Comments on: Colic Surgery Guide

By: Brenda

Brenda — Tue, 26 Jul 2016 12:18:50 +0000

My horse had a strangulation colic in Jan. Fatty tumor tied small intestine shut. He had surgery and was doing quite well. Then, a month later started to have mild belly aches. Six months later, he is still having these belly aches. I am not sure what to do with him. $7000.00 for surgery and I just can’t keep spending more money for this.

By: Katie

Katie — Fri, 20 May 2016 12:22:12 +0000

This is an excellent article Thank you for posting it. My precious boy Dakota had colic surgery and was doing extremely well. Five days after the surgery his abdomen ruptured and I lost him. That being said I would not have done anything any differently. My horse meant the world to me and I gave my boy every chance I could for a full recovery.. I am totally devastated . What makes it worse is that I visited him every day and he was doing great.. Every report I got was great. The day he passed I had just been with him not even 2 hours earlier and he got to go outside and in the sun and eat some grass. He was ecstatic ! I was ecstatic . Then I got home and the unthinkable happened. As crushed as I am , and believe me I am , I still would not have done anything different I am glad he had the surgery because I just could not give up on him ! I had to try and for a while there I thought he was coming home again. heart emoticon

By: tom

tom — Sun, 20 Apr 2014 05:57:36 +0000

Great article but wondered about the risk od salmonella after surgery. We had a horse colic and go for colic surgery and 6 days after was diagnosed with Salmonella. We have 13 othe aninals at the stable and none have wxhibited and symtoms of salmonella for 3 months. WEe don’t believe the horse coliced from salmonalla contrated at the stable. What are your thoughts? Tom McGill 760-409-1336 tom@mcgillreps.com

By: o

Mon, 30 Dec 2013 23:59:04 +0000

Scary.

By: Galadriel

Galadriel — Mon, 23 Dec 2013 23:50:58 +0000

What a great guide.

By: Tia

Tia — Sat, 09 Nov 2013 04:29:45 +0000

My horse died from twisted bowel I’ve been reading some other articles and the vet did something that he shouldn’t have and that was waiting to see if he would get up so we could get him on a trailer to get surgery but the chances of him surviving was 1 in a million at that stage and if he did survive surgery he would have to live in a barn being checked on everyday newer being ridden again which wouldn’t be fair he spent his whole life living In a paddock I’m a 11 year old girl and I had never felt so upset when I saw he was sick I was expecting the worse when I saw he wasn’t in his paddock so all those horse owners who have had horses undergone surgery and survived consider yourself very lucky because like me and my beloved horse that rests in the clouds do not always have a fairy tale ending and he was the best horse and the cutest I ever knew and he was only with me for 3 months?? so please be happy your horses survived because mine didnt and it was heart breaking it has made me fearless and I never get upset anymore because I know now what I felt that day was real pain and sadness so from then I am no longer scared or upset because I know nothing will hurt more than that day I don’t really listen to music anymore cause most is about love just like I loved my horse I cry from time to time and the keyring I made with his photo in iti take it with me everyday as goodluck and I have is photo on my phone cover my parents bought me new horse to help me move on but ill never forget him so be happy every minute your with your horse
R.I.P. Mopoke

By: Robbin

Robbin — Wed, 02 Oct 2013 19:06:02 +0000

If I had the knowledge contained in this article I would have gone immediately to the vet hospital. My vet diagnosed my horse with an impaction colic (horse was dehydrated and had dried stool in his colon) and treated him with meds, fluids and tubed him with oil. Fluids were optional but I had just lost another horse to colic six months previously, and I did not want to risk not doing it over a few hundred dollars. After about 12 hours of fluids, pain meds and walking he started passing gas and had gut sounds. He also seemed to perk up and then eventually passed some dry hard stool. At that time we really thought we had made it through the worst. He passed more stool but it was very, very dark and soft. He pawed the ground for a long time and then became extremely quiet and it was as if he shut me out, which I know sounds strange. His heart rate went back up after coming down earlier. The vet came back out, did a rectal exam and noted that my horse was bleeding into his colon and performed a belly tap. The fluid was filled with blood and we ended up having to euthanize him. I have been struggling with this for months and have been searching for an answer that makes sense. I don’t think I will ever understand and will always wonder if I could have done something different. But after losing two horses exactly six months apart to severe colic, I will never risk it again and always go straight to the veterinary hospital.

By: Robin

Robin — Sun, 18 Aug 2013 17:59:55 +0000

This is a very informative article. I read it after my horse was euthanized because of colic that did not respond at all to medication. I believe his condition was caught early, and initially my veterinarian felt he would recover fully after receiving the standard treatment of pain medication, and mineral oil. However, he also was administered some mild sedation as he was not showing marked pain relief and my vet left me with pain meds and another dose of sedation. Less than an hour after my vet left, he was worse than ever; rolling more violently, not wanting to rise so that I could walk him and sometimes lying on his back in the fetal position. I again called my vet and was asked to re-administer the pain meds and sedation and call if he showed no improvement. This time the meds showed no relief at all and he had little to no response to the sedation. At this time I called my vet back and he returned immediately. The change in less than two hours was dramatic and my vet determined there was no chance to save him without surgery. Unfortunately, I live a long way from a surgery facility, my horse’s pain could not be managed and he could not be kept on his feet. Essentially, he was dying and euthanasia was the only humane thing to do. I did not want to open him up to determine the exact cause, but was interested in possible reasons, and I found this article very informative.

By: Hehehaga

Hehehaga — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 01:52:19 +0000

Great article! my horse just had the surgery 3weeks ago. He seems ok so far but am still not sure what i suppose to expect next. This article did gave me some idea of what i should ask the vet and what to look for after the surgery.

By: Anna

Anna — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 12:06:50 +0000

Cool!