Beaner's Colic Surgery Update

(JULY 2002) Monday:For everyone who knows "Beaner", the small on the outside-huge where it matters, palomino quarterhorse that is part of our family,we thank you for all your good wishes and prayers that have helped her through her colic surgery!!! As of today, Tuesday July 9th, she is still doing great! She is still in the hands of the fantastic team of vets and staff at Vermont Large Animal Clinic in Milton, VT. If all continues to go well, she will be off the IV antibiotics and fluid soon and will be home as soon as she is up to the 2 hr ride.

She went into surgery Saturday night at 10:50 pm and was out at 12:15 am. Her cecum was impacted and the walls were paper thin and about to rupture. The cecum was successfully "dumped" (Phew!) and 30 minutes post surgery she was in her stall looking for food!

Although most cecum colics are caused by a change in diet, Beaner had had no changes. The only change was attributed to the drastic change in weather from the 90's and high humidity to a 40 degree night in the span of about 2 hours. In the morning on Thursday she didn't finish her dinner or drink her water. There had been some strange circular storms that had traveled through during her dinner time the night before. I watched one travel through the area that looked exactly like a tornado that did not touch down! Friday morning she greeted me from her stall and was turned out briefly. She proceeded to go to a tree in the paddock, paw the ground a couple of times, and lay down. I led her back inside and she proceeded to shiver heavily. I could not get her pulse rate with a stethoscope because of the shivering "noise". Her "gums" were pale, she was breathing in short rapid breaths, and I could hear no gut sounds on either side. I ran into the house, got a dose of banamine and the portable phone. While walking her, I called our vet who arrived approximately 45 minutes later. By this time, Beaner had started to get "pinker" , was much more comfortable, and was nibbling on grass. She was examined and her heart rate was only slightly elevated, her temp was normal, and quiet gut sounds could be heard in both sides. It looked as though the "worst" was over even though both my daughter and I were still thinking(feeling?) "She needs to go to a surgical clinic". She had never colicked before.

We were going to be leaving to manage a horse show that afternoon, so we packed her on a trailer and brought her with us so we could "keep an eye on her" . Just before being loaded on the trailer, she passed a pile of manure. It was loaded with what looked like "thin tissue" . We took a sample and showed it to our vet on the way to the show grounds and they said it appeared to be intestinal lining. They had observed this happening before with mild colics.

Later that day, something was still not right. She was not drinking, was depressed and no longer interested in food but was not showing the "typical" colic symptoms of rolling, pawing, sweating, belly kicking, stomach biting, etc. She simply wanted to stand quietly with her head in a corner or lie down quietly.

She was seen again later Friday by a vet on call at the horse show. She was still depressed, not eating or drinking, but gums were pink, gut sounds were still quiet but present, temp was normal and she still just wanted to lay down quietly. The on call vet for the show drew blood and later told us that there were no "abnormal indications". She was given another dose of banamine and some antibiotics because he believed she was "coming down with a possible viral infection ". He also thought she may have developed an ulcer.

It was a very long night on Friday because of my own "gut feeling" that she was being her tough little self and not showing the true agony she was in. She was seen again by the on call vet on Saturday morning. She still hadn't drank, was not doing more than nibbling on her feed and had produced no manure. Gut sounds were present still, temp was normal, heart rate only slightly elevated, and every time a vet had seen her, she would nibble on either grass or her hay. Although by this time I was feeling a little like an "overly protective paranoid owner", I know this horse. I know she has a huge pain tolerance.

At 5:30 pm I went back to her stall and she was laying down. She lifted her head and looked at me and I said to myself , "OK, I get it. You are out of here and at the nearest surgical facility ASAP I don't care what I am being told by the people who don't know you."

VLAC was contacted and told her symptoms and blood test results and just said "How soon can you get here?".

Little did I know when I built this website, that it would one day save a "friends" life. I only knew about this brand new surgical clinic being open because of an ad they sent me to put on the "Vet Clinics" page of this site. WHINNY The only other facility was at least 2 hours further. She most likely would not have made that trip.

I will continue to post "updates" as to her recovery. (Of course we have been to visit since we left her after her surgery!!!!)

