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.