Pony belching and looked like she was about to vomit.

[Jjb]

Yes … I know horses do not typically belch and do not vomit.

Pony came in for bed as usual. Gave pellets and hung hay.
as she is eating pellets, she belched a few times and raised her upper lip.
walked around. Laid down for a bit … Got up and pooped. She seems fine otherwise.

No temp.

in Case of choke, I removed food but she seems hungry.

I just opened up paddock a bit so she was eating greener grass. Also … There are mushrooms in paddock.
She does get beet pulp but I soak over night.
Cannot feel any lump in neck.

What do you think ?

She really wants her food … Should I put it back? Wait till morning?

[mroades]

wait til morning

[Jjb]

Thanks.
we are going to check on her ar 11 … Then 2 … Then 6.
This over doing it? Or should I check on her more frequent?

[tazycat]

Did she by chance have any food or foamy stuff coming out her nose with this happened? To be safe i’d wait till morning to feed her.

[Kayce]

Monitor closely, withold food, water only, and see how she does, call the vet if any declining changes, if it continues, if she has nasal discharge, drooling, or appears to be uncomfortable. It’s possible, probable really considering the symptoms seem to have been short that she almost immediately passed the momentary blockage. If you were still concerned and confortable doing so you could pass a nasogastic tube and give some mineral oiled water. You could also offer her food but in a slurry and see if it passes, if she has a repeat episode, call the vet.

[tazycat]

Do NOT try to tube your horse yourself have vet come out to do the tubing.

[Scribbler]

Don’t tube a horse yourself, and a vet won’t tube until he has checked out to see what’s wrong. You don’t want to tube for some kinds of blockages or ruptures, that would make things worse.

[Jjb]

No … Nothing coming out of nose or mouth.

@tazycat

Did she by chance have any food or foamy stuff coming out her nose with this happened? To be safe i’d wait till morning to feed her.

[S1969]

Sounds like a mild choke episode; I had a mare that would nearly choke on dry pellets (TC Lite). I just stopped feeding them to her but I suppose you could do different things like add water or feed in a different (large, flat) pan?

How is she this morning.

[Jjb]

Shetland is fine but other pony seems effected now.

Other pony (Morgan) is not belching but laying down a lot which is not typical for her. She is usually eager to get out.
Going to go out and see how she feels about her morning walk (not ride).

I am really wondering about the mushrooms. Will post more on that later.

@S1969

Sounds like a mild choke episode; I had a mare that would nearly choke on dry pellets (TC Lite). I just stopped feeding them to her but I suppose you could do different things like add water or feed in a different (large, flat) pan?

How is she this morning.

[Jjb]

Morgan def not feeling well. She did walk but with less energy. She stood quietly in cross ties while I cleaned her stall. Her normal is she will stand but eagerly wants to go out this time of day. As soon as I put her back in stall, she laid down. She does NOT appear overly distressed. Just less energy. She will stand anytime you walk in but lay back down.

again this is the other pony … Not the one I initially posted about. That pony, Shetland is completely back to normal.

Here is why I am considering mushroom. First, yesterday We opened up paddock a little … Just corrected a little triangle. So the grass was longer than the rest … Not overly lush just longer. I limit their fresh grass intake to a couple of hours in morning and a couple of hours in eve. So they only had this grass for a couple of hours. Still I had assumed what the Shetland had was a little choke. … From grass … But possibly beet pulp she had earlier. Again, I soak beet pulp over night.
But since Shetland is better but other pony is sick, I am thinking toxicity of some sort.
We had an abundance of mushrooms this year. For a while I picked them out but then stopped. I know horses will not typically eat mushrooms. This newer area… Very small area … I did not pick out any of the mushrooms. At this stage they are at that oily muddy looking phase. What I am wondering is if they are one of the more toxic mushrooms if the girls just got a little of the oil on their muzzle if that is enough to make them sick.

[SLedbetter]

Just food for thought, this is how my gelding acts when he gets a gas colic. It would be odd that both horses would colic in a 24 hour period, but with the weather changes, I suppose it would be possible? My gelding colicked a few days ago, displayed the same symptoms.

[tazycat]

Don’t know about the mushrooms ,but it does sound like colic. To be safe have vet out to check horse…Don’t wait to long. Seemingly mild colics can go south in a hurry.

Glad other horse is doing better. Jingles for the other sick horse. Please keep us updated.

[danacat]

Gas colic or some form of colic is my guess. Raised upper lip (flehmen) is a colic sign. So is laying down of course – and even ‘wanting’ to eat. Pooping does not necessarily mean colic is resolved – poop can be well past a blockage or a displacement – and certain displacements do allow poop to continue to pass.

If any unusual signs continue, call your vet of course.

Not that anyone would even attempt to do this – but ditto on NOT tubing a horse yourself! Very bad advice from @Kayce! IMO. Horses should be tranquilzed for tubing – it is an often difficult and delicate task that only a vet should do. Takes practice. And horses are often resistant to swallowing in order for the tube to pass, not to mention the nasal/esophagal damage a tube can do when in inexperienced hands.

[2DogsFarm]

OP, pls listen to @danacat - No horseowner without DVM after their name should ever attempt to tube a horse.

Hope your ponies are better today, but IIWM, I’d at least call the vet & describe symptoms, have vet out if anything NQR continues with either. Toxicity can be slow to show symptoms & I’d prefer Safe to Sorry.

[Auburn]

It sounds like gas colic to me. Long green grass can definitely cause it, especially if they are not used to it. Do you provide hay in the paddock, too? Since green grass is 75% water, it needs roughage to push it through the gut. Otherwise, it can sit in the gut and ferment, thus causing gas colic.

To resolve gas colic, my Vet had me lunge my mare to help her fart out the gas. With her, I usually could see a gas bubble near her flank. I would massage it, then lunge. Rinse, Repeat, until she had multiple farts and acted normally. This method really worked for me.

To help prevent it from happening again, put out some hay, along with the green grass. Can you take the time to watch their behavior? You will probably see them eat some grass, then go to the hay. Did you ever wonder why horses will eat trees, when they have lovely green grass to eat? They need the roughage to push it through their gut.

However, in this situation, you should consult your Vet to be certain that it was a gas colic.

[Jjb]

Yes … We are going with gas colic for now and will give some Simethicone. It is odd the that two horses effected within 12 hours. The Shetland I can see getting gas colic … The Morgan though came from a property where she was on lush grass 24/7[. She has been with me a little over a month … Maybe she got used to the lesser grass here and the longer grass enough to make her gassy?

QUOTE=SLedbetter;n9897461]Just food for thought, this is how my gelding acts when he gets a gas colic. It would be odd that both horses would colic in a 24 hour period, but with the weather changes, I suppose it would be possible? My gelding colicked a few days ago, displayed the same symptoms.[/QUOTE]

[Simkie]

Have you called the vet? Sounds like it’s time to get that person involved. I probably would have called last night!

Gas colic can be caused by anything. Pointing to the grass and saying “she was on lush grass before, can’t be gas colic” is a really odd stand to have and just flat out wrong.

Seriously, call the vet.

[Jjb]

Yes, the vet has been called and we have been in communication throughout the morning.

[Jjb]

They said gas colic … Probably from the different grass though strange.
it occurred in both horses