| June 19, 2003 started out as any other day... We fed all the critters early, preparing for the upcoming thunder-storm.. Everyone looked fine so we went inside.. As the thunder began to sound around 2pm..we opened the door to check on the animals.. That's when we first saw WildFire laying on her side with Pearl sniffing at her head.. At first (never had a horse to colic before) we thought it was too cute but unusual too.. how she just laid there and let Pearl get so close.. So we grabbed the camera..when we got closer Wildfire got up.. it wasn't until she wouldn't take her food that we realized..something was wrong I called the vet as soon as I saw her lay back down..thinking colic.. they confirmed that she was colicing and told me to bring her to the clinic (which wasn't a choice since we didn't have a trailer) so I was told to come get the shots she needed. I made another call to David to come home from work...since this was his horse.. So we hurried to the vet clinic in the lightening storm with strict instructions to get her some Banamine and Rompum As we left out she was standing with the other horses with her backside to the storm.. I bought (2) 10cc shots of Banamine just incase the other horses needed it.. which was 16$ They were out of Rompum.. When we got back home the rain had slowed to a sprinkle, but the lightening hadn't..she was down again.. I grabbed the syringe, WildFire's halter and a lead.. All I could think was to walk her to keep her from rolling.. Since she hated shots and wouldn't let me anywhere near her with one.. I walked her in the lightening storm until David arrived with a friend around 3:30pm.. The friend twitched her & gave her the 10cc Banamine shot in the vein in her neck.. He also told us to get some Metamucil and some mineral oil and pour it down her.. The Metamucil is supposed to gel, cling to the sand in the stomach and clean the horse out.. David took over walking for a while.. Then we took turns walking her to keep her from rolling We kept this up for 9 hours.. She wouldn't drink water and she wouldn't poop.. So I mixed up some dawn dish soap with warm water and gave her a few enemas.. with a small amount of poop coming out each time We remembered hearing a story of using the waterhose..so we tried that too..with no luck.. she was still in terrible pain I made another call to the vet who then informed me he was booked and couldn't come out.. That he could look at her only IF I made it to the clinic by 5:30pm.. So David took off after a trailer...he made it back home right at 5:30pm.. the vet had already left his office..we continued to walk her..hoping for a change.. Around 9pm WildFire was just as worn out as we were, it was very obvious that the shot had not helped..and she was only getting worse.. So I made a call to another friend..Chester..he said he'd be right out.. We continued to walk her until he arrived.. As soon as he got there he gave her a 1cc shot of Rompum in her vein & checked her.. He told us her Rectum was twisted..(by this time she was bloated) he untwisted the rectum and informed us that she was in deep trouble.. And then suggested we take her to the clinic..his daughter, Heather made a few phone calls (she knew all the "secret" numbers) She found the vet at his office doing a surgery on another horse and informed him that we were on our way.. So we loaded WildFire up and hurried to his clinic..getting there at 10pm.. He prepped her right side with batadine & alcohol..(and some deadning shots) and proceeded to stick a long needle in her gut..between her ribs and her hip.. Then stuck his ear to it and listened..some gas escaped.. He gave us 4cc of Rompum..told us not to walk her anymore, put her in a pasture..not in a barn, then told us it didn't look good, that WildFire could be dead by morning.. We brought her back home and put her in the pasture.. right away she lays down and begins to roll..we mashed on her gut and used the hose again.. We even tried oiling her again.. By 12am she was laying on her side in agony...we felt that she had no hope and had given up.. And we had too.. It was then that we decided to give her the entire 4cc of Rompum (in hopes that she would die in her sleep) June 20,2003 June 20th was David's birthday.. So I woke up at 7am thinking I'd be the one to