off three days of work, so I could watch them.
So what have I learned? I have learned that a book came in more handy than I could have ever imagined. That I need to be prepared for transportation, because next time it could be worse and I now have no vet who will come out to me. That having someone with horse knowledge there for you, is very important. That I need to keep medical things stocked up, incase I'm faced with ANY emergency again. That paying close enough attention to my horses habits, saved their lives. I was able to pick up on a little sign, and know that something was off before it got to the thrashing stage. That you have to stay calm, and use your best judgement in times of crisis. But most importantly...that you have to do research BEFORE something happens and to call your vet IMMEDIATELY after noticing that something is wrong.
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She sure knows her horses inside out! :aktion033: [/SIZE]