Wednesday Update: She is still doing great! "Dr. Steve" called (did I mention how nice the vets at VLAC have been?) to say that she has been off the IV's for 24 hours and all is still going well. He said she could even have some carrots and an apple when we visit today! He also assured me that they would call, no matter what time, if there were any changes. On Monday when we visited, she had been brushed, her tail was washed and she had obviously been "cared for". (Did I mention how nice the support staff at VLAC has been?)

Wednesday after visit: Beaner was glad to see us. (Or was it the bag of carrots and apples? hmmm) She has been taken off the pain medications and is still doing well. There is a little edema around the incision but no signs of infection. She has passed the "pile" for which everyone has been waiting . Since it takes 72 hours for what goes in to come out...."the pile" was filled with mineral oil from Saturday night. Great news because that means that everything is working! She had a rectal exam and everything checked out "normal". No temp, no signs of the cecum re-forming a blockage, and she thinks she is starving on the small-frequent feedings. She was no longer interested in the bran mashes until they put molasses on it. Now the mashes are disappearing again. She has been out 4 or 5 times to be hand walked and allowed to nibble on some grass. We , my younger daughter Amanda and I, took her out for about 1/2 hour for a walk. If all continues to go well, Dr. Steve asked if we had any plans for this weekend. We are all hoping the only "Plans" will be taking Beaner home.

Thursday Update: All is still going well with Beaner. Looks like it's almost a definate for home on the weekend!!! (Sunday?)Dr Phil called around 8:30 pm to say she is doing Fantastic! She will be taken off all the IV antibiotics in the morning. They will monitor her every few hours for any signs of changes for the next 24-36 hours.

Friday Update:Dr Steve called at 8:00 pm to say that Beaner was doing great! Unless something changed drastically, she will be coming home on Sunday!!!

Saturday Update: We are going to visit this morning at 10:00 am. I have a list of questions for her post surgical and long term care. She has taken a pretty big insult to her digestive system and we want to make sure we do everything possible to insure that it never happens again.

She's coming home at 9:00 am tomorrow!!!! YIPPEE!!!! That's 8 days she's been in the "hospital" and away from home. I am sure being in her own stall will feel really good!

Sunday, July 14th: Dr. Phil and Emily (1'st year Vet studant who is loaded with enthusiam and compassion.....not to mention a super smile!) met us to discharge Beaner. My "so far" questions were answered and I promised to stay in contact with updates on Beaner's progress. Beaner will now be on 40 days stall rest with hand walking, then limited self-exercise in a small pen for another 30 days. After that, she will be checked by our vet to see if the incision is healed enough for her to start limited exercise. Some horses can take as long as 4 months of rest before returning to exercise. What's 4 months in a lifetime??

Monday, July 15: All systems are still working! The edema looks like it has lessened quite a bit since yesterday. She was quite happy to be the only one in the barn when everyone else was turned out for the day. She was feeling good this morning when she was hand-walked. It may be tough as time goes by to convince her that she has to be quiet on her walks.

Tuesday,July 16: Nothing exciting to report other than she is still doing great "Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed":. She was walked and allowed to graze for 1/2 hour this morning and was feeling very good in the cool morning air. 38 days of stall rest and hand walking to go! Dr. Steve called to see how she is doing. I am sending a picture of her to put on their website today.

Wednesday, July 17: She enjoyed her walks today with grazing time. Edema around the incision continues to reduce. So far-so good! The therapeutic riders will be out to visit tomoro. I am sure there will be more get well carrots!

Thursday, July 18: The incision is starting to "itch". She is going through some strange contortions trying to scratch her belly. She enjoyed her visit from her therapeutic riders. Lots of extra brushing and hugs. 36 days stall rest to go!

Friday, July 19: We went on a long walk tonight. She grazed on grass and I "grazed" on Blueberries. The incision looks fine even though she keeps trying to find ways to scratch it! There is only a very tiny amount of edema left.

Saturday, July 20: Edema appears to be completely gone around the incision. She is also not so "itchy". 34 days left.

