Crazy fast colic; what killed my horse?

[Ghazzu]

@StormyDay

So I got the results today. Nothing too surprising. diagnosis was a twist that resolved itself before death. However, the intestine was too damaged which lead to toxemia, cardiovascular collapse, and death.
There is some rod shaped bacteria that they are doing gram staining on, probably the cause of the toxemia.
I will never know why she never presented as being in such dire straights. It’s possible that if I had immediately trailered her to the hospital when it started she may have made it. But, I’m not sure they would have been able to diagnose her in time, and even if they did I likely wouldn’t have put her through the surgery. On top of that, the location of the twist would have made surgery very, very difficult to impossible. She basically would have had to lose 10 feet from her stomach down.
So that’s it. Nothing contagious or worrying to my other horses. Just a freak accident.

If it’s any comfort, I once had a case of a mare w/ a twist who was literally a 10 minute trailer ride from the surgeon.
She was normal, suddenly dropped to the ground right after a lesson, owner called me, I was there in 10 minutes.
So, 20 minutes from onset, and she didn’t make it.

I am glad you got an answer, but I’m sure it still hurts, and will for awhile. My condolences.

[x-halt-salute]

@StormyDay

So that’s it. Nothing contagious or worrying to my other horses. Just a freak accident.

I’m so sorry you lost her in one of these freak accidents. It’s so hard to know when to load up for the hospital, how much intervention to put them through, and even if they have any chance if you do send them to surgery – hindsight here suggests you made sound decisions throughout. And as confusing as it is that she didn’t show the kind of distressing pain that this sort of colic often presents with, it is a bit of a blessing that she didn’t have to go through that.

Glad your others are safe and thank you for sharing what you’ve learned.

[Mango20]

Thanks for sharing the details for everyone’s education. I’m sure it’s not too easy with it being so recent.

[B_and_B]

I’m sorry.
Can I just say that I am glad you had a post mortem done? I didn’t, there was no reason to…I remain haunted by the brutal colic that killed my 33 year old heart horse. I know that by the time we found him in the morning there was nothing to be done: he had been down and thrashing for hours, was in shock, and had a twist confirmed by a rectal, and was blowing through any pain meds (they weren’t even touching it). He wasn’t a candidate for surgery either. But, I still wonder…

[JB]

@B and B

I’m sorry.
Can I just say that I am glad you had a post mortem done? I didn’t, there was no reason to…I remain haunted by the brutal colic that killed my 33 year old heart horse. I know that by the time we found him in the morning there was nothing to be done: he had been down and thrashing for hours, was in shock, and had a twist confirmed by a rectal, and was blowing through any pain meds (they weren’t even touching it). He wasn’t a candidate for surgery either. But, I still wonder…

Please don’t beat yourself up over the “what if” on a 33yo with such a painful twist. It doesn’t sound like there’s anything to wonder about. Something that bad, at that age, and not a candidate for surgery (because hey, 33), sometimes it’s just the crappy luck of the draw how things end.

I had the real JB on the table at NCSU after blowing through banamine, after I found him after we’d been gone for Saturday early voting (and yeah, I always will wonder “what if” on that one ), after meds to try to flip a (hopefully) entrapped spleen back, only to find many feet of dead intestine from a strangulating lipoma. They did give me the option of resection. They also gave me a 20% chance of quality of life thereafter because of not just the surgery itself, but the damage, and at age 20, while I desperately wanted another 10 years with him now that we had FINALLY gotten him to our own farm, I didn’t think it was fair to ask that of him.

there’s always that stupid hindsight which tells us if ONLY we’d gotten them to the hospital sooner, when there was no way to know or do that, and we can’t let that haunt us :no:

[StormyDay]

@x-halt-salute

I’m so sorry you lost her in one of these freak accidents. It’s so hard to know when to load up for the hospital, how much intervention to put them through, and even if they have any chance if you do send them to surgery – hindsight here suggests you made sound decisions throughout. And as confusing as it is that she didn’t show the kind of distressing pain that this sort of colic often presents with, it is a bit of a blessing that she didn’t have to go through that.

Glad your others are safe and thank you for sharing what you’ve learned.

