Ladybug’s Colic Adventure

While the warm winter days might be a dream for those who enjoy the beach in February, the extreme changes in temperature (80 degrees during the day/40 degrees at night) can be detrimental to horses, as these changes can lead to colic. While we do our best to ensure the horses drink enough water and have regular mealtimes and high-quality feed, sometimes colic just happens.

Colic is a generalized word for any sort of intestinal discomfort, but with horses it can be fatal. Horses have a one-way digestive tract- meaning they don’t burp or vomit. This means that even something as simple as a gas colic can not only be incredibly painful, but can be deadly.

Day One: Thursday

When the horses were fed in the morning, the morning crew immediately recognized that LadyBug wasn’t her normal chipper self, and didn’t seem interested in breakfast. Shortly thereafter, she laid down, although she wasn’t thrashing around in pain. Still, we realized that this was most likely indicative of a gas colic, and we called the vet out and the crew took turns walking LadyBug around the arena. Walking can help to stimulate the intestinal muscles, which is why horses who are coliccing will be hand-walked. We will walk the horse for 10-15 minutes, then allow them to rest for a few minutes between sets.

The vet was on another call when we called, so she told us to go ahead and give her some banamine paste to help relax the smooth muscles of the intestines. When she was able to get out there we had LadyBug’s favorite volunteer, Leslie, as well as board members Eric and Charlotte out to help. After giving her some fluids and pain meds, as well as conducting an ultrasound, the vet diagnosed a very bad gas colic and said that there wasn’t much else she could do in the field, and recommended that we take LadyBug to the hospital.

Eric and Charlotte were able to hitch up the truck and trailer, and thankfully LadyBug trailers well. She hopped up into the trailer without fuss, and they all drove up to Chino hospital, LadyBug in tow.

LadyBug is a very high-maintenance horse on a good day, and this was not a good day. They were able to do another ultrasound and had her intestines x-rayed, however, with a little extra help from some more pain meds. She was not up to having any sort of palpitation done, however, so the vet stopped trying before she or he were hurt. The good news, however, is that the x-rays and ultrasound didn’t show any sort of twist or impaction, nor did he find any sand buildup in her colon.

Although it was impossible to tell 100% what was going on in there, it looked as if it really was just a very bad gas colic. Still, it could be fatal if it was not treated aggressively. The vet started her on some IV fluids, and put a mask on her that would allow her to drink, but not to eat. Essentially, at that point, it was just a waiting game: would she make it through the night?

 

Day Two: Friday

LadyBug did make it through the night, although she tore out her IV and drenched her entire stall and got blood all over her.

Typical LadyBug.

They put her IV in on the OTHER side, and then wrapped it so she wouldn’t pull that out, and put down some more straw so it wasn’t wet.

She didn’t pass any manure that morning, but that afternoon she had three different manure piles, so that was positive because it meant that things were finally passing through. When we came up to visit her, she nickered at us and was very unhappy with her new accommodations. We joked that she would give 0 stars to this “hotel” and her comment would be, “They didn’t give any cookies!”

On the negative side, she was still relatively painful, and that was even with meds in the morning. She was still quite distended and still had quite a bit of gas in her intestines, so she wasn’t out of the woods yet. At that point, we were just cautiously optimistic.

If you’d like to help with Ladybug’s vet bill, any donation—big or small—would mean the world to us. Thank you, as always, for your support! Donate–> here!

Day Three: Saturday

Saturday things looked better for LadyBug. Because she wasn’t responding as well as they would have liked, they started her on a feeding tube that only delivered liquids, so they could hydrate her more quickly and efficiently than the saline solution. On the plus side, she had several small manure piles by this point, so things were definitely moving through.

Leslie went out to give LadyBug a little groom and to let her know we were all thinking about her and hoping she would come home soon.

Day Four: Sunday

Originally we had hoped that LadyBug would be home by Saturday or Sunday, but she just was not rebounding very well. The vet scoped her stomach to ensure that there wasn’t some other alternative issue, but everything came up clean- no ulcers or any other issues there.

LadyBug had finally passed enough manure and now had been off pain meds and seemed comfortable enough for the vet to start her on small handfuls of alfalfa leaves. She gobbled those up right quick! They were also able to take her off of the feeding tube and take the mask off so she could drink normally.

At this point we were feeling pretty positive about her prognosis, although the vet wanted to keep her for one more day and offer her regular feed for a day while supervised to make sure she didn’t boomerang back.

Day Five: Monday

All positive news today! LadyBug was eating normally and seemed to be pain-free. Her manure piles were still relatively runny, but given all of the water she had pumped into her, that wasn’t abnormal, and the vet said it would return to normal within a few days. We were cleared to pick her up on Tuesday!

Charlotte went out to visit her today so LadyBug wouldn’t feel so alone. She was very happy to see Charlotte, who groomed her a bit in the stall. Unfortunately, she couldn’t do much about the blood that had gotten on her coat when she pulled out her IV, but that would wait for a proper bath.

Day Six: Tuesday

Release day! The vet said LadyBug was continuing to do well and that she could go home- we would just have to slowly reintroduce her regular food and light exercise for a few weeks. That afternoon we drove up with the trailer, she hopped right in without a problem and we were off!

Everyone was quite happy to see LadyBug when she got home! Poor Lou Dillon had been so sad that his friend was gone, and he was so excited to see her back again! Sierra was incredibly happy (we think- it’s difficult to tell with Sierra) to see her friend again, and even Garnet gave her a little nicker. LadyBug was just happy to be back at the hotel that fed her regularly!

A Few Days Later….

LadyBug continues to improve and is back on her regular feed and exercise program. She has shown no additional signs of colic, although we continue to monitor her (and all of the horses) regularly, especially as the weather continues to act erratically.

We are so very thankful to our morning crew who noticed signs of her acting oddly, and that we were able to catch it early and get the vet out right away! We are also so thankful to our wonderful vet at OCEVS and the crew at Chino Valley Equine Hospital for helping her through the colic. And, last but not least, many, many thanks to Leslie, Eric and Charlotte who were the hands-on people who helped her with the vet and get her to the hospital!

For what amounted to just some gas, the vet fee and hospital bill totaled over $6300. We are very thankful that we were able to give LadyBug the chance at life- without extreme medical intervention she most likely would not have pulled through, and she would have met an incredibly painful end.

If you’d like to help with Ladybug’s vet bill, any donation—big or small—would mean the world to us. Thank you, as always, for your support! Donate–> here!