Sunday, July 21: We had one upset mare today! She hasn't complained about being the only horse in the barn when the others were turned out in the morning. But, she complained LOUDLY when the trailer was getting ready to leave early in the morning for a horse show without her! My husband was taking her for her morning walk when she heard the trailer door open and close. She tried dragging him to the trailer! Not the barn.....the trailer. It was the first time since she has lived here (almost 14 years) that the trailer has left early on a summer morning without her. She whinnied, pawed, snorted and banged on her door when she was returned to her stall. I will take her on an extra long walk to a grassy field tonight.

Monday, July 22: It was 90, hot and humid here today. We went on a long "mental health" walk in the woods this morning while it was cool. This evening it dropped about 15 degrees when a t'storm came through. This is very much the same weather change that happened when Beaner's impaction occurred . I will check on her around 11:00 pm so that I can sleep.

Tuesday,July 23: The weather turned much cooler and Beaner is feeling "really good".

Wednesday, July 24: I can see where it would be very tempting to want to "rush" things and turn a horse out at this stage of the post-op healing time. Outwardly she looks like the" pre-colic sugery Beaner". But.......there are 30 more days left! Dr. Phil van Harreveld sent an e-mail with the following message: "I am glad to hear that she is doing so well. The longer away from surgery day, the better I feel about not having a recurrence of the same problem. " Beaner will have to be patient.

Thursday-Sunday, July 25-July 27: She now has stall balls and a radio to try to keep her amused. I wonder if a TV on the racing channel would help? Our walks are getting longer because she does not like the walk home to her stall. I am very happy that she feels so good! Someone asked me what the medical reason was for the 40 day stall rest. I'll ask tomoro.

Monday July 28-Wednesday July 30:"The reason for the 40 days is that horses carry the full weight of their gut on the incision. There is a period of strengthening of the healing and weakening of the sutures. If the horses goes out too early it could herniate through the incision.Phil"

Thursday July 31-Saturday August 3: Since I have to be working with the 4-H program at the Franklin Co. Fair from Sat the 3rd through Sunday the 11th, I "hired" a mid-day "Beaner walker". I will walk her each morning EARLY and again when I get home fairly late at night. But, I didn't want to have her stuck inside all day without a mental health walk. An old friend will take her out for some mid-day grazing and check on her water and food. Just 21 days left of stall rest!

Sunday August 4-Wednesday August 7: Still no signs of problems except that she is gaining weight. She has always been an "easy keeper" and on the stall rest the "easy" is in capital letters!! She ,and everyone else in the barn, has been wormed a per Dr's orders with a double dose of Strongid. I have always wormed every other month but will add the 2X dose of Strongid twice a year to make sure tapeworms are never a problem. 2X of Stongid is the only wormer that will kill the tapeworm. (New wormers are now on the market complete with tapeworm anthelmentics!) She is also getting a nightly small amount of bran mash, senior feed (1/2 can), and a vit/mineral/electrolyte supplement. She also has a salt block in her stall. My farrier husband just did another reset on her shoes. She has worn an aluminum wedged bar shoe most of her life because she doesn't grow any heel. "preventative medicine".

Thursday August 8- Monday August 12: 11 more days left of only hand walking! Beaner managed to briefly escape today while I was cleaning her stall. I had her tied in the aisle way and she untied herself. She only walked as far as the nearest grass and didn't do anything "foolish". Smart horse........

Tuesday August 13-Thursday August 22: Handwalking 3x's per day was just not enough. On Thursday morning Beaner decided she was going out if she had to make a new door in her stall! I went to the barn to find 3 of the walls in her stall either with boards kicked completely out or with evidence that she had kicked the walls several times. At first I went, "Oh no, is she colicking again and kicking because of pain?". No pain, just frustration and feeling the need to play! I took her for a long walk (acutally it was a jog) then I closed my eyes and turned her out in the small 30' x 30' grass paddock. She quietly walked around, munched on grass and behaved for the first 1/2 hour that I sat and watched her. Then I went inside the barn to clean and repair her stall. The minute I was out of sight, I heard her squeel and then heard the sound of running. She squeeled, bucked, farted, rolled, jumped up and down in place, shook herself and whinnied to the other horses. "Hey I am Free again!" It was 2 days short of the 40 days that she was supposed to be on hand-walk and stall rest. But, I felt that she was going to hurt herself more if the wall kicking was repeated again!!!! She was actually happy to go back to her stall after it was cleaned and was very content.

