Friggin Colic ..

Gunnar coliced again last nite.. it was a mild one however still a colic I think.. he coliced two months ago.. same as this time. A few months ago we took him off grain all together.. thinking this might be the problem, he gets hay stretcher in place of just so he thinks he's getting grain like everyone else.
In both incidents we gave him banimine (sp?) and twenty to forty mins later he's all fine and looking for trouble.. he's out 12-14 hrs per day with plenty of room to play around, he has a running brook in his turnout with free choice hay.. in his stall he has plenty of water which he drinks well.. a salt lick and a cozy bedding .. a couple of weeks ago we had his blood and urine tested.. blood tests mostly was all within normal ranges.. sodium and phorophorus levels were a bit low, so vet suggested putting him on supplements for this.. which we did right away.. so now he gets haystretcher and his supplements.. and he still colics.. there doesnt' seem to be no reason for this.. not sure where to go from here.. abviously the colic isn't sever for a bit of banimine kicks right in and he's back to normal.. oh yeah he had crystals in his urine.. but mircoscopic so no problem passing them..
What else could it be.. geesh..

Well, start checking off what you know for sure I guess:

He colics regardless of where he is correct? (outside or in at night)..

He for sure, does not have tapeworm?

His blood work is leveled out.
His hay is good,
feed is good,
water good, etc...
turnout is good...



Where did he orginally come from? Could it be an area that has a bizarre worm that you could be missing?
Have you checked with a Fjord yahoo group or something similar, to see if there is anything they may be prone to?

Is there something in his turnout he is allergic too... Is there something he is eating and shouldn't be, Acorns, pine needles... is there any red maples within his reach?

The bugger... :p
I feel your frustration...

There are so many resons for colic....It is so annoying!!

Maybe and hopefully he just has tummy cramps and gas, that was giving him signs of colic, especially if you said it was mild and after getting a dose of medicine he was back to his old self again!

He may be very sensitive to craps and that is why he has a light colic now and again!

You could always give him a cup of bran at each feeding to keep him regular,not that it will make him poop like a frate train but it does help the waste go throught the intestines it may help, and it is not expensive!

Where I board every horse gets a scoop of bran at each feeding, (2xday)....and the barn owner swears by it....I have been there for a year and a half and there has only been 1 mild colic......KNOCK ON WOOD!!!!!!There are 37 horses there!

Just an idea to concider!

There are so many resons for colic....It is so annoying!!

Maybe and hopefully he just has tummy cramps and gas, that was giving him signs of colic, especially if you said it was mild and after getting a dose of medicine he was back to his old self again!

He may be very sensitive to craps and that is why he has a light colic now and again!

You could always give him a cup of bran at each feeding to keep him regular,not that it will make him poop like a frate train but it does help the waste go throught the intestines it may help, and it is not expensive!

Where I board every horse gets a scoop of bran at each feeding, (2xday)....and the barn owner swears by it....I have been there for a year and a half and there has only been 1 mild colic......KNOCK ON WOOD!!!!!!There are 37 horses there!

Just an idea to concider!

Something else you could try adding to his hay stretch would be flax, it has so many benefits and I've read lots saying that it help to prevent colic

Well it sounds like you have covered a lot of your bases to help protect your boy! Sounds like he has a great sorce of water which is very important in preventing colic!

How is he fed his hay? Is it on the ground? Is the ground area dusty? Does he just eat it freely or is it in a bag or net? Something you could try is a slow feeder with him, horses need to be working their intestines at a fairly constant rate, so small and frequent meals are important. If you notice him eating a lot at one time then just hanging out for awhile you might want to look into a slow feeder which restricts how much he can eat at one time.

There are two supplements you can add which are said to help prevent colic, Psyllium and ground flax. I highly recommend the ground flax, have been using it for years and love the results that the horses get from it! The Flax has the added benefit of adding essential fatty acids to your horse’s diet for shining health and shiny coat.

yes this is frustrating,,, he gets flax so that's not it.. there was maple leaves in his turn out but not red maple.. I don't think.. anyway he doesn't eat them and there isn't any there now.. he has access to hay and it's fed in a hay feeder off the ground ..ummmm Vet suggested I not give him bran for he may keep him regular it can cause mild colic and with his reaction to any pain that's just not something I want to try at this point. He's on a supplement already.. equi balm.. or something like that.. vet put him on that one.. and equalizer for vitamins.. equalizer is just a small 1/4 cut scoop.. he's getting all he needs and all was approved by the vet.. so.. again leaves us stumped on what else to do.. I could send him back to cape breton and see if he is ok there.. lol.. NOT! next thing is I will email the breeder and get his opinion.. can't hurt.

Well it seems like you have covered all your basis...And you have a vet you trust!!
Horses can be so friggin complex!
Well good luck!

litttle frigger is right........I have nothing to add........cant help in the slightest.........but if he needs CAPE BRETON FRESH AIR.............you know I have a spot for him.

hahah I know that Joan.. however if I send him there I won't get him back.. you'd love him to much.. I can see it know .. Gunnar would be the first pony to sleep in bunk house..

