Preview
This month’s topic is COLIC!! It’s a dirty five letter word that brings fear, angst, and worry to any horse owner.
More times than not I have been at rodeos and ropings or seen clients on weekends that have treated their own horses for injuries or colic because they were away from home or wanted to make it one more day before having to call the vet. Most people pack some Banamine or Bute on board and when the horse is sick they give it the dose their vet or friend has recommended. Please raise your hand if you have done this. (I see lots of hands out there.)
What happens if the horse doesn’t feel better after you treat him and you are on the road? Option 1: Give more Banamine. Option 2: Ask your buddy what to do? Option 3: Call a Veterinarian.
The best answer is Option 3, Call a veterinarian. But many times I see horses that have been given not only 1 but 2- 3 doses of Banamine in a 24 hour period before the vet has been called or the horse is brought in. Why is giving more drug a bad thing? First, the horse is usually sicker than what he is showing and giving more drugs can mask symptoms that tell you he needs to be looked at by a vet. Secondly, Banamine and Bute can have adverse reactions in the horse when given at large or closely repeated doses. Such effects include stomach and/or colon ulcers but yet worse is kidney failure, especially in a dehydrated horse which is usually the case in most horses with colic.
Here are some things you can do as a horse owner to determine what steps to take.
Determine what the heart rate and temperature is of your horse. The best way to do this is go to your local grocery store pharmacy and purchase a digital thermometer (usually $4.00) and a cheap stethoscope. To take the temperature you insert half of the thermometer into the rectum and wait for the beep. A normal temperature is 99 – 101 degrees F. To listen to the heart put the stethoscope behind the left elbow on the chest and listen for one minute and count the number of times the heart beats. A horse’s heart at rest will make a “lub-dub” sound and that is one beat. A normal heart rate is 30- 42 beats per minute. Most horses that have colic will have a heart rate that is above normal.
If you are going to treat the horse yourself, it is best to know what the heart rate and temperature are before giving any medication. Repeat the exam in 45 min – 1hour after treatment and if the temperature and/or the heart rate are still above normal you should call a veterinarian.
Secondly, stop feeding you horse hay or grain until they start passing 2-3 normal piles of manure. A horse’s normal instinct is to continue eating in the face of sickness as not to alert predators that something is wrong. Even though your animal looks hungry, don’t feed hay to make yourself feel better. Much like a plugged toilet, if you keep putting something in the tube you’ll only make the problem worse. However they can have as much water as they’ll drink and should be available at all times.
Lastly, if the horse continues to not get better over the course of a few hours and the heart rate and/or temperature are abnormal you should immediately find a veterinarian in the area and hold off on treating him again with any medication.
Colic is the number one killer of horses. I hope that you have found this article helpful in determining the best course of action for your horse that has colic on the road. We at CSR Equine wish you Happy Trails. If you have any questions or comments as to this article please give us a call at 406-522-4044