Friday August 23-Saturday August 24: She has been turned out in the morning for an hour both days. No signs of discomfort, no more stall kicking, no tenderness, and her play is now less hyper and more "normal".

Sunday August 25-Monday Sept 2: Turn outs have been for much longer periods of time. She has been happy to be in her little paddock for most of the day. We have a 5 month old connamara foal in the paddock next to her for their mutual company. He enjoys having her close by since "Mom" was taken away. She continues to feel good, eat well, and (Knock wood!) heal.

Tuesday Sept 3-Wednesday Sept 18: Her turn-out time stretched to a full day very quickly. On Thursday, Sept 12, she was feeling very fresh and decided the small paddock was too small and was runing the fence line trying to find a way out. So, I let her out in the larger horse paddock with the side gate open to our riding ring. She went to one end of the ring, eyed the large gate, squeeled, dug her heels into the ground leaving deep divits and took off over the gate! The gate is approximately 3'9". She didn't stop there but keep running until she went over the gate to her little paddock. When she cleared that gate, she just quietly went to some grass and ate. I walked over to her and led her back to the barn. Thankfully, she has no signs of herniation, tenderness or discomfort of any sort at the incision site. That was a lot of strain and effort for a rather fat little horse! She is now turned out with the connemara foal and is no longer trying to escape. She has a little less than 2 weeks before she can be ridden again.

Thursday Sept 19-Saturday Sept 28: On Wednesday we put Beaner out with the rest of the horses. They immediatly accepted her as the boss mare that she was the last time she was with them . There were no problems and she was happy to have horses to boss around again. Sunday is her day to start back into work. There are no signs of herniation, tenderness or any other "complications" other than her being overweight from lack of exercise.

Sunday Sept 29: "Happy Beginning" Today she was turned out with all the other horses (2 AQHAs, 2 adult ponies and one 5 month old connemara colt) for about 2 hours. When they were all brought inside, she knew something was different when my Grandson Dylan (the one in the picture on top of the page) brushed her and picked her feet out. He was excited because it was "THE DAY" ! She kept nuzzling his hair and poking him with her nose. We put the saddle and bridle on and led her to the ring. Dylan walked her around a little, then he asked her to jog, lope, back, and sidepass. She did it all without hesitation and with her ears up. Glad to be back! The grin on her rider's face was worth all the time spent walking, worrying, and waiting!!! He kept jabbering about 'how good it felt to lope on Beaner' and 'she's being so good for having not been asked to do ANYTHING for so long!' He talked of plans for next summer's horse shows, and other wonderful future plans.

It was time to go for a short, slow trailride. This same little mare that had the energy to jump two gates, walked quietly with her ears forward out on the trail with her little charge. Today was another "Happy Beginning" for many more years with this very special little mare.

**4/2/03 UPDATE: Spring is here officially. Beaner is shedding, frisky, and (knock wood)doing great still! She is still getting a small bran mash with 1/3 scoop of senior feed at night. She prefers her mash on the very soupy side as she has always been a "dunker".Her teeth will be floated and she will have her new Coggins,EWFT, PHF,rabies vaccines in mid-April. It was a very long extremely cold winter here in the Adirondack Mts. of upstate NY. According to the weatherman, it was the coldest in 30 years! The months of Jan & Feb had temps of -35 and -40+ several nights with days only reaching the single digits. (That was farenheit not celcius!) Beaner came through the winter in her normal "wintered well" (aka-fat) condition. Because of the extreme cold, she was not ridden much from late Nov-March. She is now in the process of being conditioned slowly. Her first activity for the season will be in mid-May.