I’m pretty glad that she went at home. She was in a comfy stall, with her best buddy next door where she could see him, and she passed peacefully. Much better IMO then hauling her to a strange smelling hospital where she would have been confused and scared in her last moments. Also, my other horses all got to see her any say goodbye before burial, which I Really think helped their mourning process. It was heartbreaking seeing her best friend telling her to get up, and then realizing she wouldn’t, but I think it helped that he knew where she went. She didn’t just leave and never come back.

They hang out by her grave. I think they know more than we give them credit for.

[IPEsq]

Don’t second guess yourself. Very likely there was not going to be a better outcome no matter what, and at least she didn’t seem to suffer terribly and your other horses benefitted from her being at home.

My horse was seen by the vet in under 10 minutes and on the trailer as fast as possible, but based on how bad his case was, I think he would have had to be in the hospital already to have even a sliver of a chance. I’m not sure if that would have even been enough by the time surgical prep would have been done. He was fine and scarfing his hay when I visited him 30-45 minutes before the barn called the vet and me. It’s just such a terrible disease.

[StormyDay]

@IPEsq

Don’t second guess yourself. Very likely there was not going to be a better outcome no matter what, and at least she didn’t seem to suffer terribly and your other horses benefitted from her being at home.

My horse was seen by the vet in under 10 minutes and on the trailer as fast as possible, but based on how bad his case was, I think he would have had to be in the hospital already to have even a sliver of a chance. I’m not sure if that would have even been enough by the time surgical prep would have been done. He was fine and scarfing his hay when I visited him 30-45 minutes before the barn called the vet and me. It’s just such a terrible disease.

It is. I always thought that with things like this you would have more time. It’s really shocking how fast they can go from normal to bacteria already poisoning them. Crazy fast.

[x-halt-salute]

@StormyDay

I’m pretty glad that she went at home. She was in a comfy stall, with her best buddy next door where she could see him, and she passed peacefully. Much better IMO then hauling her to a strange smelling hospital where she would have been confused and scared in her last moments. Also, my other horses all got to see her any say goodbye before burial, which I Really think helped their mourning process. It was heartbreaking seeing her best friend telling her to get up, and then realizing she wouldn’t, but I think it helped that he knew where she went. She didn’t just leave and never come back.

They hang out by her grave. I think they know more than we give them credit for.

I agree that they know a lot more than they get credit for.

That truly sounds like a merciful way to shuffle off this mortal coil, and for the herd to cope with the loss. I hope you are also coping o.k. Hugs to you.

[RhythmNCruise]

@StormyDay

I’m pretty glad that she went at home. She was in a comfy stall, with her best buddy next door where she could see him, and she passed peacefully. Much better IMO then hauling her to a strange smelling hospital where she would have been confused and scared in her last moments. Also, my other horses all got to see her any say goodbye before burial, which I Really think helped their mourning process. It was heartbreaking seeing her best friend telling her to get up, and then realizing she wouldn’t, but I think it helped that he knew where she went. She didn’t just leave and never come back.

They hang out by her grave. I think they know more than we give them credit for.

They definitely do. When I had my own place, I had my three “home boys”: Tigger, who I owned for 22 years before he had to be euthanized at age 28 for a similar mystery illness; Calvin, who I owned for his entire 22-year life before he broke his hind leg in several places and had to be euthanized last year; and Milton, who I’ve owned for 11 of his 12 years and had to lose both of his best buddies within two years of each other and be left totally alone. Tigger went first on Christmas Eve of 2017, and Calvin and Milton were aware and looked for him, but not terribly distressed because they still had each other. I actually didn’t take them out to say goodbye to him because I fled the scene myself and the vet put him down while I was away. He was the first horse I ever had die/put down, and I was a wreck. Labor Day 2019 was when I found Calvin with his leg basically dangling from his body (typical horses…emergency euthanasia on a holiday of course!). Calvin was my heart horse. I watched him being born, which was my first experience of seeing a foal born. I bought him a week later and after I handed over the check, I climbed into the pen with him and his sweet dam. Calvin was sleeping. I sat down beside him and pulled him over so that his head was in my lap. He just laid there, happy as a clam. He was, without question, the sweetest animal I’ve ever been blessed enough to love. Anyway, needless to say I was completely gutted when I found him with his broken leg. I almost fainted. I almost threw up. I think I went into shock for like a week, and then one night something hit me and I cried so hard and for so long I thought I was literally going to die lying on my bedroom floor. That horse was my child. I raised him, broke him, trained him, and showed him entirely by myself. He never said “no” to anything I asked him.

