Colitis in Horses - Your Experiences & Advice, Please

[Alex_and_Bodie_s_Mom]

Did a search and it didn’t bring up much, so I wondered if a new thread might yield more information. And, maybe just typing this out will help, too.

About a year ago, Bodie started with a cycle of diarrhea and colic. We got it under control for several months with a diet change (added timothy pellets); in June, we had another slight bout of it, treated with probios (Florastor, actually a human brand, but recommended by UC Davis).

He took forever to gain weight back from this (yes, there was a thread on that a few months ago), but after another diet change that still included the timothy, but added a performance feed that was recommended, he started to gain weight - and in the winter, at age 29, that was fantastic. In fact, in the last two months, he’s gained approximately 150 pounds.

Then around January 5, he stopped eating. He gets a soup, because he has very few back teeth. An exam revealed a tooth with sharp edges that had started a sore in his mouth; the tooth was floated. After a few days on Previcox, he was eating better than he ever had.

Then, on Monday morning, he stopped eating again, and - for me, this is the biggest issue - started a personality change. Since he wouldn’t eat, I went to put a halter on him to give him the Previcox in a syringe, and he took off. I could not catch him. He’s been stand-offish and very quiet all week; despite finally getting Previcox down him every day, he’s been eating off and on. This is a chow hound who can slurp down two gallons of grain soup in nothing flat, and he’s literally walking away from it. Nothing in the grain has changed.

Yesterday, we pulled blood, and results showed high amounts of lymphocytes. My vet (who is great, but a more general practitioner) consulted with equine vets he knows at K-State and a major practice in AZ, and they all came back with colitis. In fact, one said that looking at the bloodwork, Bodie would go full-blown within a week (but that was just one). They also said that since his stool was normal (which it was yesterday) then we were still in the safe zone - but he started loose stool again this morning, which obviously is a game changer.

(BTW, we’ve done quite a bit of bloodwork in the past year, and none have ever shown salmonella.)

Bodie’s 29. We’ve been fighting weird things for a year. He’s clearly not himself at this point. If we go the antibiotics route, we need to start today, but at his age, none of the vets were hopeful of a good prognosis. I dread the thought of him going down when I’m not there, or when my vet cannot get there.

If anyone’s read this far, then I guess I’m asking - will antibiotics and a round of probios change anything, or am I prolonging something that could go very bad, very fast? Is the best thing to do to put him down before that happens, or can it be avoided? I know there’s many things that can cause colitis and many directions it can take, and I do not want to wait too long to make a choice.

[keysfins]

I can’t answer your questions about treatment. I’m sorry you are both in this spot. I, too, have an older horse on “Senior Soup”, and would be quite alarmed if he stopped eating.

Was a culture of his stool done? Is it possible he could have hind gut ulcers, with his history? Is a product like BioSponge, ProPectalin or ProBios indicated? Each has a different use/purpose/target, and should be syringe-able.

What is your gut and your heart telling you about him? Are you nearing “the time”?

Hugs and jingles to you both.

[keysfins]

FWIW, This thread showed up in the “related posts” box under the quick reply box:

http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?401579-Your-Experiences-with-Life-after-Right-Dorsal-Colitis

[cloudyandcallie]

First let me congratulate you on keeping your horse for 29 years. I wish I could get one of mine to make it to that age.

I am so sorry that he is ill. I don’t know any animals with colitis, just people, so I am of no help to you or your horse.

There is nothing wrong with putting him down if he is in pain and not eating. If he cannot get better with meds, that is. I think it is great that you are willing to spend money to keep him comfortable in his old age. But if he cannot get better and is in pain that cannot be controlled by meds, pts. I know the humans who have colitis tell me it is chronic and painful.

[Highflyer]

We had a weanling with it (as a reaction to azithromycin to treat rhodococcus). He was mildly off his feed/ slightly loose manure at breakfast time. By the time the vet came late morning his manure was basically water. We shipped him up to New Bolton ASAP and they did fluids pretty aggressively for several days. He lost probably a hundred pounds (a lot for a 600 lb baby!) and was just NQR for probably 6-8 months. Part of this of course was the rhodococcus as well, which we ended up not treating further. He did not end up with laminitis or any of the other complications and ended up going on to race.

