A Wee Bout With Gas Colic
My bad boy got a bit of a belly ache on Saturday night and really scared his momma!
Ok, he’s not bad. He’s actually pretty wonderful. We’ve had an awesome month filled with lots of riding. We now have a solid canter with snappy transitions and even have our leads mostly worked out. And we’ve been popping over crossrails and little 18″ verticals. And he’s starting to carry himself better; getting on the bit and rounding through his neck and back.
I left the barn at 4:00 Saturday afternoon after a short ride. He was perfectly fine at the time. At 6:45 I got a call that he had a belly ache and I needed to come out right away.
So, what did I do? Naturally, I panicked.
I was on my way to a Christmas concert. I turned around in the first available drive, flew back to my house, changed my clothes, and was on my way to the barn in about no seconds flat. I know enough about colic to know what to look for and what to do about it, but it was my first time having my own horse go there, so it was a bit frightening at first.
Sandee, who was feeding that night and called with the news, knew something was up when Ace wasn’t calling for his food. Her husband had already given him his grain, which he ate, but he wasn’t touching his hay. He was lying down when they got there, which is unusual for him, and was stomping and kicking at his belly. She got him up, gave him some banamine, and walked him in the indoor until I got there.
When I walked into the arena and saw him, though, I immediately felt better. Ace is a horse with a very expressive face, and it was obvious looking at him that he wasn’t particularly distressed. I stood and held him and talked to Sandee to get the full scoop, and after few minutes he started searching us for treats.
After about 15 minutes of walking around the arena, he started trying to pull me to the round bales that were stacked in one corner.
I put him in his stall and took in a chair and a book to watch for a while. He cleaned up the scraps of hay that were in his stall, pooped, and mugged me for treats.
He got bored with the few scraps of hay he had left, and if a horse could sit in your lap, that’s what he did. He walked over to me, stood directly in front of me as closely as he could get, and hung his head right in front of my chest. He cocked a back leg, and fell asleep.
Silly boy.
I kept an eye on him for about two hours, but it was obvious there wasn’t anything to worry about.
I checked on him again first thing yesterday morning, and he was his old, hungry, happy self.
As happy as I am to get out of a vet bill with this one, I’m even happier that he is OK and got better so fast!
We don’t have a clear idea of what caused his gassy belly. I had ridden him, but I never even get off of him until he’s completely cool and breathing normally. He was happy and eating hay when I left. Our best guess is that maybe he doesn’t like his water that cold and hasn’t been drinking enough. He had a heated water bucket and tank all last winter, and I know his former owner had heated troughs too. His paddock trough is heated, and I may go pick up a heated bucket for his stall just to be on the safe side.
P.S. – doesn’t he look handsome in his new blanket?
Oh my goodness!! I would have been freaking out as well! I have not had a moment to catch up on blogs in a week so out of the 100 or so entries I have to catch up on as soon as I saw yours I clicked over here first!! I am glad that he is doing okay and feeling better. As you know colic is a scary word to say to a horse owner!! Give Ace lots of carrots from me!
Gas colic often resolves very quickly, which is a good thing. Glad he’s OK now!
Glad the big man is OK now Jackie. (And he does look handsome in his new rug too!)
Hope the warm water works. Fingers crossed!!!
[...] A Wee Bout With Gas Colic [...]
I too would suspect that lack of water could have contributed to his condition. I’m glad the big guy is OK. He sure is one fine looking equine!
Glad to hear he is OK now.
Chris
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I also feel its coz of lack of water. Maintain the water intake quantity and I guess it should be fine
I’m glad to hear he is ok now! great wishs
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