Anyway, sorry…my point was, when Calvin died I did take Milton to say goodbye because he was freaking out. For the next few weeks, he stayed very close to Calvin’s grave. He had acres of pasture to wander and graze, and he usually did, but he was lost without his buddy. So was I.

I moved Milton to a boarding barn and sold my place last October. It has been a big adjustment for him because he lived at my place from the time he was a yearling when I bought him. He has had all sorts of ups and downs and is just now finally starting to level out and seem content. I used to say “He thinks this is the longest horse show he’s ever been to,” because that’s how he acted. He just didn’t accept it as home. I truly believe a big part of it was getting over the trauma of losing his BFFs and learning his place with a bunch of new horses. Tigger and Calvin helped me raise Milton. He looked to them for guidance and reassurance, and they were no longer around to take care of him. He had to grow up and learn to be a horse.

Sorry for the long anecdote. Whenever I read about someone losing a horse suddenly, my heart just goes out to them. It’s such a shock, and they leave such a big hole in our lives and hearts. It definitely sounds like you did all that you could. Sometimes there is just nothing to be done. She was at home with her friends and just laid down and went to sleep. It doesn’t get much better than that.

And you’re amazing for sharing this so that we could all learn from your experience. Thank you for that.

[StormyDay]

@RhythmNCruise

They definitely do. When I had my own place, I had my three “home boys”: Tigger, who I owned for 22 years before he had to be euthanized at age 28 for a similar mystery illness; Calvin, who I owned for his entire 22-year life before he broke his hind leg in several places and had to be euthanized last year; and Milton, who I’ve owned for 11 of his 12 years and had to lose both of his best buddies within two years of each other and be left totally alone. Tigger went first on Christmas Eve of 2017, and Calvin and Milton were aware and looked for him, but not terribly distressed because they still had each other. I actually didn’t take them out to say goodbye to him because I fled the scene myself and the vet put him down while I was away. He was the first horse I ever had die/put down, and I was a wreck. Labor Day 2019 was when I found Calvin with his leg basically dangling from his body (typical horses…emergency euthanasia on a holiday of course!). Calvin was my heart horse. I watched him being born, which was my first experience of seeing a foal born. I bought him a week later and after I handed over the check, I climbed into the pen with him and his sweet dam. Calvin was sleeping. I sat down beside him and pulled him over so that his head was in my lap. He just laid there, happy as a clam. He was, without question, the sweetest animal I’ve ever been blessed enough to love. Anyway, needless to say I was completely gutted when I found him with his broken leg. I almost fainted. I almost threw up. I think I went into shock for like a week, and then one night something hit me and I cried so hard and for so long I thought I was literally going to die lying on my bedroom floor. That horse was my child. I raised him, broke him, trained him, and showed him entirely by myself. He never said “no” to anything I asked him.

Anyway, sorry…my point was, when Calvin died I did take Milton to say goodbye because he was freaking out. For the next few weeks, he stayed very close to Calvin’s grave. He had acres of pasture to wander and graze, and he usually did, but he was lost without his buddy. So was I.

I moved Milton to a boarding barn and sold my place last October. It has been a big adjustment for him because he lived at my place from the time he was a yearling when I bought him. He has had all sorts of ups and downs and is just now finally starting to level out and seem content. I used to say “He thinks this is the longest horse show he’s ever been to,” because that’s how he acted. He just didn’t accept it as home. I truly believe a big part of it was getting over the trauma of losing his BFFs and learning his place with a bunch of new horses. Tigger and Calvin helped me raise Milton. He looked to them for guidance and reassurance, and they were no longer around to take care of him. He had to grow up and learn to be a horse.

Sorry for the long anecdote. Whenever I read about someone losing a horse suddenly, my heart just goes out to them. It’s such a shock, and they leave such a big hole in our lives and hearts. It definitely sounds like you did all that you could. Sometimes there is just nothing to be done. She was at home with her friends and just laid down and went to sleep. It doesn’t get much better than that.

