Gunnar's Colic again!!!

I swear this little fellow is going to be the death of me by worrying so much, plus keeping me poor.. he colic again today.. this is the third time in three years.. once a year I guess.. not sure what brought it on this time.. maybe beet pulp I decided a few days ago he could have.. geesh.. or something else.. I called the vet who showed up right away as usual, but by the time he got there Gunnar was soaked in sweat.. poor bugger does not deal well with pain.. he was trembling all over.. which got me upset.. TE was there and did most of the walking and Nancy helped too.. I just fretted.. the Vet Tubed him and gave him stuff for the pain and gas.. it was a gas colic.. anyhoo at it all started around 2 or so.. and I just got home. He was eating hay and feeling better when we left.. Nancy will check on him during the night.. thank god for her, and TE who never left his side.. she frets as much as I do.. she brushed him and coddled him the whole time hoping to make him feel better and I think it did. I am exhausted and heading to the couch.. for now waiting for Greg to get home from 4 wheeling.. yes he's still out there somewhere.. :x grrrrr men and horses..

Glad to hear he is on his way to recovery. Get some much needed rest, colic is hard on you metally and physically.

Hey, have you ever thought of adding ground flax seed to his feed. I have my horse on it and its supposed to be good for lots of things and colic prevention is one of them. It's worth a try.

OMG what a horrible experience...Glad he pulled through it OK....

HUGS

He is on flax

eeek scary glad he pulled through it!

Jesus, Mariea you must be out of your mind..........sorry to hear about Gunnar. Do you guys try to do the under belly massage????// you join hand underneath the gently squeeze towards his rear...........you can also do it with a towel between you........and I thought walking was something that was frowned apon now......god you get so many different theories........I'm just glad you guys and him are ok now.

Yikerss.... so glad to hear the big guy is alright!

We like to keep a bottle of Dr. Bells around in case a vet can't make it - that stuff works miracles with colic.... it might be something to keep in your tackbox.

Lovely new green grass used to do it to my little mare every spring. Even when I started her out slowly on it...Glad he's doing better now...They're worse than kids to worry about when somethings wrong...Poor wee b*gger...

Quote :

We like to keep a bottle of Dr. Bells

D-Cutch, I would like to get some of this to have on hand but have been unable to find it. Can you tell me where you got it?

Uggggh...been there done that...so scary. Good to have friends who truly care and can be there to help out because it's sooo stressfull. How's he doing today? Poor Gunnar.

I spoke with Firebug last night later and he had a big poop..
D.. I don't know where to get Dr. Bells either, but have heard is works great.
Maybe it's in the US or something..
Joan I did rub his belly some, but he was really uncomfortable about doing that, but Sarah groomed him and I think it relaxed him some.. he wanted to be groomed in a certain spot and made no bones about telling her where.. smart boy.. when she was finished he laid down and rested and then laid flat out and stretched and had a big fart.. then he slept when he woke up he was much much better..
I HATE COLIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Im gald to hear ghe is feeling better, poor guy.., and poor you, it must be awful to see you horse in pain..

I HATE colic!!! I am so glad Gunner is feeling better. I know what a worry it is and how helpless it can make you feel. Is the Gun-man on probiotics? Probiotics are also suppose to help keep colic at bay.

I heard so much about probiotics what form does come in and where do you get it and how much of it do you feed?
Gun Man is doing very well today I am pleased to say.. :D

I buy my probiotics from http://www.earthsongranch.com/home.asp
I feed him 1 pound of product every spring, usually it takes him month to finish his... the product is only "live" for 6 months..

Flicka use to colic at the drop of a hat (like twice a year), the vet had us start giving her a hand full of bran every meal. Since then she's only coliced twice in the last 8 years or so. And I know why for both of them, once was they moved her to a pasture with haylage and the other was in the winter during a REALLY cold spell.

It's made a BIG difference!!!!

We call it Dr. Bells (not sure why) but the bottle actually says Dr. J. Woodbury's Horse and Cattle Liniment and we just buy it at Agro-Coop - I believe it is made in Quebec.... I've watched a bottle of that stuff work miracles a few times over. We use it on the cattle as well.

I buy "Biotic 8" at Greenhawk. It is a powder and I give two scoops (the scoop is included) twice a week for sure and sometimes 3 times a week. The dosage on the container seems to be too much, so I figure you have to play around with what suits the individual.

Gunnar seems to be very sensitive to an dietary change. Last thing we want to see is another major change in his diet.


The vet recommended half salt or electrolytes and bran ONCE a week. This was as a precaution not a solution, nothing is a solution with colic only precautions can be taken.

Every horse is different and somethings work for some and not for others you have to taken in account what you have in your hands and not what worked for some.

Very true TE, but you know how paranoid I am about my old guy. I would never want something to happen to the Gunman either. Just throwing suggestions out there for information.

Glad to hear he's doing better today. I've never had to deal with colic myself *knocks on wood* and I hope I never have to. But, I imagine it's only a matter of time before I'll be introduced to it. Scary stuff.

I think we are going with the 1/2 salt and bran it seems to be the safest right now and just see if we can get through a year without colic.. if that doesn't work then It's going to be Jack Daniels all the way.. thanks Sooke.. it'll cure him or kill him.. one or the other..
Just kidding TE don't have a hemorage! :lol:

Just remember...He gets 2 shots....You get one! :cheers:

Wissy wrote:

I think we are going with the 1/2 salt and bran it seems to be the safest right now and just see if we can get through a year without colic.. if that doesn't work then It's going to be Jack Daniels all the way.. thanks Sooke.. it'll cure him or kill him.. one or the other..
Just kidding TE don't have a hemorage! :lol:

Since Flicka's last colic, I went and started giving her a tablespoon of salt in her meals during the cold times.. and take it down to teaspoon and a bit for the summer

How much bran did the vet suggest to give to him weekly? I liked giving small amounts every day then it wasn't a shock to the system on the one day Flicka got her's. Just like taking Metamucil, much better to take it all the time, then just when it's needed.

Give him an extra hug for me..