**7/15/03 UPDATE: Summer has been busy for Beaner! She has been to horse camp,
4-H Clinic, several open horse shows (Grand or Reserve Champion each time out!) Dylan, my grandson in the photo at the top of this page, has been taking reining lessons and has been "learning the ropes" with wonderful little Beaner patiently doing all the patterns with the "real reiners" at the horse shows. The combination of Dylan and Beaner attract quite a crowd when the reining class starts! She is also doing therapeutic riding with physically and developmentally challenged adults ranging in age from 40-70. She is currently working for 6 weeks with with 10 very enthused high school summer studants! Not to mention taking me on evening trailrides and continuing to be the "boss mare" in our barn! (Knock wood) Her health has been fantastic and we will never regret spending the money to have her colic surgery.

I recently traveled to VLAC with a friend to have a lameness check done on their daughter's QH gelding. It was good to visit with Dr. Phil and to give him a live update on Beaner's health. While I was there, I visited a friend's horse that had just had 2 surgeries in one week. This little 3 yr old Spanish Barb mare had had enteritis, cecum impaction and a portion of the large intestine had telescoped into the cecum. At the time I was there, Dr. Phil said he would give her about a 57% chance of survival. They were pretty worried about her and she appeared to be very uncomfortable while I was there.( She is now home and doing great! ) I hope Dr. Phil got the "reward" he was going to give himself if she pulled through!

It has been one year since she came home from her surgery. I still walk out to the barn and check on her first. "Worried Mother"? She is still eating a very wet sloppy bran "soup" 3 nights a week, senior feed, good hay, being double dosed 2 times for tapeworms, and wormed every 8 weeks. Her teeth are being floated again next week and she had all her shots including WNV. (She had a localized reaction to the first WNV shot that has left a plum sized lump on her neck)

**11/18/03 UPDATE: Another winter is settling in here in the Adirondack Mts. Beaner continues to do well with (Fingers, toes, legs crossed!) no signs of colic! She is now heading into her 18th year and is still very much the "Boss Mare" in our herd of 7 horses with no signs of slowing down.

She finished the show season with her 10 yr old rider as Superior Versatility Champion large pony. He still says she is a "Million Dollar Horse" who just does everything! Together they went to his first AQHA show where he placed 2nd and 3rd in Youth Western Pleasure, and 2 seconds in Novice Youth Western Pleasure. He also placed 2 seconds in Novice Youth Western Horsemanship. Did I also mention that they placed in Open AQHA Reining? Beaner and Dylan's mom went into the Adirondack Open Division of the same AQHA show and won the Hunter Hack........handy little mare isn't she?? I only wish there were some way to clone her brain and heart into another horse a hand taller........

7/30/04...2 years post surgery and Beaner is still colic-free! She's been healthy, working hard and doing well. I have received many e-mails these last 2 years from people looking for hope at the end of a real colic nightmare. Beaner is proof that there can be real positive results. She is still receiving her very soupy mash made from bran and senior feed 3-4 times a week. She would be quite happy to have her "soup" every night! I have been using 'Equimectrin Gold' twice a year since it came on the market to make sure there is no chance for tapeworm caused colic. Every 8 weeks she is wormed with either an avermectin or Strongid C. Her coat is shiny, feet are healthy and she is still the boss mare in the herd. Her teeth are done both in the spring and fall.

10/26/2005...Another year completed with no colic! Beaner is almost 20 and still going strong. She competed all summer in pony divisions, walk trot classes with beginner riders, won may reserve and grand championships, and even did a very nice training level dressage test with my husband at the CVMHA horse show. Trailrides, parades, assisted riding, ..as I wrote before: I wish I could clone her and have her a hand taller.

As she nears her "golden" years, I hope to keep her as fit and healthy as possible. I've had the pleasure to know horses who have lived healthy lives well into their late 30's and even one Tennessee Walker mare that was just shy of her 40th birthday when the decision to put her down was made. She had no teeth left for about 5 years and lived on senior mashes throughout the winter months.

Winter is coming and along with it the challenges of making sure all the horses, we have 8, receive enough water. We have heated buckets in all the stalls and a tank heater outside. There is always a large salt block available. I have heard so many times the misguided statement, "Horses can eat snow in the winter and don't need as much water". Horses are eating large amounts of very dry roughage in the winter and require as much water for proper digestion as they do in the heat of the summer! It takes a huge amount of melted snow to make 10 gallons of water.