We were having the same problem with one of our horses, too. There seemed to be no explaination for the onset of these episodes either, but his were quite severe. The only thing our vet suggested was worming every 2 months instead of 3, and since then we've had no more colic (*knocking on wood). I do send a manure sample periodically for him, just to check. I know tapes will not show up, but it does give me an idea how we are doing with our worming program.

Hope you get to the bottom of this, it sure is frustrating

Threehorses.. first thing I did was send in a stool sample.. no worms.. and our worming schedule is right on.. I'm at a loss with this guy.. three horses I've owned prior I never experienced colic with any of them he's my first hand case of colic.. grrrrrrrrrrrr

Hey Wissy, sorry to hear about the colic again, I am going to sound like a broken record, but did you speak with your vet about giving him a dose of pro-biotics once a year??.
If you do decide to give him some, let me know, I have a great place to buy some, and they alot of the live culture's.

Quote :

and our worming schedule is right on

That includes a double does for tapeworms? (Can't remember if you mentioned that before..)

What about ulcers? Did we talk about that before too? (Probably...lol)
Was he ever scoped?

I was thinking of probotics.. on my list now..
and TC yes double dose of tape worm always done in the program..
No he hasn't been scoped.. something we are talking about now..
I sure hope this doesn't turn into the million dollar pony!!!!!!!!!

HE ALREADY IS A MILLION DOLLAR PONY........YOU MEAN TRILLION.....WITH A T ...NOT A B...... :cowboyhound.gi poor little thorn bush.............sure hope you can get this figured out before he has more problems.

Wissy my friend had to take her horse over to pei for a scope I don't think it was as expensive as she had expected and insurance paid for it.

Poor Gunner. You must be off your head from the worry and trying to figure things out. I have absolutely NO advice to add I just wanted you to know that I'll be thinking of the little fur ball, hoping that his tummy aches stay away.

Gunnar has been on several types of feed or vitamins which claimed to help prevent colic and he coliced while on them. It seems as though there are some more underlying issues with him other than diet. But his diet has to be appropriate for him as he can become diet sensitive. His colic's have increased to every 2-3 months, last year it was every 4-5months. But this year his colic's are not as serve, they are more minor. Season is not a factor as he colic's during any season.Last year and the year before his colic's were quite serious and he would get in quite a state, full sweat, muscle tremors, trying to roll, very, very uncomfortable and panicked. Now, he just lays quietly. I know we are catching him before things get worse and getting the drugs into his system before he panics, but it feels like the colic's are not as serve as last year, yet they are more frequent! UGH!!!!

Gunnar is not on flax anymore :P He was on it but was taken off it in the summer time when he coliced.
The new supplement he is on is Equine-oprem. http://www.jimlewisagri.ca/html/equine-o-prem.php
All his diet has been monitored and recommend by our vet. But even she is baffled by his reoccurring colic's!!

TC- He always colics outside. Fjords are not meant to be on a rich diet and you have to quiet careful what you give them. They are supposed to be hardy and thrive off less nutritious rations. Originally they ate tough marsh grass, so they are able to break down less nutritious forage. From my understanding.
I think they have kept most of this hardiness but of coarse since being domesticated for several hundred years they are probably designed for the modern rations, but still are not meant to have rich food.


Off a random site:

Quote :

Fjords are "easy keepers", with a tendency to become overweight if fed an unrestricted diet and not exercised. Grass hay supplemented by no more than 2 to 4 percent of their body weight with a medium to low protein grain is recommended. Because of their hardy nature do not require excessive grain or supplements.
Their keen intelligence demands that they be kept in a stimulated environment. They do not do well when confined to a stall 24 hours a day. They thrive in pasture or turn out.
Grooming is essential, especially in winter when if left unclipped they will grow a thick and wooly coat. They tend to have excellent, well balanced feet and are often left unshod

Any vet students looking for a thesis project?????????????

Quote :

in his stall he has plenty of water which he drinks well.. a salt lick and a cozy bedding

Does he have hay in his stall all night? What if you switched the Equalizer? I think it still contains grain products, for just regular loose minerals in his stall (he wouldn't have 24hr access, but I think at night would be enough).

yup he's on equalizer too.. I'm going to get fast track tomorrow and start him on that.. probotics seem to work on horses that are proned to colic.. or so the vet says.. we'll see.

Poor Gunnar give him a big hug for me, Wissy you must be going out of your mind with worry, hopefully the pro-biotics will help.......

Probotics (fast track) being picked up now.. Gunnar will have it tonight.. yay
better work.. or I'm sending him packing back to cape breton!!!!!!!!! with a note saying defective pony!!!

Woo Hoo! He could live with me, in his own house with a bar of JD for bedsnack! The whole place to himself, and be totally spoiled! What more could a boy ask for? (Hope the latest diet changes do the trick!)

haha Sooke maybe that is what he needs JD at bedtime, if that doesn't work .. Bleeding heart I'll drink it.. at least someone will feel good!!!