How to explain seriousness of colic to non-horse folks?

[TheJenners]

@S1969

I think the real question is do they actually want to understand, or do you just want to make them understand that it was an emergency? If the latter, I’d go with something like “possible intestinal torsion” so you sometimes just have to observe and wait to see that all is working (by passing manure) but be ready for an emergency surgery/decision.

If they really care, I’d show a picture of the horse’s digestive tract and explain in more detail. But I can understand why they really might not care.

That’s not the “real question.” I didn’t ask that at all. I asked how to explain it, when I’m asked what it is, because my coworkers are nice and decent people - plus they think my extent of horse/ag knowledge borders on the occult because it’s so foreign to them.

@shiloh

No sht = Oh sht

@TheJenners - how is your horse doing today?

Thank you for asking! He’s doing much better, raring to go out today and three normal poops last night. He’ll get three or so hours out and be brought back in, vet said today would be ok to return to normal schedule but I’m playing it safe since he’s 25, not a surgical candidate, and actually belongs to my Dad, who is on vacation out of the country and 10 hours ahead of me, and basically unreachable since he wandered through a public WiFi with his phone and caught a virus, destroying the phone… . It’s a fine line between being in to monitor pooping and drinking and giving him outside time because of his arthritis. The horse, not my Dad. :lol:

[S1969]

@TheJenners

That’s not the “real question.” I didn’t ask that at all. I asked how to explain it, when I’m asked what it is, because my coworkers are nice and decent people - plus they think my extent of horse/ag knowledge borders on the occult because it’s so foreign to them.

That’s my real question to you. Sheesh.

Are they actually interested, or do you just need a way to make them understand the seriousness of colic?

If they are just mildly interested in why it is serious - I would go with the “could be intestinal torsion.” If they are actually interested I’d use a graphic of the digestive tract of the horse.

[TMares]

Oh, there’s no right way. I for one have never even considered the phrase “intestinal torsion”, and I’ve had horses my whole life. I try to gauge the level of to gauge the level of glaze in their eyes, LOL and stay somewhere on this side of imagine you have a really upset stomach and you can’t throw up and you can’t burp and if you were to lay down and wallow around you could die. … or I might say if they’ve got a belly full of grass and get uncomfortable and quit drinking then that grass starts to off-gas and expand and things get a little scary pretty quickly. Simple terms easy to understand and not getting way off down in the weeds. Glad to hear he’s feeling better!

[trubandloki]

I had to explain this to co-workers recently.

The short answer I gave was typically something along the lines of - Colic is the term given to any type of stomach pain a horse can have. It can range from a little big of gas making them crampy to pieces of their intestine dying and them needing surgery. Colic symptoms are always considered an emergency that requires a vet and lots of extra care.

Then if they are still interested I go on to explain what the colic issue the situation at the current time involves and how it is treated.

TheJenners, I am glad that your father’s horse is doing better.

[TheJenners]

@S1969

That’s my real question to you. Sheesh.

Are they actually interested, or do you just need a way to make them understand the seriousness of colic?

If they are just mildly interested in why it is serious - I would go with the “could be intestinal torsion.” If they are actually interested I’d use a graphic of the digestive tract of the horse.

Oops sorry! In that case, yes to both! Some are genuinely interested, others hear “colic” and think baby-colic, so don’t understand why it was an emergency and ask why.

[meupatdoes]

So, you told your non horse people friends that colic is a medical emergency and they didn’t believe you?
They, who know nothing about horses, don’t believe you, an experienced horse owner, when you tell them colic is a medical emergency for a horse? And you think there are some magic words you can add to the phrase “Colic is a medical emergency for a horse” that will “convince” them that colic is a medical emergency for a horse?