6/6/06....Check out the date! We attended a 2-day riding clinic this weekend an now "Beaner" has a virus of some sort. Everyone in the barn had a temp ranging from 102-104 late yesterday afternoon. A slight cough was heard with 2 of the horses and slight runny noses on 5 of the 8 horses. The 5 horses with the runny noses are the ones that attended the clinic. Everyone is off their feed and only nibbling. All horses here have had a flu shot, PHF and WNV . One horse, a 6 yr old gelding, was showing very odd symptoms late yesterday afternoon. He had the highest temp of 104 and was acting a little like he had colic. He just wanted to be outside laying and rolling anywhere he could find mud. Maybe he was trying to treat his own temp? He was given Bute and banamine and about an hour later his temp was back to normal and all symptoms were gone. So, it looks like there will be no horse shows for at least a couple of weeks. The vet's order is to have the horses on rest/no work for 1 week per each day that the horse has had a temp. It takes that long for the epithelial tissues of the respiratory tract to heal completely. Better to skip a show or two that to cause permanent damage.

3/24/07....Yes, this little mare is still going strong. She just attended a lesson with one of our pony riders and did her job as always. I will post a picture soon of how she looks at age 21. She is now old enough to drink and may have a sip of her first legal beer this year. (Root Beer!)

12/31/2007-She's still going strong. Tomorrow she will celebrate her official 22nd birthday even though she actually won't be 22 until May. She's fat and sassy, outside everyday with her herd that now consists of Sonny, 10 yr old AQHA reiner, Cowboy, APHA 7 yr old reiner, Kia 13 yr old pony, Jerzee, APHA mare and her new "baby", ApHC 7 month old colt-Frodo. As far as Beaner is concerned, Frodo is hers!

She finished another year of showing, clinics, trail rides, therapeutic riding, fairs and teaching beginners to ride. Good little horse...gotta lov'er. Retirement will be her choice one day. As of now, it looks to be a distant thought.

2008 Early Spring- Beaner had a slight lameness in her right front foot. She paid another visit to VLAC and had her hoof capsule injected. She was placed on a supplement with Devil's Claw and Yucca to manage the "aging" pain. She was back to her old self in no time. In August she competed at the Franklin County fair and won all but one of her classes in the pony division. Not bad for an "old lady"!

February 2009- Another year has begun. Beaner is still sound and has had no colic episodes since her surgery. Her teeth are good, her weight is "comfortably plump" and her energy level , in spurts, is fantastic.

March 2009- I was just asked to post a "Favorite Horse Moment" on a friends Facebook farm page. Here it is:

My best Horse Moment had to do with "Beaner". For those of you who don't know her, she is a 24 yr old Palomino qh that has been a member of our family for 22 years , a 4H horse, show pony, competitive trail mount, lesson horse, driving horse, appeared in 2 commercials, a layot for Victoria Secrets, and she has also had the privilege of being used as part of a child's Make-A-Wish dream twice in her lifetime.

I was called by the Make-A-Wish foundation several years ago because they were looking for a horse that would be suitable for a 16 yr old girl to ride who had Spina Bifada and multiple other physical problems . "Beaner" had been being used as a therapy horse since she was a 3 yr old and was more then suitable and safe.

Several physicians releases had to be procured as this young girl had been under many physical restrictions. She was wheel chair bound, had equipment to help her breathe, and was attached to other life assistance equipment.

Her wish was simple: She wanted to ride a horse. Such a simple dream for any young girl.

She arrived at my home in an ambulance with 2 attendants, her mother, grandmother and a rep from Make-A-Wish. She was gently placed in her wheelchair. A lap tray was attached so that she would be able to have a horse "eat from her hand". This was another part of her wish.

I put a halter and leadline on "Beaner" and led her out to this young girl and all her entourage. "Beaner" did something very uncharacteristic ...she pulled away from me and made a bee-line to the wheel chair. Even though there were no treats on the lap tray, she placed her face and head there and did not move. The young girl hugged her head, burried her nose in "Beaner's" muzzle and started crying. I asked if we could take the tray off so she could get closer. For several minutes this young girl and this sweet little mare nuzzled each other. There were many unintentional pokes to "Beaner's" eyes and uncoordinated muscle spasms caused her to be "slapped" but "Beaner" never moved. The mom was crying and, quite frankly, there was not a dry eye present. The mom asked me how I trained this horse to do what she was doing. I told her it wasn't anything I ever did. She was just fulfulling her daughter's wish.

