He is a miracle.....

The Vet called and said "He is a miracle, we let some gas off his secum, and he is MUCH better". I told them to keep him another night, but I will be down to see him, and talk to them.

When I got to the vet, his stall was empty, and found him in the stocks again, with a vet up to her shoulder in his south end. They said he had been looking good, and she had actually thought of sending him home, then he started to lay down and fuss again. Last night he had gotten pretty bad, and they really thought it was surgery bound, but they stuck a huge needle in near his right hip, and let off a huge amount of gas that had built up, and he then felt much better. One of the vets has longer, thinner arms, and is really good at being able to palpate and feel a few more areas than other vets with shorter arms. He checked and said everything is where it is suppose to be, and they do not feel anything out of whack. He is passing some manure, and not in a serious extreme pain type colic, but just a bit "off", so they will keep him on IV fluids, and watch him.

But now to try to figure out why he coliced. Maybe just got a bit dehydrated from the heat, and things got a bit dry and stopped up. The GI tract slowing down is what causes the gas build up, as it has no where to go. Also, possibility of ulcers on the colon, which can not be scoped or checked for except with a fecal test to show blood. I did request the scope him to rule out stomach ulcers. This horse worries a lot, so I would not be surprised to find out he has ulcers. A stone (entrolith) can cause a horse to colic, as it shifts and blocks things, but if small, could allow digestion to work, and things get by, just not as smooth as normal. They have not felt a stone, and the ultrasound did not show one, but not all are found until a horse is in surgery. Also, stones are not very common in Texas.

So at what point does one decide to have their horse go into major surgery to look around? They don't want to cut open a horse if they can fix them with other methods. And Hank was looking not too bad when I left him. Hopefully they will not call me tonight to tell me he got worst again.

I'm home, Hank stays

I am home from the vet, but Hank stayed down there.We are not sure what is going on with Him. They did the reflux tube, and he had a bit of stuff that came back out, indicating not everything is passing on through like it should. They did rectal palpation of course,and really did not feel anything for sure. Checking up with the portable ultrasound and did not find anything. Did a stomach tap,where they jam a needle up under his girth area on his belly and draw fluid out and it was the right color. Not red, orange, or green. Clear, slightly yellow. They are just not sure, as he is not showing any sign to really indicate what type of colic he has going on. Could be a twist, or just gas, or an infection. They asked if surgery was an option. I don't want to think about it. Hopefully we won't need to make that decision.

Heading to the vet

I decide he is looking worst, and acting like this could turn into more of a colic than I want to deal with at home, so I head down to the vet at Lonestar Park Equine.

Hank has a tummy ache

So we had this great little storm blow through, the temps dropped about 20 degrees. 1/4" of rain, and I told Bill we should go for a late afternoon ride, so I go catch the horses and I tie Hank to the trailer, and he looks kind of dull eyed. I hang a little bucket with some feed in it and he refuses to eat it. VERY odd for this horse who lives to eat. I start watching him and looks uncomfortable. Starts watching his belly a bit. I check all the metabolics, and he is OK, nothing way off. Pulse 40, very slight dehydration, and while slight on his left side, he does have some gut sounds. I take him for a walk in the pasture, and he drops down, does a tiny roll, and just wants to stretch out. I let him, and watch him. Nothing really huge, just lays there quiet. I get him up, gave him a dose of oral Banamine, and watch him a bit. He passed some manure right before I gave him the Banamine. After about 30-45 min., he wants to eat grass and looks fine. Meanwhile I had called the vet who is over an hour away, and talked to him. He suggested I keep him away from food tonight, and just watch him, see if it flairs back up after the Banamine might wear off. Since it is easiest to watch him from the horse by having him tied to the trailer, I do just that. He was squirmy until he finally went pee and is irritated to be tied to the trailer. At this point I am guessing it was just the storm that gave him some digestive upset, but I thinking I should get him scoped for Ulcers. This is sort of what he had done at some rides in 2006. Not a huge colic, but just not comfortable, and then is better. Of course, this makes me worry about doing distance with him, and I question if he is just maybe not as suited as I thought.