Colic & Horses on Stall Rest

[Dressage.For.Life.]

My horse has been on stall rest due to lameness and today he coliced-- He was found this AM lying down, not interested in his grain (then he got up and started pawing). He had no gut sounds and a temp a little over 101 degrees. He received 5cc of Banamine and was hand walked until the vet made it out about two hours later...at that point the vet was able to find gut sounds on both sides and his temperature had returned to 98 degrees. Soon after he passed manure and he's continued to do so throughout the day.

As for my question, I know horses on stall rest are more prone to colic, but is there anything that can be done to help prevent it in horses who are on stall rest? I think someone on here said that they'd collect grass (via a weedwacker) and give that to their horse to eat while on stall rest but it's freezing out and there's snow on the ground! Is there anything else that can be done? TIA.

[Fharoah]

Is there any chance your horse is ulcer prone? Is your horse on reserpine which can cause colic? You could use ulcerguard for the duration of stall rest.

[ImJumpin]

Are you handwalking multiple times a day? Stall bound horses aren't moving, thus their guts can slow. Not sure why your guy is on stall rest, and therefore if he is allowed to be walking, but if he is, make sure he gets out multiple times a day to move around and that he always has hay in front of him.

[Cherry]

There is a certain amount of exercise that a horse must have to keep its innards working! Handwalking is a great way to provide it--at least twenty minutes at a time.

Adding Tractgard, or a similar product to your horse's diet will encourage it to drink and will draw moisture to its bowels so impactions do not occur. I would put the horse on it until the weather improves significantly. :yes:

Also, adding hot water to your horse's water bucket at feeding time can keep him drinking!

It is far easier to prevent impaction colic than it is to treat it!

[Dressage.For.Life.]

Well, he is on Reserpine still(!).
As for the ulcers I'd say not-- I've never had any problems with him having them or acting like he had them.

He's stall bound for lameness problems and was up to 30 minutes of hand walking a day. He recently got some joint injections so didn't have any walking there for a few days and then we were to try riding yesterday and then today he coliced...He gets 5 flakes of hay twice a day, and then I give him some when I'm out there as well. If the stall rest continues I'm thinking about getting a hay net with small holes to put up for him too. Thanks for the replies.

[Dressage.For.Life.]

Thanks Cherry--He's usually pretty good about drinking but those supplements would be something to think about for sure. He is in a heated barn (enough so they don't really need sheets but not enough that it'd be considered bad for the horses or anything).

[redhorse5]

Try bran mashes, sloppy beet pulp, molasses in water, a beer. I've been in the position several times. I agree also with hand walking.

BTW, never give your horse grass clippings. It can cause choke.

The idea is keep them hydrated. Watch the manure. Make sure it looks soft, not dry. A little oil wouldn't hurt either. The molasses in the water keeps them drinking. Electrolytes and salt keep them thirsty.

Since the horse in the the stall all day make sure the water buckets are kept really, really clean. Scrub every day to make sure the water tastes very fresh. If you are in a boarding barn I would buy extra buckets and make sure the horse has two at a time. Ask the staff to change the buckets to clean ones when they refill the water. Then you can clean them when you come out. That way the water stays really fresh. If you are in a cold area make sure that the horse gets some warm water as well. Once a horse gets colic they will be a little touchy until their system gets back in order so be very watchful of his water intake and manure. Also take his temp every day and check gums.

Good luck. I hope your horse recovers.

Oh, I also use Calm and Cool on horses on stall rest. It does not have the long term problems of calming drugs.

[Dressage.For.Life.]

Thanks redhorse5!

He has two water buckets that I normally take out every time I'm at the barn; I'll try to add some things to his water tomorrow to further encourage drinking and I'll maybe put some warm water in one of his buckets. He *had* a salt block in his stall although it seems to have disappeared :confused: so I'll have to get him another I suppose!

How much oil would you say to give him and for how long- like until he's off of stall rest / off the Reserpine / moving around more?

I'll have to keep the Calm and Cool in mind- My only concern there is that the Reserpine doesn't even seem to do much for him at all so I'd wonder what that would. Thanks again!

[Whitfield Farm Hanoverians]

I'd have him on a daily probiotic supplement, the ulcer-guard daily & if his feed is a pellet I'd want it a runny mash at every feeding. Also what type of hay is he on?

[Pookah]

Definitely, definitely don't feed grass clippings! There are a multitude of reasons why, and I'm not sure that I even remember all of them. Primary ones are that horses don't "pick through" grass when presented this way, and will tend to eat weeds and things that they would normally turn up their noses at. And I don't remember the details on this, but there is something about the process of basically dying that the grass starts going through as soon as it's cut that is not good for them. Sorry I don't remember better detail, but I had a friend who used to do it years ago, and was explicitly warned by the vet to stop immediately.

