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  Discussion on Mini stallion post-colic loss of appetite, bloat
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Member:
Bethyg2

Posted on Sunday, Sep 17, 2006 - 2:42 pm:

Hello all,
I am having a problem with my miniature stallion. He was obviously not well last Sunday morning, and I transported him to the vet hospital that evening after the nasal gastric tubing failed to help him pass manure. He went down a few times and I walked him but I knew he needed help. So he spent two and a half days there, on IV fluids and several tubes with water and oil. The vet said he was ready to come home Wednesday morning.While there he had x-rays and a sonogram. The vet said he had a large colon impaction/ and classified it on the discharge papers as mild. When he got home he had 3 minutes of grass every 4 hours and half of a coffee cup of equine jr, watered down and soft like soupy oatmeal.
Next day a little more pasture, and now (Sunday) he is back to regular turn out which is about 10 hours a day.
I am convinced he is not normal. His stomach is out more than normal, looks bloated, and he will eat about 4 or 5 mouthfuls of his normal food then push it away. He eats grass OK but seems pickier than usual, not with the usual gusto. He has been passing manure but this little horse is not normal. Definitely more lethargic than usual though he is alert. Because he has a tendency to eat shavings I keep him on very fine shavings but he still eats them. so now at night he wears a muzzle that prevents this.Since his hospital stay he has not been without this muzzle.
But my concern is that there are shavings in the cecum that are causing this malaise, but still allowing him to pass manure. Is this possible? I am his "mom" after all, and can tell that he is not himself! Dr. What do you think shall I call the vet out again? Maybe I should just keep him inside for a while...perhaps some banamine. He does not seem to be in distress and is spending the mid-day sun hours in his stall with a fan and he is sleeping right now. But isn't grass the best thing?I am thinking the bloat may be from a week of poor if non-existant nutrition. (he had shipping fever some years ago and the same thing happened- his stomach bloated out like he was starving). The hospital stay cost several thousand dollars and we are just about out of $....as you probably know equine insurance requires payment in full before you are reimbursed. I am just so concerned. Any observations of post colic behavior would be much appreciated.-Beth
Member:
Twhgait

Posted on Sunday, Sep 17, 2006 - 5:56 pm:

Beth, I agree that there's nobody better then you to know your horse and if you think he's still off, he probably is. I would think the same thing if he were my horse. Can you follow up with the vet that just discharged him? I'd start there and follow Dr. O's instructions on colic until you hear back.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Sep 18, 2006 - 7:31 am:

Hello Beth,
What part of the colon did they diagnose as impacted? Also what are your current mini's vital signs and is the manure (amount and consistency) normal? What tests did the veterinarian run and what were the results?

Lastly, I notice you have an unusual deworming program. Have you been using the daily Strongid more than a few years, there are problems with persistent use of this product, see deworming overview for more on this.
DrO
Member:
Bethyg2

Posted on Monday, Sep 18, 2006 - 12:41 pm:

Dear Doctor O,
The report says "vital signs within normal limits, horse comfortable, slightly low neutrophil count, subjectively less motility in the right dorsal colon on abdominal ultrasound. Small amount of sand accumulated in ventral colon, and a moderate gas cap revealed on radiographs." Then it goes on to say that although the colic was unresponsive in the field, the horse is now OK. Doctor said not enough sand to be the cause.He was given metronidazole and Trimethoprim but it was discontinued on discharge. Please note that this is a little mini, maybe 31 inches, maybe 165 lbs.(my guess)Very delicate features, not sturdy looking IMO.
I think that we put him back to normal grazing way too fast. I had to be away Friday and relied on someone who works for me (But not in the stable!) and she just figured he looked oK and put him out.( She said he wanted to go out and she felt badly for him!)The doctor said to gradually increase his grazing and Friday he had way too much. He is now still bloated but is passing manure OK, but does not want to eat his pelleted grain as he normally does (he will eat a little then move away.)This morning he ate 3/4 of his mushy equine JR but several times walked away. Is it possible that he is bloated because of one week of very bad or non-existant nutrition? (He once had shipping fever as an eight month old and got really thin and did bloat up like this before he got better- the answer was counter-intuitive, to give more, not less, food). Could it be gas? I am having him rechecked late this afternoon- I hear gut sounds but what do I know- I'd like to have a vet listen. Right now he is inside with a fan, muzzled, and going out for grass every hour for 10 minutes. A lot of work. but worth it to get him back on track. Sorry for the long post, I value your opinion. And I have to say I agree with Kim, that's good advice, no one knows your horse like you do.I just know he is not right. -Beth
Member:
Bethyg2

