Very glad things worked out, but to me a gas bubble is mild colic. Colic is the #1 killer of horses each year and based on some of my reading, 10-11% of horses will colic each year. So, were you too fast on the cell phone, in my opinion NO!

I've been told to load them BUT then was told that just because a horse defecates, that does not relieve the pressure causing the colic. One of our horses was showing colic signs and we loaded him. He immediately ‘pooped’, upon unloading, he immediately wanted to lie down and roll. So, we kept walking until the vet arrived.

My feed store now carries this stuff called "Immediate Response". It is a formula which you use like a wormer at the first signs of colic to restore the horse’s digestive balance. We used it once and it appeared to work, so now I keep one on hand.

This is my take on colic; based on the severity of my horse’s symptoms, if they don’t respond to walking within 5 to 10 minutes, I call my vet. My horses are too precious to not be over reactive.

Nature created a flaw in the digestive tract of horses. Nature also gave the horse the instinct to roll and lay down and get up when they are having a colic episode. The only time you don't want to let them roll is if they are rolling violently or non stop. The reason they roll is an attempt to move the gut around and free the impaction or the gas bubble.

Go back to my original statement. All horses colic, only a few get caught. With that, you nor I are around our horses 24/7 and you and I don't know what they are doing in our absence. If they colic, they roll. We get home and don't know any different. If I get home and see one rolling violently or if I see their efforts are in vain, then and only then will I call a vet. Where I live, the vets are probably not going to make difference any way. I can do just as much as they can.

wasn't disputing what you said NW just telling what i had been told, besides nobody has to have the same opinion

No problem Dusty. The research I have read recently is now showing that many times mild colic escalates into severe colic by not getting the blockage moving. Walking prevents a horse from getting the blockage moving.

Colic is primarily a man-made condition. Horses on pasture or on free choice hay rarely colic. Colic is a greater risk when a horse is fed twice a day, has an erratic feeding schedule, has limited water intake, and has changes in feed stuffs. The more a horse is stalled or penned up, the greater the risk.

i agree wholeheartedly with everything you say except the not walking, just hard to get my head wrapped around that when its been driving into me since i was a young pup and that is what the vets always tell you to do till they get there, but that don't mean its right or does it mean its wrong, but for sure the erratic feeding, lack of water or changes in feed can sure mess em up, have a good un

ok. I have had a horse collic BAD every year at hunting camp because of the rich grass on our high colorado mountains. Anyway, one year she almost died and my mother had to sedate her (remember that we are 20 hours out of reach of help) and slide a backpack bladder hose down her nostril. The signs that you can look for in an early collic state would be:
-Tightness around the flank and barrel area.
-dehydration and looking at their sides
-laying down, but still getting up and not drinking much.
Some things you could do without the vet:
Bran watered down and lots of walking and lunging. If you can chase then around, they might be grouchy and cramping, but its the best thing. We have only had to call the vet out once on my roping gelding and he got tubed like my mom did with that mare on the mountain.

-Just thought I could put my two cents in.

just a few causes of colic:

gastro intestinal
blockage
sand
entrolith
twisted gut
poison
infection
dehydration
photosynthatization
and rarely, estrus

[ December 21, 2007, 05:39 PM: Message edited by: Mustang Blue ]

The flaw in the system is the large intestine or cecum makes a horse shoe bend in the flank area where it goes into the rectum. The majority of blockages comes from digestive matter not being able to make it around the bend. Man did not create this situation, nature did. Horses that are on pasture and have ample room to move will keep their intestinal tract jiggling and moving and that will aid in moving the food around.

The other flaw in their system is that there is no order in which the intestinal tract lays in the abdomen. It is loosely piled on top of each other. This is why there is a risk that their intestines will develop torsions or twists. Most of the time when a torsion develops in a horse, the torsion was there prior to the colic.

I also believe there is a flaw because horses can’t burp or throw up. Thus, when something does happen, there is only one output and that is found under the tail. So, if there is blockage, well, “there you have it!”

Also try Acidophilus.(sp) It helps promote the proper balance of good bacteria. Sometimes horses will colic after being given antibiotics so giving acidophilus(a probiotic) helps balance the system. It can also help with colic caused by stress, or too much grain. A friend of mine has a young one that colics easily and she swears by this.

CRH I just noticed your post about immediate response. One of the ingredients is lactobacillus acidophilus...the probiotic I mentioned