[Lipstick]

Looking for COTH's collected wisdom -- and experience -- regarding the costs of treatment for colic. Of course it will vary, locale to locale....just want to see what you have typically been charged, from farm-call basic tubing to in-clinic treatment with IV's. Also, with in-clinic treatment, are you consulted regarding which treatments are chosen? Hopefully, all your stories ended with happy, healthy horses.......

[Chief2]

Around here, a simple in-barn colic treatment for impaction or gas will start at about $350 and go up. Once you get to the large animal hospitals, it gets a lot more expensive. I would suggest calling the finance department at the hospital your horse would normally be referred to, and ask them what they are currently charging for colic surgery and 3 days of after care. Then be prepared to pay for more. I have heard quotes for basic colic surgery and 3 days of aftercare ranging from $5 to above $8K across the country, depending on locale. Many of the more expensive hospitals do a large volume of business with owners who have insurance on their horses. These owners are less apt to scrutinize every charge as closely as an owner without insurance does, hence high charges become routine for that institution.

In 1999 I paid $4,600 for small intestine removal and re-sectioning (lipoma strangulation), with 10 days of hospitalized aftercare. The horse survived and recovered nicely.
In 2006 I paid $15,000 for small intestine removal and resectioning, with additional complications (30-feet of intestine went down a hole in the matrix and died), and 11 days of hospitalized aftercare. Complications during recovery forced the decision to euthanize the horse.

Those are the stories. Hope they help.

[pinkme]

3k for a colic treated non surg. 3 years ago. Another one of my horses would have had a 10k bill (no insurance) for his colic surg, he however did not make it to that point. We still ended up with a 5k bill

[ShotenStar]

Emergency farm call to make the decision that we needed to head for the hospital - $295.

Surgery to remove 6 feet of strangulated small intestine plus 12 days stay - $12,000 and change

All of this was in March 2008.

Her Large Chestnut Self is doing fine now.

*star*

[Lieslot]

OP, I hope you're okay about me adding another question to your post as it's related.

A ? to those with insured horses.
How much would or did your insurance pay towards colic surgery?

I ask as I have one horse on mortality with add-on of colic surgery. However my policy reads only 3k towards colic surgery.
My other horse has full medical cover, nevertheless if I understood my policy correct the max they pay-out on any medical issue is 7k.
Considering most colic surgeries end up being WELL above 10k, I wish there were policies out there that actually would cover you closer to the total amount.

So I was just wondering how much your policies cover re colic surgery. Thx.

[JohnDeere]

2 Tube & lube trips from vet, putting in IV and giving us bags of fluid--~$350-$400.

Bill from clinic where they IVd, operated, and put down ~$4500. Would have been close to $6K if he lived.

Insurance covered all but ~$500. Farm call & ded not covered.

I would eat ramin 3 x day before Id go without insureance for colic surgery. Just sayin.

[greysandbays]

Tube and oil, plus a couple of IV shots (don't recall what they were), including farm call: $60. This was twenty five years ago. Haven't needed it since.

Would under no circumstances consider surgery. My budget couldn't take it, and there's no place closer than a hundred miles that could do it.

[Where'sMyWhite]

Don't remember the cost of the Sunday vet visit for the initial checkup and treatment. 4 weeks at Littleton Large Animal including two surgeries (36 hours apart) one which was small intestine resection, intensive motility treatment and sporadic issues with digital pulses... $15K in 2001. 4 weeks of h*ll after which she never looked back and is fine and retired out to pasture now. (BTW, first stall on the left from the east end in the old barn has her name on it... )

No insurance (paid much less for her than what got spent on her surgery).

[tarynls]

$6500 for surgery without resection and a four day stay. Horse also had a gastric impaction; they had to tube him 4 times after surgery to resolve that.

This was August 2008; he's doing fine now.

[Jo]

$900 for emergency call, tubing, IV's etc.

Surgery without resection and 4 day stay, $6700.