Posted on Monday, Sep 18, 2006 - 11:49 pm:

Dear Dr. O,
Mini passing manure and seemed comfortable so I decided to avoid vet visit. His manure looks normal except for this- the fecal balls are sort of packed into two or three discrete groups, sort of two or three balls of fecal balls. Does not look dry like the impacted stuff he passed earlier at the hospital but not normal for this animal nonetheless. What could that mean? He has passed manure like this all day. Hmmmm. Otherwise seems quiet. He is showing more interest in his food- I decided to break up his meals and fed him 5 times today, small meals. Still he is at about 2/3 his normal feed amounts. But he finished and licked the pan. I will do same tomorrow. His stomach looks just the slightest bit less bloated.Friday it looked like it would burst! I was in a panic. So that's the plan-I hope to get him back on track with the small/ frequent meal regimen.
Dr. O I feel like I should get him on a better deworming plan but I am reluctant to do anything until he's normal- maybe a panacur power pack in a few weeks.I thought the daily strongid was OK...I am going to read about it right now. -Beth
Member:
Bethyg2

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 19, 2006 - 12:07 am:

Dr O, went back and read overview of deworming, all my animals have been on strongid 2x since I have moved to this property which was November of 03, so coming up on 3 years.There were horses on it before ours, before we bought it. We are I guess-now- a low risk situation, very few equine visitors, and they just pass by, and the minis don't mix with the other equines. We have lots of wild animals that roam around at night, raccoons, armadillos, pigs, etc. So should I quit the pelleted strongid for a while? Would the sonogram taken at the hospital show evidence of worm infestation, enough to cause this problem? Because I watched the sonogram, the vet didn't mention worms. Or is this more of a clinical diagnosis? Sorry for all my questions, I just hate this whole colic mystery thing. My vet said she had a rash of colics the same day, perhaps owing to the lightening storm/ change of forage because so many Floridians put their horses in that day.I may choose to take my chances with the lightening next time. -Beth
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 19, 2006 - 7:05 am:

The sonogram would not reveal parasitism Beth and neither do I see a description of the impaction. Is your mini continuing to improve? You should get a fecal done Beth to evaluate where you are with deworming.
DrO
Member:
Bethyg2

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 19, 2006 - 10:24 am:

Dear Dr. O,
The mini looks brighter today, stomach looks more normal, but still not 100% himself-didn't finish all mash this AM. The vet's report of the impaction is pretty vague but is it possible to be more specific with a large colon impaction in a 165 lb.mini? I do know that many colics remain a mystery- I did see very dry manure that passed at the vet hospital. But all we were able to tell on the sonogram was "subjectively less motility in the right dorsal colon on abdominal ultrasound." The diagnosis sent to the ins. company was "mild large colon impaction." The need to know without a doubt what causes this (his second colic)is overwhelming- I have had a very stressful 10 days.The weird thing is that since his last colic a few years ago I have had him on wet (like oatmeal) pellets 3x per day plus alfalfa cubes soaked, no hay whatsoever(as per my vet), and grass turnout 10 hours or so per day. And this still happened.Could a lightening storm and being put in the stall a few hours earlier really do this? My wonderful vet just called to follow up and suggested we put him on gastroguard, just in case he may have developed an erosion with all these changes in diet and stress. Sounds good to me.Maybe that will bring him around to 100%.Next step is getting a fecal done on all the animals. I am so thankful to be practically next to a state of the art vet hospital/ surgical center. -Beth
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 19, 2006 - 6:39 pm:

Sounds good Beth.
DrO
Member:
Bethyg2

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 19, 2006 - 8:47 pm:

Does anyone think that an ulcer can form post-colic, in about a week? I am thinking that this may be the problem....especially with the restricted eating. -Beth
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Sep 20, 2006 - 9:09 am:

Possible but getting him on a largely or wholly forage diet should correct it.
DrO
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