find WildFire dead.. And the one to begin to bury her.. Thinking.. if she wasn't gone I'd be the one to call the vet to come put her out of her misery.. Only she was gone from the spot we had left her in.. I quickly searched the pasture over wondering how she moved... I spotted her in a corner of the field by the water right next to the fence where the other horses sleep.. She was laying on her side...not moving I stood for a minute waiting for her to breathe...then I saw her twitch her ear.. I was relieved to say the least.. When I went to her she got up...I could tell she was weak And I saw marks all over her face, hips & legs where she had rolled on the rough ground.. She was still bloated but she ran backwards from me when I approached her with the syringe.. 9am I gave her 1cc of Rompum and 5cc Banamine, she stood there and pooped a good handful- twice! We then set out for town to get more drugs for her.. Once at the vet clinic we talked to the vet, telling him how much better WildFire was that morning.. We asked for an IV since she still wasn't drinking...we got 5 bags of Lactated Ringers, tubes and needle, more Rompum (3cc), and 5cc Banamine (78$ including the 20$ for the night trip to the clinic) We also asked the vet to come out and check on her when he got a spare minute... he took down directions and said he would try on his lunch break.. Wildfire was getting better and better...she even acted a little more relieved. By 12pm the sun was shining bright and WildFire was laying in the sun.. We had left her for a good 15 minutes when the vet shows up.. Wouldn't you know it....she had laid there and overheated.. The vet thought she hadn't gotten any better and suggested walking her to get her out of the sun.. He still offered no hope.. 1pm we gave her another 1cc of Rompum, she pooped another handful, and we poured a mixture of Metamucil & water down her throat (16oz bottle) 1:45 she urinated for the first time since this all started..then laid back down.. rolling to make herself pass the gas.. 5:30pm she had stood for about 1.5 hours - gave her 5cc Banamine Made a call to Chester to show us how to do the IV.. He arrived at 6:45pm and she had started nibbling grass, she was walking the fence trying to poop, her bloating was almost gone, and she was passing gas.. He couldn't believe his eyes.. She stood perfectly still while he put the needle in her vein for the IV.. He gave her 2 bags and that gave her the energy she needed to walk around somemore.. 7:30pm I gave her 2 warm soap water enemas...it all came out with very little poop then she laid back down.. 9:30pm she was standing facing the other horses..nose to nose with the Stallion.. June 21, 2003 7:30am I gave her 1cc Rompum 8am I gave her about 7 warm soap water enemas- she urinated and pooped about 2 handfuls 8:30am I put the needle in her vein and gave her 2 more bags of Lactated Ringers.. she didn't stand so still halfway through the 2nd bag... 10am she was eating grass and standing for longer periods.. 1pm she moved from under hill and stayed out in the pasture No rolling - just standing for hours - urinated 3:30pm I gave her 1cc Rompum 7:30pm lowered the Rompum dose to 1/2cc - she was eating grass and had finally begun drinking water again She pooped pure SAND... Left her for the night... June 22, 2003 7am - 1/2cc Rompum - gave fresh water drank 1.5 gallons gave 4 warm soap water & mineral oil enemas - she pooped a handful (oats & hay) sprayed wounds with pink fungus/fly spray 12pm 1/2cc Rompum- enema - built shelter of tarps from sun - sprayed wounds And I went in with the shoulder gloves to see what I could get out of her.. Got 3 good handfuls of dry hay poop.. 4:30pm - urinated - drinking water - walking - eating grass - took her into yard to eat grass 5pm Chester gave 1cc Rompum, went in with shoulder gloves and untwisted her as far as he could reach (she grunted the whole time) he said she was still twisted in the lower gut..but not totally.. She ate lots of grass and drank lots of water 6pm put back in pasture - she tried to urinate and couldn't...walked on.. 12am 1/2cc Rompum June 23, 2003 6:30am - woke me up pawing bucket for food!! Gave her 1 handful of Strategy with corn oil & Metamucil mixed...ate most of it.. noticed she looked thinner.. gave 1/2cc Rompum 11am found 