Monday Morning Colic.

[cols]

You know, he had ALL WEEKEND, but NOOOOOOOO, of course, he's got to be down this morning when I go out to feed with minutes to spare before having to leave for work !
SHEESH ! :rolleyes:
Horses !
So, as you've guessed, Kaiser was down this morning.
Tummy ache .... AGAIN !
I got him up, walked him....dosed him with antacid and mineral oil....walked him again. Walked....walked...did I mention walked.....???
Until I could massage his tummy without the dirty looks and he started to want to eat grass.
More mineral oil and antacid.
Bran mash.
Grass hay.
Warm water.
Walk.
POOOOOOP !!!!!!!!!!!
(finally)
So, now here I am,,,,stuck at home because we only have one vehicle on the road and it is long gone to town. I COULD be at work right now......it's only 10:15.
I'll let the doofus eat a little more and then I think I'll walk him again just for fun. (yay,,,,fun)
I can not figure out what it was this time.
I haven't changed his feed yet. Maybe he heard me talking about changing it and just the thought of it upset his delicate system. :rolleyes:
I did think that maybe the water got too cold too fast for him. The weather changed really suddenly here. So, I got out the stock tank de-icer. Maybe that will help the delicate flower. :rolleyes:
Oh, BTW: If this post reads as more "fed up" than "concerned"...don't worry about my horses. I was plenty worried about him at 7:30. I've just had a couple of hours to chill. I didn't really exhail until that poop happened ! ;)

[justbcos]

Poor old Kaiser! I'm glad his tummy feels better now, but you're right, he could have picked better timing! (Or better yet, forgone the whole thing altogether!)

[cols]

This is the third bout since I've had him and that's only been just over a year. :eek:
You know, it starts to go through the back of your mind "well, I guess this is how I'm going to lose him".
Do you know what I mean?
It sucks.
I guess he is just really delicate.
It's so weird, because he's so big and it seems like you could just feed him anything and he'd be just fine.
Guess not. :(

[Barbara]

Cols, I went for ten years with no colic in my paddock...all of a sudden this last winter, *every* *one* of my horses colicked :eek: :( . After months and months of frustration, worrying, lots of tears and what-am-I-doing-wrong's, I found out some things.

First, everyone's getting an extremely mild diet, molasses-sensitive or not. I'm not taking chances. Second, they are all on a sand-clearing regimen, which has helped tremendously (phew!). I also put them all on occasional probiotics, given to them whenever something drastic is going to happen, like a change in weather, worming, or a dose of Metamucil, or anytime their manure looks "off". I'll give them the probiotics for a day or two beforehand and afterward of the "incident", whatever it may be.

This all seems to help :) . Maybe Kaiser needs some more tweaking to his diet? (I can hear you screaming at me :o , I'm sorry)

[Cassie1]

Argh...first the dog...now this! Yeah, you gotta be frustrated!! I haven't had a colic episode (shouldn't say outloud!),with mine - I used to think Cassie had gas colic a few times and it scared me..now I know that she's having pain with her heat cycles...never paid attention to that factor before...but yup, that's it and it happens every 28 days! LOL

So that is not Ky's problem...but what can you do? It goes with the territory and at least he's ok - better than not!

So enjoy you day home and you can be on the board as much as you want! LOL :p

Ginger

[April]

I went through the same thing the first year we were here in ABQ. When the weather changes, my vet spends so much time with colicky horses that he loses track of what day it is. I have seen horses on the same diet for years, colic when the weather changes so don't beat yourself up about it.

I think my issue was the fact that we were new to the area and living 5000 ft above sea level for the first time ever and that meant we had some adjustment time. The next year we didn't call the vet, he noticed and said something when we got vaccines.

[Treasure Walk]

Sorry Cols. At our house quick weather changes are a definite problem!
Glad you got him going before anything terrible happened.
If I can't get mine to poop within a short time I load them in the horse trailer. That will generally work immediately :D

[PaCe2WN]

Poor Kaiser (and you)...I hope you can find a way to get these 'episodes' to stop. I think that horses *pick* times to get sick...just to bug the heck out of us. :D

[Houdini]

Glad that Kaiser is feeling better. My goodness they can sure scare the poo out of us!!!
Applewood was telling me that down there in California there have been something like 23 horses that coliced all in the same week! And it was the weather change that did it.
Now I don't feel so silly going out at night to make sure everyone has pooped in their paddocks at least twice before I go to bed. First thing I check in the morning too.
Horses!!!!
TreasureWalk, thanks for the suggestion about loading them into the horse trailer to get them to poo. I'll make sure it is scrubbed out really well so I know for sure they'll poo in it! Ha Ha

[Cassie1]

Yeah, I have yet to find a horse that didn't "let go" as soon as they loaded! LOL Guess we have to be happy they did, huh?