Miss Mare is now 24. Best money I've ever spent.

[shakeytails]

Tube and oil, plus a couple of IV shots (don't recall what they were), including farm call: $60. This was twenty five years ago. Haven't needed it since.

Would under no circumstances consider surgery. My budget couldn't take it, and there's no place closer than a hundred miles that could do it.

I have to agree. A farm call, tube and oil and some fluids would likely run a couple hundred dollars max. I also could not financially consider colic surgery for any of them. Even my very most favorites are livestock, not pets, and certainly not people.

[Peggy]

Roughly $350-400 for initial emergency farm call with exam, IV fluids...

About $3500 for impaction treated medically with IV fluids plus one week hospital stay plus radiographs and ultrasounds of abdominal area.

Insurance would have paid all minus vet call fee and deductible, but at that point I was almost out of my $7500 allotment for the year, so they paid me the rest of the annual allotment.

[pintopiaffe]

Just spoke with a student yesterday who lost her horse last month.

$15k. *without surgery* :sad:

And this wasn't a top top surgical--for surgical I'd have to trailer about 5 hrs to NH. Not gonna make it that far if it *is* surgical.

For now, I'm glad it's not a decision I have to make. Should there be a time when I am closer to a surgical facility, the insurance will be a must have.

[sansibar]

Emerg. just banamine $300

Random little colic calls $200-$300

tubing, sedatives, vet call no IV $500

Trip to hospital where they just did iv (even though my horse was not colicing when he arrived!!! It finished when he was on the trailer, trust me all of his poop came out and that was a good indication the 4 times prior when he coliced and he was drinking water) cost us $1500 he only stayed one night (RIP OFF! they invented fees I have never even heard of and charged ridiculous amounts for things, ex. to soap the area for iv insertation was $200... inserting the catheter cost $400) I will never go back there ever again, because we told them the absolute most to spend on him that night was $1500 and out bill was $1499.

To find out why he coliced hundreds of tests and studies run on him at the university $700 ended up proving nothing, next step would be exploritory surgery which we refused.

And he was not insured

[Samotis]

well of course my guy decided to colic on a sunday. It was around $400 for all the calls to the farm. She had to come twice before we decided to take him to the clinic.

His surgery was only 3k, but he had complications a day after surgery and ended up staying for 8 days. The total bill was around $1200 for the clinic and $400 for the other vet that came to the farm. They charge different day fees at the clinic depending on how much care they need. He was on emergency care most the time so it was over $200 a day just to keep him there!

My insurance covered $7500 of it. He has been fine ever since and he was not even a year old when it happened, so it was a lot of stress for a little guy.

He had a nephrosplenic entrapment which is less common and especially in babies. But I guess my guy is truly one of a kind!

[Spooks]

vet call, tubing x2, sedatives, no IV - about CAD$450

Week at the clinic for non-surgical treatment of impaction and displacement (with 24 hr surveillance, IV, ultrasounds, but no meds) - about CAD$1000. They told me that surgery starts at $3000 and goes up.

Judging from the amounts listed in the other posts I think I got a major bargain. So for those of you in the far NE US, or in eastern Ontario, it may be worth the trip to St. Hy in Quebec if feasible.

[SLW]

Simple colics will run just under a $100- includes exam, banamine, tubing and oil
Impaction colics will start at the above rate and inch up with each 5L LRS bag of fluid used, pain killers needed plus hospital monitoring charge. Figure about $100 a day.

K-State surgical colics are $5000 and up depending on the surgery, complications and length of stay.

Colic surgery is not an option for any of my horses. My vets are top notch and able to determine if it's a surgical colic so my horses would not linger in pain.

I've seen many, many horses have colic surgery and do terrific so I tip my hat to the owners who can take that option.

[Mare mom]

I have had 2 horse colic. One had surgery and didn't make it. One was in clinic care and was okay after a week. Each was $5000+.