That said, handwalking is definitely important when it's a possibility. Keeping them eating plenty of fiber, especially if they're accustomed to grass, is really important, so I would keep hay in front of him all the time if you can. Good luck--that's very scary! 20+ years ago, when they still advised continuous walking for colicking horses, we brought our pony home from the vet school to recover. She was to spend a few months on stall rest as she had broken her leg and had a steel plate and 5 screws inserted--she colicked the afternoon we got home. I still remember stressing over whether it was better to walk her for the colic or not walk her for the leg! But, she ended up recovering well, coming back sound, and being around for many more years. So try not to worry too much, sounds like you're taking great care of him and hopefully he'll bounce back from stall rest too!

[Addison]

I hate stall rest as things can become so complicated.

I would add a probiotic source to his diet and without a doubt start him on ulcer guard. He may not have been prone to ulcers before but being confined changes a lot of variables for him. Handwalking is also a great way to keep his gut active as others have already posted.

Good luck to you both.

[Dressage.For.Life.]

Whitfield Farm Hanoverians & Addison- Thanks for replying. I've read a lot on here about probiotic supplements but not enough for me to be able to pick out a good one to get him on-- any favorites, ones to stay away from, specific things to look for in probiotic supplements, etc.? With all the vet bills, the cheaper it is the better but I don't want to pay for a cheaper one and waste that money because it's no good!..

As for the ulcergard, I'd really try to get him on it (even though I can't really afford it at this point!) but he's showing no signs of ulcers; His coat is gleaming, he's in the best condition I've ever seen him in (he's TB), his eating habits haven't changed (other than just yesterday morning), etc. If he had them or symptoms for them, of course I'd find the money for treatment, but it maybe seems like he's doing ok in that aspect...I'll mention it to the vets the next time I talk to them though. Oh, and he's been getting grass hay.

Pookah- Wow! Thanks for the information on grass clippings!

That must have been stressful! Glad in the end your pony recovered from the broken leg and colic. Thanks again :)

[ponygrl25]

My vet told me to feed a half cup of Metamucil twice a day in very wet feed. Some horses are picky about it the first day or two, so start with a little. Also, it ''gels'' quickly, so mix it in just before giving it to your horse. My vet even tubes with it sometimes and it usually works better than oil. It is also much cheaper than most other remedies. Although, don't be upset if people look at you kind of funny when you buy a couple of big jugs of Metamucil at a time. I think they believe me when I say it's for my horse..... don't they;).

Be careful feeding calm and cool. In certain horses it can slow down the gut enough to possibly cause colic. We had a pony that ended up having colic surgery and the vet said the calm and cool may have contributed. Not saying never use it, just do some research and talk to your vet first.

I would keep a salt block in for him all the time. Also, try putting his hay in all four corners of his stall so that he has to ''graze'' a little, or try a nibblenet. The longer and slower he eats, the better for his gut. Make sure his hay is soft and not rough and stemmy. You can also soak his hay for more water intake.

I'll quit rambling now. Colic is so awful, and unfortunately, I have picked up all kinds of little remedies after owning an OTTB who WOULD NOT touch water if it got cold. She was great on 24/7 T/O with a heated water tub, but that isn't always possible. Which is why I have all of these little tidbits.... Good Luck!!:D

[Dressage.For.Life.]

No no, don't worry about rambling--I like learning so it's no problem :)

I talked to one of his vets and she recommended giving him wheat bran mash 1-2 times a week (any more and it loses its laxative effect). She said to give him one quart of it dry with as much warm water as he'll take with it. She also said I could put warm water in one of his water buckets.

That's good to know about Calm and Cool. We're closer to a diagnosis with my horse (it's so complicated, but explain in the blog I created when it all started) but I'm allowed to lightly ride him (walking, maybe a little trot) after he gets another day or so to rest after the colic episode, so I'm hoping to reduce the Reserpine now (which doesn't do much for him anyways) and stop it completely soon...so hopefully I wont have to worry really anymore about sedatives / calming supplements for a while!

I bought him a small apple flavored block for his stall and put it in his large feed pan, but a couple times I found it buried in the bedding, and now it's gone completely! I'm going to get another before I go out to the barn today though.

As for the hay, he gets it all along the front of his stall. He goes to the bathroom along the back and pees in one corner, a little to the inside of the stall, so I can't really put hay elsewhere as he'll probably just waste it!...if I soaked at least some of his hay (what I give him when I'm there, and maybe his dinner) how long should I soak it for?

Even with all the grooming and such required, I can't wait until my guy can go back to 24/7 turnout unless the weather is too bad (or at least some turnout if he can't return to that mush even after being re-introduced to turnout)!!