[Just Me]

Oh my...I'm so glad he's better. I'm sorry you had to miss your ride to work. Maybe Kaiser wanted his mama home today. :rolleyes:

I've had one horse colic. I had some people come to look at an older POA mare, and she had an episode while they were here!!! We called the vet, had him tube her, and she was fine. They bought her, too!! As far as I know, they had no problems with her.

I have a friend who has a horse that has colic problems, and so does the mare's daughter. My friend just gives them banamine when they colic. She says they snap right out of it.

I hope you can figure out what is wrong with Mr. Flower and get him under control. I know how much you love the big guy.

I also want to say...there must be something wrong with a group of people who get so excited over poop! :D :D :D

amazing grace

[proudtobespotted]

I also want to say...there must be something wrong with a group of people who get so excited over poop! :D :D :D



I had a patient yesterday. Very prime and proper lady in her 80's. The type that every hair was in place and her lipstick on, even after 3 days with a tube down her nose. I explained after her surgery, everyone, and I mean every one was going to ask her if she "passed gas" yet. And when she did we would all do a happy dance for her and give her apple juice. Poor thing looked horrified at the thought.
So its not just this group. I tell them, dont flush , I have to write something creative about it. And, yes I can tell the difference between my horses piles in the pasture :D

Im glad Kraiser is feeling better

[NoahsArk]

Dang! Sorry to hear about Kaiser, and glad he is ok. I have NEVER had a horse colic before........till Pete. And you know how that ended. Scarey stuff!

[Cassie1]

ROFLMAO @ Susan!!! I had to go in and have a "procedure" done a few months back due to some unexplained excessive bleeding...and before they started to put me on "twilight"....the nurse told me that I would have to uhhh... hmmmmm... yeah.."do that"...my eyes got big! Oh, do we talk about this in public? LOL Tee Hee...I'd be that silver haired lady..... :p

[cols]

Barbara: I thought of you, actually, so no...I'm not mad at ya !
I agree about sugar !!! Definitely. No molasses for these guys.
I was just about to deworm them because we got a nice heavy frost the other day. I guess I'll put it off for a while now.
Yes, I use probiotics when ever I deworm, etc.
I dunno about this big dope.
Really, all I can come up with is the weather change.
Last year, same thing.
So, the stock tank de-icer is plugged in and I don't know what else I can do for him.
Silly boy.
Maybe I should be giving him brewer's yeast every day.....???
I don't like to feed probiotics EVERY day, but only when something is going to change.

[Navi]

I'm glad to hear Kaiser is feeling better...how scary!!

I'm starting to think about my trough heater too but I never considered that a change in water temp could cause colic. :eek:

Hugs,
Shannon

[cols]

... I never considered that a change in water temp could cause colic. :eek:


Well, I was thinking that since the water was "suddenly cold", maybe he wasn't drinking as much as usual.
I don't know.
He's at it again. :rolleyes: Not going down, but "stretching". I "caught him at it" while I was watching through the kitchen window, so went out and walked him a bit again. He's still pooping. I gave him another hit of antacid and another of mineral oil. I don't have any banamine. :(
He's eating grass hay and I've seen him drink.
I put some probiotics in one of the syringes of mineral oil.
I don't know what else to do .... I'm sure it's just gas. I can tell he hurts, poor boy.

I'm assuming that bute is not a good idea......anyone?

[Cassie1]

The times I called my vet thinking that Cassie had colicked, he told me the usual, walk until she poops - he also told me to take her off hay...why I asked - roughage should move thru the system - actually, he said, hay can get packed down and cause a blockage...oh! and he said to give Banamine not Bute. Why I asked again? Said the Bute is used mostly for cuts and handling that type of pain while Banamine would be used more for a colic situation type of pain and he told me that Banamine is about 10 times stronger than Bute...when I ran out, I went and bought another syringe of it - 3 doses. So I don't think the Bute will hurt, but maybe not be as effective and upset the stomach to boot...