I don’t think I would put a 29 year old horse with other issues through it, sorry.

[Alex_and_Bodie_s_Mom]

Keysfins - Thanks - we didn’t do a stool culture this time, but did them last year, and nothing was found. He’s on a regular wormer rotation, and has always tested clean.

I’ve considered hind gut ulcers in the past, but I don’t think that’s what it is this time.

Everything I’m reading says that colitis can hit very fast (within 2 hours, sometimes, they can go under) and that IF you can get them to a major clinic in time, they MIGHT survive with very expensive and very aggressive treatment. However, the AZ vets indicated that at his age, and with his history, Bodie’s chances of surviving a full-blown colitis attack would be - well, not good.

[Alex_and_Bodie_s_Mom]

Cloudy - thanks. I can’t take all the credit, I’ve only had him for about 8 years, but he’s a trooper.

The look in his eyes the last few days makes me think things are worse than he’s letting on. I’m willing to try, but I can’t afford a major hospitalization, especially if his survival chances are not good.

[Alex_and_Bodie_s_Mom]

Highflyer - from what I’ve been reading, this is pretty typical of colitis attacks. But I’m glad your baby got well.

[keysfins]

From your posts, it sounds like it might be time to consider euthanizing. And perhaps sooner than you are prepared to do, sadly. Have you reached that decision? Might it be kinder to Bodie that you prevent a further painful episode?

[IPEsq]

Not a horse, but my cat had a horrible case of mystery colitis over the summer. Very high WBC in particular mast cells. It affected only his colon (small bowel and stomach were fine). He was very sick…thought he wouldn’t make it. He was put on a boatload of antibiotics, from wide spectrum things like amoxicillin to gut specific things like metronidazole and (once he started eating again) probiotics. he is back to normal.

Given the bloodwork, I would give antibiotics a try. Does he have a fever?

[Alex_and_Bodie_s_Mom]

IPEsq - no fever, no increased heart rate.

Keysfins - I decided to try the antibiotic for now. When I went to call him up, he came trotting in, and cleaned up his soup (I feed earlier so I can get to work at 4). I’m well aware that I’m playing with fire, and I’m not remotely comfortable with this choice - but we’ll monitor closely, my vet is in town all weekend, and we’ll see. It’s the yin-yang that bothers me - when he’s not feeling well, he’s really not feeling well, but when he is, he’s great.

[keysfins]

Understandable to give him a chance, and I hope he will return to being well. Jingles!!

[Zu_Zu]

no advice … just Jingles & AO for your handsome gentleman ~

((hugs)) laced with strength and patience for you ~

[Alex_and_Bodie_s_Mom]

Thanks, ZuZu - we’re going to take it day by day.

He had his first antibiotics injection this afternoon (should last 3 days, long-lasting), and we can move him to Banamine if he continues to not want to eat. But he did eat tonight . . . it’s odd that in every case, he’s not wanted to eat in the mornings. However, I know it’s probably getting close to time, and I know that I have to put him and his comfort and his prognosis above my own ‘fight to the death’ mentality. Just very, very hard.

[Bluey]

[QUOTE=Alex and Bodie’s Mom;8505176]
Cloudy - thanks. I can’t take all the credit, I’ve only had him for about 8 years, but he’s a trooper.

The look in his eyes the last few days makes me think things are worse than he’s letting on. I’m willing to try, but I can’t afford a major hospitalization, especially if his survival chances are not good.[/QUOTE]

Maybe this will help you:

http://aaep.mediamarketers.com/euthanasia-guidelines-i-334.html

We can only do so much, without going into heroics, that are not always in the best interest of our horses.

Sorry, the picture you paint there seems to be that of a horse in decline, close to have a terminal crisis.
No telling from here, you have vets on your side, they will know where to go next.

