Colic Season-Some things to help prevent it!

[cutiepiepmu]

Well - in the last 2 weeks it is obvious we are in Colic Season. Seems like every year as the weather changes, a mass amount of horses get sick with colics from one reason or another.

There are a few things during the weather changes that you can do to help protect your horse. I know I am doing it... while it may not prevent underlying/pre-exisiting stuff - it can help with impaction and dehydration colic.

During the weather transitions - it is not uncommon for horses to not drink as much - this can cause mild dehydration and lead to impaction from te colon being too dry.

An easy rememdy for this is to add a daily dose of Electrolytes or increase daily salt by adding 1/2-2/3 tablespoon of plan, non-iodized salt to the ration daily when feeding.

i am also feeding some wheat bran and psyllium during the next couple of weeks. Both add a little more bulk and help keep things moving through the digestive tract. The average size horse does well with 1/2 pound of WHEAT bran daily(not rice bran) and 1 cup metimucil(regular kind not orange) or a dose of sand clear. Add some water - it will make things stick. Not many horses are keen on eating a big powdery meal

also - if you feed soaked food - such as hay pellets, beet pulp, ect. Add extra water. It is a simple way to get more water into the system.

Warming the water can help as well. For my horses, I put a secondary bucket of warm water with an apple cider packet in it inside their stall at night Generally will increase water consumption by at least 1/2.

Also - for your thinner skinned horses, older or arthritic horses, a light blanket can help keep the chill off as their bodies transition to handle the cooler weather. A warmer horse will drink more water

hope that these tips help. I have had more clients than I care to have their horses colic and it is always heartbreaking to see our kids suffer with a bad belly ache.

I recommend keeping Paste bute and paste banimane on hand in case of colic as well. And, if you board that the barn staff knows the contact info for your vet in the case your horse does colic.

Sara

[qhflicka]

Have read in many articles that Arabs, Morgans and Drafts are more prone to colic than other breeds.

Here is an interesting article explaining WHY some breeds are more prone to colic.

www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=14993&src=VW

Predicting Colic: Some Horse Breeds at Higher Risk
by: University of Illinois
September 30 2009, Article # 14993

From reviewing statistical data from large populations of patients, researchers have noticed that certain breeds of horses are predisposed to certain types of colic.

For example, Elysia Schaefer, DVM, an equine surgery resident at the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Urbana said strangulating lipomas are common in older Arabians and Quarter Horses. A lipoma is a benign mass of fatty tissue that forms into a circular ball. It is unknown exactly why it starts to grow, or why Arabians and Quarter Horses are predisposed, but it has the ability to cut off blood flow to the intestinal tract.

As the ball of fatty tissue begins to grow, it drops further and further into the abdomen as a result of gravity. The stalk, or piece of tissue that is still attaching the lipoma to the mesentery (a membrane that suspends the intestines in place) can become wrapped around the intestine, causing a painful problem for the horse and an emergency for an equine surgeon. Fortunately, not all lipomas will need surgery. Some might hang out in the horse's abdomen for a lifetime without ever causing signs of colic. However, it should be noted that in a few cases suspected lipomas are identified as malignant versions called liposarcomas that can metastasize to other parts of the body.

Miniature Horses come just a bit smaller, but not necessarily with smaller problems. "Miniature horses are prone to fecolith impaction," said Schaefer. In contrast to the lipoma, which causes pain and loss of blood supply by strangulating the bowel, fecoliths, a hardened fecal ball, can impede the normal flow of food through the intestines. It too causes colic, although in most cases it is not an emergency. Miniatures with this problem typically present with slow, progressive, intermittent abdominal pain.

Standardbred, Tennessee Walking Horse, and Quarter Horse stallions are also predisposed to scrotal hernias. In contrast to the reducible and non-emergency type of scrotal hernia sometimes found in young male foals, where you can manually move the intestines back into the abdominal cavity, "most of the scrotal hernias in adult males are non-reducible and will strangulate the bowel," said Schaefer. In short, these hernias are emergencies. Again, why certain breeds are more prone to this life-threatening problem compared to others is unknown.

On a final note, although anyone who smokes is at an increased risk for lung cancer, it doesn't mean that everyone who takes up the habit will get the disease. The same holds true for horse breeds. If you fall head over hooves for that petite Arabian, don't let the statistics about lipomas sway your vote. Nearly every horse breed has a predisposition to one disease or another, and until equine surgeons can get their crystal ball working, no one knows what the future holds.--Ashley Mitek

[cutiepiepmu]

I read this article as well - itwas a neath thought about the breeds. i CAN say that more of my clients with QH's and horses with deeper girth/chest areas seem to be more prone.

Sara