I don’t even understand what is so difficult about this concept. If someone tells me they had an emergency because their zatapatt’s flleefamorph was obstructed, I don’t need to know what a zatapatt or a flleefamorph is to understand that, apparently, an obstructed flleefamorph is an emergency for my friend’s zatapatt, and my friend cared enough about this situation to miss OT for it. The next day I can say, “hey friend, how’s the zatapatt doing?” and if they say “much better thanks!” I can say “Yay! I’m so glad to hear it!” I don’t actually need a single piece of additional information to be a supportive and understanding friend or colleague about whatever is going on.

Furthermore, “immediately after an emergent situation that was clearly distressing” is not the time to ask my friend to explain zatapatts to me. Of course, if my friend volunteers at that moment to spend the next 20 minutes detailing the life history of her zatapatt, that would probably be a good tie to hold calls, shut up, and listen - but only if, and only for as long as, she volunteers.
Dump out, comfort in.

If your colleagues are honestly curious about what colic is, the answer is, “colic is any kind of abdominal pain in a horse. Usually it’s nothing, but it’s always treated as an emergency because the discomfort could be caused by an intestinal obstruction or twist, which would be life threatening.” What more explanation could they possibly need???

These people don’t need to be convinced, they need to just accept the words you are saying to them in plain English. Guess what, your colleagues are being deliberately obtuse assholes who won’t just accept the plain English words coming out of your mouth, and that whatever it was, it was an emergency for you and you cared about it. You don’t owe it to them to meet their standard of proof which apparently doesn’t include accepting the meaning of simple sentences. Them asking you to explain what plain English words mean is not interest or concern, it’s sea lioning.

If “colic is a medical emergency for a horse” is insufficient for them, adding “they can’t throw up” is not going to turn on the light bulb. Don’t waste your time explaining simple concepts to people who won’t understand simple concepts for you.

Them: Why didn’t you take the OT?
You: I had a personal matter to attend to. Glad someone else got a little extra cash this week!

See also:
Them: Why didn’t you take OT?
You: My horse had a medical emergency.
Them: Your HORSE had a MEDICAL EMERGENCY?
You: Yep. I’d rather not go into the details. But he’s doing better now, thanks.

I once had to miss an after hours work event “because the saddle fitter is coming for my friend’s horse.”
So I replied to the office-wide Google invite with “Sorry, I can’t make it, the saddle fitter is coming for my friend’s horse” and the organizer’s response was “got it, thanks!” And that was the last I had to explain myself on that subject.

[TMares]

@meupatdoes did you wake up on the wrong side of the Peloton this morning or what?

[2DogsFarm]

Arriving late, but IMO non-horsepeople don’t need Chapter & Verse.
I stick with “Colic can kill a horse.” & if they ask how/why I provide details. Using the @TMares guage of interest.

I once called in sick after spending a night - until 3A - attending my horse’s colic surgery, “assisting” by holding the bags of Ringers.
As my job was providing support, both onsite & remote, to computer users, I felt I might be less than effective with zero sleep.

My boss declined to approve the sick time as he claimed I was not the one who was sick.
HR sided with me, I got paid, but Sheesh! :mad:

@TheJenners glad Dad’s horse is recovering :encouragement:

[meupatdoes]

@TMares

@meupatdoes did you wake up on the wrong side of the Peloton this morning or what?

Ok so apparently “probably shouldn’t ask people (in this case OP) to explain shit to you (in this case OP’s colleagues) when they (OP) just had a tough time” really is a difficult concept.

Whoever is suggesting such an insane model of empathy and support must have woken up on the wrong side of the Peloton (…?).

[meupatdoes]

@2DogsFarm

My boss declined to approve the sick time …

What an ass. I have never understood people who try to manage employees by being the biggest possible a-hole.

[TheJenners]

@meupatdoes

These people don’t need to be convinced, they need to just accept the words you are saying to them in plain English. Guess what, your colleagues are being deliberately obtuse assholes who won’t just accept the plain English words coming out of your mouth, and that whatever it was, it was an emergency for you and you cared about it. You don’t owe it to them to meet their standard of proof which apparently doesn’t include accepting the meaning of simple sentences. Them asking you to explain what plain English words mean is not interest or concern, it’s sea lioning.