The young girl was able to "ride" with some special equipment that we use for riders who are paraplegics or have little ability to control their lower limbs. She rode with a huge smile and many tears of pure joy. We all rode with her.

I received a note from her mother less then 2 weeks later. Her daughter had slipped away to the "Rainbow Bridge" and a picture of her hugging "her horse" went with her. (Yup, there are tears remembering... )

May there be a strong spine a strong body and many golden horses to nuzzle where you are now..........

Several people have e-mailed to ask where her incision was and what it looked like so I have taken a digital photo. Incision picture I am leaving the front knot in until the very end of her 30 day self-turnout period. I may actually leave it in until after she is ridden for the first time again! Superstitious? Have you ever noticed how vehicles fall apart just before the last payment is made ?

What I have learned about Cecum Colic/Impaction: Cecum colic/impaction can be tough to diagnose. Often horses will just appear to be feeling very "un-well" for several hours. Manure will continue to pass for a short time because the 2" entrance and exit of the cecum can be "bipassed" and the manure that was beyond the cecum will still for a short time be expelled. Horses can only be positively diagnosed in the earlier stages and many times in the latter pre-septic stages with a rectal exam. A general rule of thumb: If one dose of banamine doesn't alleviate the symptoms after the first 12 hours, there is probably more than a simple or mild colic in progress.

A very nice e-mail...
"Thank you for the article, it has given me hope. Our little mare presented with colic on Sunday afternoon (three days ago) and had surgery Sunday night. Her case is identical to yours, so I now have hope she will be fine. The Doctors have been telling me we have two more days to go before she is completely out of “immediate” danger and is been driving me crazy! Our mares name is “Nevaeh” (heaven spelled backwards) and she is five years old. She belongs to my 13year old daughter so it is a difficult time for them both. Thanks for giving us hope that she will be alright, so far the Doctors tell me she is doing great! Thanks again for your story."

Best wishes to Nevaeh and her owner!

A. Small, single compartment StomachThe capacity of the stomach of the horse is only about 8-15 litres (eight quarts or two gallons), which makes it difficult to understand how a horse can consume large amounts of food or water. The emptying time of the stomach after filling can be about 12 minutes, and the rate of passage down the small intestine is about 1 ft/min. The net result is that food can go from the mouth to the cecum in about 1½ hours.

B. Small intestine

C. Cecum The exit and entrance to the cecum (blind gut with a capacity of about 28-36 litres or approximately 7-9 gallons) are separated by only about 2 inches. This creates a certain amount of difficulty due to the two-way movement of feed in this region. As a result, the cecum can be a site of colic, which may develop when a horse is shifted from a poor quality ration to one which is rapidly digested.

Bacteria which are best at digesting high fibre type diets will be replaced with a population of bacteria which are more suited to convert high quality and easily digested fibre to soluble products. As easily digested hay enters the cecum, microbial populations flourish and there is an increase in fermentation rate. The coarse roughage will cause a relative occlusion at the exit of the cecum and will result in gas accumulation and the pain associated with colic. This is the principle behind the recommendation that "a horse should be shifted from one type of feed to another over a period of one to two weeks."Impaction of the cecum and colon is common and results from the ingestion of poorly digestible material. This, coupled with inadequate water intake or exercise, will predispose horses to impaction. To prevent impactions, a similar one to two weeks should be allowed for conversion from a high quality, easily digested, ration to one of low digestibility. This allows time for the gastrointestinal micro flora to adjust to new substrates. Very low quality roughages should not be fed since they predispose to impactions.

D. Small Colon

E. Colon

F. Rectum

Colic Webpage link -GREAT INFO

COLIC SURGERY PHOTOS FROM EXAM TO RECOVERY

Virtual Vet-Large Animal Web Forum

Stethoscope Directory -

This Stethoscope Directory designed to help its users find the stethoscope information, source, companies, products and services... It's your one-stop destination for anything you can think about stethoscope.