Colic Surgery

[BruBoy]

Hi there, it has been ages since I’ve been on the forum and I’m really looking forward to the member’s advice and wisdom.

My beautiful mare had an intestinal twist this Saturday and was rushed to OVC Equine Hospital in Ontario Canada. She had colic surgery same day and had a 40% chance of survival due to her size but she survived and is currently doing very well post op.

Saturday morning she was waiting at the gate pawing and pacing. I knew immediately that she was having a colic episode and as soon as I went to her she went down. It was obvious she was waiting for help and was going to fight. It was agonizing watching her in so much pain. So thankful she came through the surgery.

My question is to those who have gone through the post op care - any tips or advice that doctor Google doesn’t provide? What can I expect? How can I make her post op life easier? I have read stories online but I would rather hear personal experiences.

Thank you everyone and I hope you’ve been safe during these trying times.

[spencerlucy]

My then 24 yr old draft cross had colic surgery last February due to an impaction in his colon. He didn’t require a resection but had two enterotomies and did very well post-surgery. He stayed in the clinic for a week and then was on stall rest for 30 days before returning to turnout for 30 days and then at the was cleared to start light longing and in hand work and I was back in the tack around day 90. I was fortunate that the period of stall rest was in the winter as turnout can be hit or miss in Wisconsin due to the weather plus he is a pretty easy going fellow so he didn’t find staying in with frequent small meals that much of a hardship. He did go for 2-3 handwalks a day and I think that helped break up the boredom a bit. Good luck with your mare’s recovery!

[JBCool]

Well, what would have been my reply would’ve sounded just like spencerlucy’s, so just re-read hers Except my horse was 6yo TB. Lots of hand walks/grazing (I needed Ace the last few weeks of stall rest to keep mine on the ground the whole time, but that will depend on the horse.) I was also very lucky to have had a volunteer army to help keep him walked, grazed and otherwise entertained via grooming & leg wrapping. Mine had surgery the beginning of November and I started riding him again in February.

[BruBoy]

spencerlucy and JBCool did you experience any bumps in the road. Today, the surgeon stopped the handfuls of grass she was getting because she started to colic again. OVC did an ultrasound, rectal, checked fluid in her stomach and all checked out okay. They think it may be spasms where the intestine was reattached. Her heart rates is staying relatively low, no fever.

I can’t wait until we are through this. It’s incredibly stressful.

[JBCool]

Fortunately, mine did not really have any hiccups, but he also did not require as much resection as it sounds like your mare did. If I remember correctly, they more slit his intestine open to remove the blockage, but did not have to remove any of the intestine itself. Sending hugs and jingles like mad from here. I wouldn’t wish colic on my enemy.

[spencerlucy]

Bob didn’t require a resection either, just two enterotomy incisions to clear the blockages. As I understand it resections do carry an increased risk of adhesions and therefore complications - I hope what your mare is experiencing is just a couple of small bumps and that she will continue to improve. OVC is a great facility - I’m originally from the Waterloo region (as is Bob, he’s a Wallensteiner, haha) and have a number of friends who had good outcomes at that facility. Bob also stayed on a lidocaine drip for three days following surgery and on IV antibiotics for the full seven days he was in the clinic. His surgeon was very happy with how well he recovered as by the time they went into his abdomen the colon where the fecalith was stuck had started to turn grey and look quite fragile. Fingers crossed your mare does well.

[ndirish07]

I, unfortunately, don’t have a good success story with colic surgery. My draft horse had a lipoma strangulating his small intestine. They did a resection of it. He had post op ileus and required additional support to restart his intestines. He coliced a few more times in the nearly 2 weeks he was in the clinic when they started to add more feed and handgrazing him lightly. He finally went home to a rehab facility where everything was monitored and controlled. He had a strict re-feeding schedule otherwise he’d get colicy but nothing that needed the vet. After, I think 2 months there, he was up to regular turnout and came home. About 2 weeks after he came home he coliced again and I put him down. He was insured so a necropsy was done. He had adhesions where the resection was. The adhesions alone were not the the issue that caused his death; rather as it was explained by the surgeon, they were not as mobile in his intestine when it moved, which caused a mesenteric rent, which strangulated even more intestine. That was a very expensive and very stressful couple of months.

I would suggest finding a rehab facility that has remote video monitoring, and/or 24/7 care. They need so much attention when they get home. My guy got fed a small amount every couple hours. And then he needed such small paddocks to restrict movement, graduating to larger ones as he progressed. I knew my boarding barn could not provide that level of care and did not have the paddocks to accommodate that.

[Displaced_Yankee]

My advice: manage the horse in front of you.

I cannot remember all the specifics (many years ago), but when I was an assistant trainer and away at a show with another client, a client’s horse coliced and require transport to the local vet school for surgery. She had complications from the anesthesia, nearly died, but pulled through and shipped home about 10 days later.

We had pretty standard colic surgery rehab (very similar to @spencerlucy). Our initial instructions included a handful of hay 3 times a day for a certain amount of days. This poor mare was tearing her stall apart and banging on the walls. We consulted with our vet (who was called for the initial colic and sent her for surgery) and were approved to increase her forage intake faster than the vet school instructions. We increased her hay via more frequent feedings and hand grazing…so long as she showed no adverse signs. Mare was much much more manageable and went into work 90 days post-surgery. I believe the horse is still competing in dressage with no issue.