Normally appreciate your posts, but in this… you are being the “deliberately obtuse asshole” :rolleyes: I never once said they had any sort of negative reaction, I just wanted help explaining it because I was struggling at the time to break it down to anything more than I had in my OP. I don’t know why you took my OP in that light, I re-read and don’t get it at all. They were/are genuinely curious. Dang.

ETA: Look the convo went like this: Me, “omg I’m so tired, yaaaawn,” coworker, “didn’t sleep well?” me, “Up late, had to call the vet for an emergency appt, Bay coliced last night,” coworker, “what is colic?” me, “blah blah emergency, can die, or just gassy but each one is treated like they can die.” The OT callout, I am senior enough to say no without being questioned there either, I just offered, “nope, still waiting on poop!” as a funny and then went from there :lol:

[TheJenners]

I had to Google sea lioning. This wasn’t it, and also… how annoying if someone does this to you!

[TMares]

@TheJenners

Normally appreciate your posts, but in this… you are being the “deliberately obtuse asshole” :rolleyes: I never once said they had any sort of negative reaction, I just wanted help explaining it because I was struggling at the time to break it down to anything more than I had in my OP. I don’t know why you took my OP in that light, I re-read and don’t get it at all. They were/are genuinely curious. Dang.

Exactly. I typically enjoy her posts. This one was really off.

[16_Hands]

@2DogsFarm

Arriving late, but IMO non-horsepeople don’t need Chapter & Verse.
I stick with “Colic can kill a horse.” & if they ask how/why I provide details. Using the @TMares guage of interest.

I once called in sick after spending a night - until 3A - attending my horse’s colic surgery, “assisting” by holding the bags of Ringers.
As my job was providing support, both onsite & remote, to computer users, I felt I might be less than effective with zero sleep.

My boss declined to approve the sick time as he claimed I was not the one who was sick.
HR sided with me, I got paid, but Sheesh! :mad:

@TheJenners glad Dad’s horse is recovering :encouragement:

Really? Your boss didn’t approve your sick time? I guess he doesn’t have kids or animals himself.

[deltawave]

I’d just say horses are so damn fragile and leave it at that. If non-horse-people ask genuine questions wanting to know genuine details, I give them genuine details. Most of the time, though, their eyes start to glaze over after about 10 seconds. lol

[2DogsFarm]

@16 Hands

Really? Your boss didn’t approve your sick time? I guess he doesn’t have kids or animals himself.

Au contraire :no:
Asshat was on his 2nd marriage with a newish baby.
Which, was often his reason for assigning me to the late night work (updates to software that required all users off the system) so he could rush home to the Crown Prince.
Baby was near 2 & still sharing a bedroom with parents. Older (not yet teens) stepkids had their own rooms.
Also lied about my position being salaried so I did not claim OT… Until a late-working HR employee enlightened me.
My revenge was giving notice exactly 2wks before Fiscal YE. I had been the one who ran all of the reports needed & he ended up calling me at my new job asking how to do them.
Gee, wish I could have remembered :rolleyes:

@meupatdoes If that made me an a-hole too, proud of it!

[Encourage]

I just went through this last night. My mare coliced, when I explained it to my boss I just said “because they can’t regurgitate they have no way or reliving themselves if they get constipated. This can cause their intestines to displace, twist, or rupture. Either she’s able to resolve it at the farm with drugs, or she has to go to the hospital and potentially have surgery or she’ll die.” Luckily I work with some pretty awesome people.

Even more lucky is i is I have an amazing vet and mare is feeling much better today.

[LilyandBaron]

I think this must depend on the office culture. I just went through this, explaining the horse had to be checked every two hours. For those curious (I work with a lot of technical and investigative people), I explained in detail, but others, I just told them my horse had a medical emergency that required my being up every two hours. Then we’d laugh about toddlers vs. animals and lack of sleep, and everyone was thankful my horse was okay. I think if a boss doubts the reality of the crisis, I’d send links to articles explaining it, vice me trying to justify the seriousness of it.