Colic!!!

Monday, February 16, 2009

After Takoda's lesson was finished, I turned him out for a couple of hours. I went to get him well before dark. When I approached the gate he was lying just on the other side of it, head down. I waited until he saw me, not wanting to disturb his nap. He saw me and then laid his head back down and closed his eyes. My gut screamed that something was wrong, but not wanting to be an alarmist, I waited a bit longer, and began to approach him slowly. When I got right up on him and he didn't get up, I knew something was very wrong. Knowing how reactive he can be when turned out, I decided instead of trying to get him up myself, I would try just bringing Laramie over near him, because he generally moves away from her, as she is a bit more assertive than he is. He heard her coming, peeked at her with one eye, then his head flopped down on the ground again and he closed his eyes. When she was within a few feet of him and he didn't budge or even look concerned, I began to panic!

I attached the lead to his halter, at which time he raised his head but still he did not get up. I asked him to stand, gave a gentle tug, and he finally, with great effort, rose to his feet. He did not shake himself off like he usually does after a roll. I walked him very slowly toward the barn, watching each of his feet. They all looked fine. I took him to his stall where he immediately laid down flat again, eyes closed. Now I knew something was terribly wrong. It was almost dinner time, and he didn't even glance at his feed bin! As I was dialing the vet on my phone, I noticed a chunk of his hair on the cross rail in the middle of the barn. Had Beauty kicked him in the head? I went back to his stall to check, and his face and head looked perfect, except his eyes kept closing. I watched his breathing, and it did not appear to be labored, which I took as a good sign, but at the same time it was disconcerting as laying flat for too long can make it hard for them to breathe well.

The vet told me to give him a 1000 lb. dose of banamine and walk him for at least 10 minutes and see how he does. She would be there in 45 minutes. I went back to his stall again, this time he didn't even flinch or open his eyes. I wondered if I could get him up this time? Well, I had to, this was not optional. Mentally I flashed back to November when Willie was in the very same stall colicking. I simply had to walk Takoda, and I wasn't even afraid this time. I managed to coax him to stand, and he very calmly let me lead him out of the barn. I had Jeff hold Laramie (who seemed to know something was wrong and wanted to keep tabs on him) while I walked Takoda in small circles at first, and then increasing the diameter with each go-around. He seemed to want to be able to see Laramie, so I made sure to walk past both ends of the barn so he could see her each time he turned. He never spooked at anything, despite the rush hour traffic on the highway, and we only "whoa-ed" when he was looking for his friend. I couldn't have asked for more out of him. On leading him back to the barn, I made him stop before the barn, in the barn and before his stall, just for practice, and because I wanted to delay him laying down again.

Once in his stall, he pawed the ground as he does before he lays down, but I guess the banamine had begun to work because he didn't look like he wanted to expend the effort to lay down again. He stood with a drooping head in the back of his stall, eyes closed. The interminable wait for the vet always makes me a little crazy inside when there is a real emergency like this.

She finally arrived and it was dark out. Thankfully Jeff had installed another set of lights in the barn and we had plenty of light in the aisle way to work. A thorough examination (after sedation) revealed a heart murmur which would have to be monitored over the coming months and possibly the beginning stages of an impaction, though she couldn't be sure. His temperature was 98 (normal) and his heart rate was normal, as was his breathing - all very good things. She tubed him (put a tube down his nose into his stomach) to give him water and electrolytes and the minute the tube hit his stomach we both knew what made him colic - onion grass! Onion grass, even in small quantities can be terribly irritating to some horses. His stomach gasses reeked of onion, so she suspects he had more than enough to cause him some pretty significant gas pain.

I removed all the hay and food from his stall and put him back in. He needed to let the sedative wear off. I will be checking on him every 2 hours tonight, and if his pain subsides once the banamine has worn off (8-10 hours after the last dose), then he is out of the woods and can have half his normal breakfast.

I will definitely post an update when there is something to report.