[findthedistance]

One of my boarders had a bad colitis. This horse had a history of loose manure, particularly when traveling, and had been treated with pop rocks for suspected gastric ulcers. No other prior history. He was NQR for a few hours and then proceeded to full-tilt, wanting to drop and roll while walking, colic. After a couple rounds of tubing, etc., on the farm, he was referred to the local hospital. Some abnormalities on the ultrasound resulted in colic surgery. It turned out to be colitis and not a surgical fix after all.

The recovery was ugly. More than a week in the hospital in isolation, then almost a month of recovery at our local vet clinic. Then the normal post-surgical rules, stall rest with handgrazing, then round pen turnout in increasing increments, then turnout on grass in increasing increments, then riding… He relapsed once somewhere in the rehab process and ended up on a course of prednisolone.

Knock wood, no issues since then and he’s gone back to doing his job. That said, I wouldn’t put an aged horse through it. It was not a fun year in my boarder’s life. If something simple like antibiotics or steroids works, great. The options after that are not so good.

[Brian]

To the OP,

Please read the information from this link and share with your vet. Hopefully, it will point you in the right direction for your horse.

Personally, I am not a fan of Succeed or information in general that is published by companies that sell supplements. However, I believe this paper has a lot of research to support its findings.

https://www.montyroberts.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Colic-White-Paper.pdf

[sassy45]

At 29 and he’s not eating well and off in his behaviour i think i’d have him PTS. Better a day to soon then a day to late.(( Hugs)) to you and your boy.

[TimelyImpulse]

[QUOTE=Alex and Bodie’s Mom;8505639]
Thanks, ZuZu - we’re going to take it day by day.

He had his first antibiotics injection this afternoon (should last 3 days, long-lasting), and we can move him to Banamine if he continues to not want to eat. But he did eat tonight . . . it’s odd that in every case, he’s not wanted to eat in the mornings. However, I know it’s probably getting close to time, and I know that I have to put him and his comfort and his prognosis above my own ‘fight to the death’ mentality. Just very, very hard.[/QUOTE]

Have you considered the Previcox (or are you using Equioxx?) is currently causing the diarrhea? From the website:

Treatment with Equioxx should be terminated if signs such as inappetance, colic, abnormal feces, or lethargy are observed.

As a class, cyclooxygenase inhibitory NSAIDs may be associated with renal and gastrointestinal toxicity. Sensitivity to drug-associated adverse events varies with the individual patient. Patients at greatest risk for adverse events are those that are dehydrated, on diuretic therapy, or those with existing renal, cardiovascular, and/or hepatic dysfunction. Concurrent administration of potentially nephrotoxic drugs should be carefully approached or avoided. NSAIDs may inhibit the prostaglandins that maintain normal homeostatic function. Such anti-prostaglandin effects may result in clinically significant disease in patients with underlying or pre-existing disease that has not been previously diagnosed. Since many NSAIDs possess the potential to produce gastrointestinal ulcerations, concomitant use with other anti-inflammatory drugs, such as NSAIDs or corticosteroids, should be avoided or closely monitored. The concomitant use of protein bound drugs with Equioxx Oral Paste has not been studied in horses. The influence of concomitant drugs that may inhibit the metabolism of Equioxx Oral Paste has not been evaluated. Drug compatibility should be monitored in patients requiring adjunctive therapy.

The safe use of Equioxx Oral Paste in horses less than one year in age, horses used for breeding, or in pregnant or lactating mares has not been evaluated.

Consider appropriate washout times when switching from one NSAID to another NSAID or corticosteroid.

[silverdog]

A friend’s horse had Samonella. Fine one day, coliced the next, recovered and 2 days later had high temp and very low white count. Despite every effort and no cost spared, the horse died 10 days later. It was the most horrible thing I have ever seen as far as the degree of suffering I thought the horse was going through. The owner was not in reality and actually thought the horse would be fine - even when he was a sack of bones in the last few days. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons (none monetary) the vets supported her unrealistic hope. It was so horrible that if my horse gets any sort of bad colitis like that, I would not hesitate to euthanize my horse. I hate to paint such a negative picture but the experience left a lasting impression with me.