My point: she was causing more harm to herself as we followed the vet school rehab. Once we adjusted to the horse’s needs (supervised and vet consultation) she was much happier.

@Texarkana has a great thread on her mare, Abby. Not colic surgery…but an example of doing what is best for the horse…despite protocol.

[2tempe]

My mare had colic surgery about 7 years ago - displacement of large colon. She came through the surgery and similar rehab/recovery process. There was no resection, only a rearrangement of the parts to get back where they belonged. Seven months later she had another colic episode, requiring surgery #2. This time displaced to the other side. Again, all went pretty well; we had a few worries about the wires that were used to hold this incision in place but were able to take them out a few days early and the iffy looking spots healed up with no further incident. I was told to watch for hernias; she did get some swelling but that turned out to be temporary, no hernia ever presented. She is a quiet mare and was no problem on stall rest, hand grazing. But if yours isn’t, Ace can be your friend. Also when we first turned her out she spent 4-5 days in a very small paddock before graduating to her regular pasture.
I have a friend (a vet!) whose horse is recovering from colic surgery that somehow picked up a salmonella infection a couple weeks post surgery. Watch your horse like a hawk, temp, water intake, attitude, etc. Adhesions can form in the weeks after surgery and may have colic like symptoms. Good luck!!

[BruBoy]

Thank you! So happy your horse is doing well. We visited her yesterday at OVC and hand walked her. She was curious and apparently starving looking for any blade of grass she could find lol. She’s been started back on grass slowly. Fingers crossed!

[BruBoy]

I’m sorry to hear about your boy. Abby had a twist of her small intestines. After surgery, ileus, thankfully, was not an issue and she passed the contents of her stomach that she consumed prior to the twist. Adhesions are a risk but ultrasound, rectals, etc. are all normal. OVC has restarted her on grass and she is doing well. So far no further colic episodes.

We just keep holding our breath and praying.

I’m sure your boy was beautiful. Abby is a Percheron/TB cross. Love the larger horses.

[BruBoy]

Thank you for this advice! We have already been planning on how to deal with her aftercare. Our horses are home with us and my husband and myself both work from home. She is a very well behaved horse in hand and pretty easy going (not so much under saddle lol) but our stalls are quite a distance from her herd’s paddock. Keeping her in one of the stalls would be far to stressful for her regardless of how well behaved and non-herd bound she is.

We have a 35 x 40 sickness paddock (built for situations such as this) within our main paddock. We are going to cut this paddock in half. We installed a large carport in it and built an open stall in the back of the structure. The front of the structure is covered but with no walls for a breeze and she will have 12 x 12 patch of open space for sunshine. We built this last weekend…nothing like a stressful situation to light a fire under your ass.

The herd’s hay feeder will be placed right beside her small, little paddock so she is still with them. The paddock is also right in my line of sight from my office window.

I will of course discuss her aftercare with OVC but I do think this is best for her. She also has RAO and she hasn’t had an attack in the almost 3 years she has been home. I really want to ensure she continues to have fresh air and sunshine.

[BruBoy]

Thank you 2tempe! Abby is very well behaved and managing her post surgery will not be hard.

How is your mare doing now?

[happilyretired]

Years ago I had a mare who had surgery for a stomach impaction. The post surgery stall rest got to be a real challenge … She had a turnout buddy so we used stall panels to construct a “stall” in the middle of their large pasture which worked well. The two mares were content to be “together” and the recuperating patient didn’t mind her outside “stall rest”.

[BruBoy]

Love this and similar to what we are going to do. Abby likes her stall but will be much happier and healthier with fresh air and close to her herd. I can’t wait until we are through this and she comes home.

[BruBoy]

Hi there, just giving a quick update. Abby came through colic surgery fine. She had strangulating lipoma. She was at OVC for 11 days and she had a bout of colitis for a few days after surgery but once it cleared she was fine.

When we bought her home, she was very upset that she could not be with her herd and our plan definitely did not work, so we opted to rent a stall where we used to board (thankfully they answered my call at 11:00 p.m. and could take her right away) and back on the trailer she went for the 18 minute drive to our old stomping ground. She settled into her old stall right away as I’m sure it felt familiar. She stayed on stall rest for 16 days and came home a week ago.

She has now been home for a week on small paddock individual turnout with a stall right in the paddock. It’s working out as we had initially planned and she loves her new stall. Though she seemed very upset with me for two days when she came home?? Very hard not to take it personally after running between two places to care for her and feeling mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted…I know she had it worse but still!

My level headed mare has returned. I was so worried about her physically that I never realized how mentally and emotionally upsetting this would be for her.

So far so good. I’m afraid to jinx it by saying it out loud but she is doing amazing.

Thank you all for the advice, and from one horse owner to another, may you never have to experience colic surgery!

[Fiesta01]

Thanks so much for the update!! So good to hear you’re having such a good result from a truly heart-wrenching situation. (From someone who lost a beloved mare to complications following colic surgery. Broken femur when coming out of anesthesia. Back in the 80s). Prayers and hugs for continued healing.

[BruBoy]

Thank you Fiesta01! I’m so sorry you lost your beloved mare.

[BruBoy]

Well hello! Just posting an update on Miss Abby. It’s now 16 months out from her colic surgery and she recovered like a trouper. Aside from a bout of gas/displacement colic shortly after her surgery when he reintroduced grain, she has had no issues since.

Hope everyone and their horses are safe and happy!