1. Know what is normal
It is important to know what is ‘normal’ for your horse. Understand their normal eating habits, faecal output and consistency and TPR (temperature, pulse and respiration) is vital in order to identify if something is abnormal before it becomes an emergency.
2. Check your horse’s vital signs
i. NORMAL: Heart rate: 32-40bpm; respiratory rate: 8-20bmp; temperature 36.9 – 38.5’C
Monitor your horse’s vital signs, in addition to any other clinical signs (pawing, rolling, stretching). This allows you to give your vet an idea of duration and if symptoms have deteriorated over time.
3. Never medicate without your vets approval.
Medicating your horse prior to the vets arrival is problematic in two ways.
- Limits what drugs your vet can use (ie. If you’ve given bute, your vet can’t use flunixin, which is a much more potent and effective drug for colic)
- May mask symptoms of pain and thus make it more difficult for your vet to adequately assess and diagnose your horse.
4. Call the vet
Regardless of the severity of the symptoms of colic, it is always best to get your vet to come and attend your horse. Your vet may be able to manage a colic and prevent something simple snowballing if managed promptly and appropriately.
5. Look for poo
Take note of number and consistency of poo (are they very hard, a bit loose, big or small). This will help give your vet a clue as to why your horse may be colicky
6. Prepare for your vets arrival
- Consider what may have changed in the hours to days preceding the colic – have you changed feed (new hay, new pellets, new pasture)? Has the horse been wormed recently? Are there weeds in the paddock?
- Remove all feed from horse. It is best to place horse in a small yard with fresh water and no feed prior to your vets arrival.
- Walk your horse if its actively colicking. This can assist to move gas through the gastrointestinal tract and will also prevent the horse from rolling.
- Ensure that you have a bucket of fresh water and a safe, well-lit area for your horse to be examined when the vet arrives.
7. Plan ahead
Sometimes colic cannot be managed at home and may require the horse to go to a referral hospital. It is important that if referral is an option that you have a plan for transporting your horse safely.