Everything Horse UK Everything Horse Magazine, October 2018 issue 38 | Page 29

REDUCED
FAECAL
OUTPUT
LYING
DOWN
PAWING
AT THE
GROUND
STRET-
CHING
COLIC
FLANK
WATCHING
SYMPTOMS
GROANING
ROLLING
PACING
BITING AT
ABDOMEN
BRUXISM
(TEETH
GRINDING)
although you might think these are irrelevant they are
actually very important and help to build an accurate
picture as to what is going on and how best to treat
your horse. Such questions may include the following:
• Age of horse
• How long has the horse been collicing for and what
symptoms has it been displaying?
• Has the horse passed any droppings?
• Any previous episodes of colic?
• Have there been changes to diet and/or management
recently?
• Has the horse been wormed, if so when?
• Is the horse pregnant?
• Has the horse had it’s teeth rasped, if so when?
The colic examination involves building up a picture
of a number of clinical parameters and symptoms,
providing vets clues as to what type of colic is occurring.
A full clinical examination will be carried out, assessing
everything from respiratory rate to temperature as well
as their general demeanour and condition, however the
following observations are particularly useful:-
• Mucus membranes (gums) and capillary refill time:
By checking the colour, moistness and the speed
of blood refilling when the gums are pressed, helps
vets to assess the horse’s hydration status and blood
perfusion. Normal gums are pink and moist with a
refill time of less than two seconds. Concerning signs
are alterations in the colour to brick red, paleness,
muddy grey or purple and extended refill times.
• Heart rate: A normal resting heart rate for a horse
is approximately 32-40 beats per minute. Any
elevations in heart rate can indicate both pain and/
or a compromised cardiovascular system.
• Skin tent: By pinching a section of skin, often over
the neck, and seeing how quickly it returns to normal
can indicate the hydration status of the horse.
• Gut sounds: As well as listening to the heart, your
vet will also use their stethoscope to determine how
active the abdominal contents are. We divide the left
and right sides of the abdomen into upper and lower
quadrants and group gut sounds into increased,
normal, decreased or absent. Increased gut sounds
tend to occur with spasmodic colic and reduced
gut sounds with an impaction, complete absence of
gut sounds is a concerning sign and can indicate a
surgical colic.
• Rectal examination: Abnormalities within the
abdomen (for example an impaction or enlarged
loops of bowel due to a twist) if within reach, can be
identified by rectal examination. Such examinations
do convey a small amount of risk for both horse and
the vet. Resentment to the procedure by the horse can
result in kicking out and hence injury to the attending
vet. The risk to the horse is much smaller but there
is potential for a rectal tear. However, the potential
benefit of rectal examination is far greater than the
small risk to your horse. In order to minimise the
danger to both vet and horse we will sometimes use
sedation as even the calmest, most gentle horse can
become dangerous when it is painful.
• Nasogastric tubing: By passing a long plastic tube via
the nasal passage into the oesophagus and then into
the stomach vets can both diagnose colic and also
help correct it. Horses are unable to vomit, therefore
if something stops the stomach contents emptying
into the intestines (for example due to a blockage)
fluid builds up within the limited capacity of the
stomach and this is very painful and even runs the
risk of rupture. If gastric reflux (stomach contents
exiting the stomach via the tube) occurs it is often an
indication that the colic could be surgical. Stomach
tubing is also used to help administer fluids to a
dehydrated horse or to help break down and move
impactions.
• Abdominocentesis: In certain cases we may perform
abdominocentesis or a ‘belly tap’. This is performed
by placing a needle into the abdomen to sample the
fluid that surrounds the abdominal contents. By
analysing the fluid it can give us an indication to the
condition of the bowel.
HOW IS COLIC TREATED?
Depending on the clinical signs and the type of colic
suspected, treatment generally involves the use of some
or all of the following:- pain relief, anti-spasmodic
drugs, nasogastric fluid supplementation, intravenous
fluid supplementation and occasionally sedation. The
response to this treatment can also be diagnostic and
if colic signs reoccur despite pain relief, this may be an
indication that the case needs referring to a hospital for
possible surgery.
The decision as to whether to take your horse to surgery
is a very difficult one and is based on a variety of factors
including the severity of the colic, the likelihood of
success and cost. Unfortunately it is often a decision
that needs to be made quickly and therefore it can be
useful to have thought about this should such a situation
arise. The vet however will always help you