2 BIG piles of poop in pasture gave 1/2cc Rompum drinking water & eating grass Noticed she had lost a LOT of weight and there was NO BLOATING...just loose skin 6pm brought into yard to eat grass 1 1/2 hours.. Doing great but very sore Fed 1/2# Strategy with corn oil - ate half of it.. rubbed wounds with neosporin June 24, 2003 5am pawing at feed buckets again David gave her remaining Strategy from night before - ate ALL 7:30am found 3 piles of poop in pasture - gave fresh water fed 3/4# Strategy with Corn oil mixed in - ate all & drank water 11:30am 10cc Penn G for infected wounds under her chest rubbed wounds with SWAT (Don't leave container anywhere near sun...it will melt ( $7.70 a bottle) 12:30pm fed 1/2# Strategy with Oil - ate all drank fresh water Sprinkling rain - saw more poop in field Standing in the shade most of the day June 25, 2003 She is almost back to normal I am giving her no more drugs for the foals sake She is eating and drinking - pooping & peeing - and walking all over the place passing gas We put her & Joker in the upper field where all the grass is for the day and they loved it! She actually started trotting again... She's lost weight BUT she's gonna be alright!! To view pics taken 6/25/03 - click the links below WF1 - WF2 - WF3 - WF4 - WF5 - WF6 - LEG June 26, 2003 To view pics taken 6/26/03 - click the links below WF1 - WF2 - WF3 June 29, 2003 To view pics taken 6/29/03 - click the links below WF1 - WF2 - WF3 - WF4 - WF5 - WF6 July 1, 2003 To view pics taken 7/1/03 - click the links below WF1 - WF2 - WF3 - WF4 * WildFire is a 4 year old Grade Quarter Horse - 3 months bred The only thing different in her diet was corn - fresh from the fields - cobb, stalks & all.. NEVER AGAIN!! UPDATE: 6/13/04 Wildfire aborted her colt on 12/15/03 (9 Months bred) It was a fully formed sorrell & mostly white stud colt...he was beautiful.. A Year later : she still has problems with her coat.. we constantly bathe her and drench her in bleach in hopes that her coat will grow back normally. Not sure if the skin/coat problem stems from all the drugs or what... She still hasn't fully gained her weight back...no matter how well she eats.. If I had it to do all over again... I'd use less drugs..(maybe Banamine but not Rompum) I'd give the IV sooner and oil her more at the beginning.. Better yet..I would suggest practicing more COLIC PREVENTION *Add corn oil or metamucil to feed at least twice a week.. * Keep a better eye on how the horse carries himself/herself.. alot can be seen in how she holds her head..how her eyes look.. how she holds her ears..and her body language.. Watch them and notice what's NORMAL for them then you will know sooner when something is wrong.. *Act on it ASAP if you notice a difference in ANYTHING the horse normally does.. waiting even an hour could cost your horses life.. * NEVER EVER let folks throw excess garden vegetables (or anything) to the horses... NO MATTER how they think they're helping them..or how much the horses love it..AND THEY DO!! It could cost you your horse..or a ugly dent in your pocketbook.. *ALWAYS keep the horses water troughs full and make sure you watch them drink everyday... especially if they are on hay..I'd suggest an automatic waterer... saves me lots of worry..especially in summer.. *Exercise the horse everyday...they're just like us there... *Keep a Salt & a Mineral block (or loose salt & mineral) out for them.. this will make them drink more water..especially when they are on hay.. Only problem I've heard with blocks..(& I do use them) some older horses grind their teeth down to nothing while biting at the blocks.. Although it keeps them from eating the stalls! Just pay close attention when using blocks.. *Change their food gradually...never introduce them to something new too soon.. Add the new feed to the normal feed a little at a time over a weeks period.. *Have a good farrier..one who will come out every 6 weeks no matter what.. If the hooves are giving them fits...it affects everything about the horse.. *The best advice I can give other than LOVE your horse..is find you a good vet (or a good friend who knows horses) Someone who gives a dang about your horse.. One who will come running when the least little thing goes wrong.. |
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