And you’re amazing for sharing this so that we could all learn from your experience. Thank you for that.

Thank you, and I’m sorry for your losses. Sounds like you had a really rough year.

[merrygoround]

@4horses

The reason I do not immediately give banamine is because I have seen things like this before… Neighbor had a horse with colic in the late afternoon, gave banamine, and the horse died sometime during the night. Didn’t have the vet up. I’m sure she thought the horse looked fine, after she administered the banamine…

Another horse I was caring for had colic. I called the owner who suggested Banamine, horse was fine for 6 hours or so, by midnight the horse was sick again. I called the owner again, they wanted me to give another dose which got the horse through to morning. Had the vet up at 8 am on a Sunday morning to tube the horse, as he was still painful.

”‹”‹Fortunately he recovered just fine. Not my horse…I would have had the vet up sooner.

From my experience, it effectively masks the pain for 6-8 hours, and if you have not treated the cause of the colic, the horse will be painful again.

It is a powerful painkiller and it can cover up the symptoms so you may not recognize if something is going seriously wrong. Sort of like taking morphine for a stomachache.

To the OP, this is not a criticism of you in any way. I just want people to be aware that by giving banamine, you risk the horse deteriorating because they can’t tell us their level of pain. This is the risk you take every time you administer the drug. Most people find that risk acceptable. In non-surgical colics, the horse usually recovers just fine with a dose of banamine and time.

But when things go badly wrong, that is when you need to know how painful your horse is. If your horse needs surgery, the sooner you recognize that it is a surgical colic, the better.

Again it isn’t a promise of survival. The horse could get severely ill without being that painful, or he could be severely painful without being at risk of death.

We weigh these risks every time we administer medications to our horses. I will hesitate before giving banamine. Do I have to give this drug? Can I just watch and wait? If i give the drug, i need to be there when that drug wears off.

Dear, You have no idea what you are talking about.

So please, stop trying to excuse yourself fr the inexcusable lack of reading comprehension.

[Alex_and_Bodie_s_Mom]

@StormyDay

So I got the results today. Nothing too surprising. diagnosis was a twist that resolved itself before death. However, the intestine was too damaged which lead to toxemia, cardiovascular collapse, and death.
There is some rod shaped bacteria that they are doing gram staining on, probably the cause of the toxemia.
I will never know why she never presented as being in such dire straights. It’s possible that if I had immediately trailered her to the hospital when it started she may have made it. But, I’m not sure they would have been able to diagnose her in time, and even if they did I likely wouldn’t have put her through the surgery. On top of that, the location of the twist would have made surgery very, very difficult to impossible. She basically would have had to lose 10 feet from her stomach down.
So that’s it. Nothing contagious or worrying to my other horses. Just a freak accident.

I’m so sorry, but at least you now know what it was, and that there was very little - if anything - you could have done to alter the outcome.

[Equkelly]

@StormyDay

I’m pretty glad that she went at home. She was in a comfy stall, with her best buddy next door where she could see him, and she passed peacefully. Much better IMO then hauling her to a strange smelling hospital where she would have been confused and scared in her last moments.

Such a good point. We forget how scary the hospital really is for them.

When I picked my girl up from a weekend at the hospital her full body was shaking like crazy. She’s never been that worried about anything and she nearly ran over the poor vet tech that was handing her off to me. I’ve never seen a horse shake like that. A few weeks later once she was recovered I tried to trailer her out for a trail ride and she refused to load. She’s always been super easy to load including when she was in the middle of a serious colic episode. Nope. She was like “I’m not sure I’m going to like where this trailer is going so I’d better just not get on.”

You made the right call OP. I wouldn’t have gone to the hospital either over such a mild colic.

[SporthorseFun]

Thank you for letting us know what happened from the test results. I am glad to hear your other horses are safe, and again, I think you did all the right things for your mare.

[JB]

Yes, banamine is a pretty good smooth muscle pain reducer, so if you can reduce the pain from spasming intestines, for example, you may help them relax and potentially help resolve gas issues, or mild impactions.