I hope you are not up all night long girl! Ky, now let's get over this ok? Don't stress mom out! LOL

Ginger

[cols]

Ginger; your vet said no hay even if the horse is pooping regularly?
Really?
EEK !
I've been giving Ky hay all day. :eek:
I did give him a really wet bran mash this morning, but he ate lots of hay, too.
I thought to just walk them until they poop, too.
He's been pooping, but with that "stretching", I thought I'd walk him some more.......it's stopped raining again. I wonder if I should walk him some more or not......... :confused:

[Cassie1]

ARGH! No, I'm sorry - I forgot you said he was pooping! No hay if they ARE NOT pooping as it can gunk up and pack down and cause impaction colic...

SORRY!!

Hopefully, if it's gas, with what you are giving him...it should be helping...I would think...

[Nevada Silk]

Poor Ky. He'd never make it in NC. The weather changes daily. :rolleyes:

I've had horses for 13 years and haven't had an episode yet (knock on wood). And they eat.....gasp.....sweet feed! :p

I used to do a 4-H clinic where a guys' horse colicked every single time he came. Every year, we'd see him out walking her around the first day getting through the first colic episode.

I hope everything turns out ok with him! Poor guy!

[jean]

I'm glad your horse is better. I just read an article about colic in APHA Connection magazine I get.

It said alot of weanlings and younger horses get colic when the weather changes because they don't drink as much water, they suggested, as already mentioned, a water tank heater to make sure they take in enought H2O.

It also had some statistics about different breeds of horses and that some are more prone to colic. It stated that if you feed your horse its grain before the hay they were more prone to colic. So I immediately changed the way I feed and give the grain after the hay now.

It was an interesting article.

Jean

[cols]

Well, it's been a tough day, all in all.
This morning was scary, but then it seemed to resolve and all was well in my little world. Of course, I kept spying on him from the house, but he was fine.
Then, it got BAD again. :(
What I don't get is that he is pooping/peeing/passing gas/eating and drinking.
He HAS gut sounds. In fact, I am concerned that he has a little too enthusiastic gut sounds. Maybe he has a spastic colon? I don't know. He pooped what I would consider to be a "normal" number of times and only one of them was a little "wet". Not something I would worry about on it's own, for sure. I am just KICKING myself for not having any banamine around ! Geoff even called today because he was near the vet and asked if I wanted him to pick up anything ! Why oh why didn't I say yes?
I did finally resort to giving him 2 grams of bute. He was in obvious pain and it's all I have.
Why, you are asking didn't I call the vet?
Well, I am kinda kicking myself now for not taking him in, but he was FINE !
He wasn't "not fine" until after hours and even then........it's kinda like me going to the doctor for a tummy ache. I just take some Pepto and get on with life. I don't know. If he was rolling around on the ground, then absolutely, but stretching out and looking at his side every once in a while..... ??? I don't know if that is cause to call out a vet.
I hate this.
I know that I tend to over react to things, so then I may over compensate by not reacting enough when I should.
Did I mention that I hate this?

[denise]

Cols, I never have a colic horse as long as they are on beet pulp daily. Every day I mix it, and go out an hour later and feed or clean up the poop while it's absorbing. I have learned the hard way, every single time they have colicked it's been when I got lazy and quit feeding them beet pulp. I have two on sweet feed and two on safe choice. I don't worry about weather change, or water being too cold, just keep on feeding the beet pulp.

Is Kaiser on beet pulp?

It got freezing sat and sun here too. We had about 5 hours of snow! EEK

You may consider an ulcer? or a weed growing in the paddock?
Some of the things you can do is feed 2 tsp of yogurt (probiotic) in his feed daily. Or quarter an apple and put it in his water trough to get him to drink more water.

I also keep a tube of banomine in my refridgerator. If we use the last one, I go immediately and get another. I won't be without it. I will walk the horse first to see if it gets the blockage to pass, if after an hour we aren't having any luck, I can't hear gut sounds and he gets to the point where every time we stop he tries to lay down or he does go down hard we do the banomine. It takes apx 15 min and he's good as new.

If you'd gone to work you would have been too worried to get anything done anyway right??? :D

[Green Pastures]

Hey Cols:

Hows Ky?? Remember when Babe coliced this past winter from the beet pulp?? I had lots of info and what the vet had me doing for her on that thread. Might be worth a look to see if there is something else you can do.

I do know that once the blockage past I only gave her feed bran with metamucil 3 times a day with only a handful of soaked hay. After 3 days I gave her more soaked hay and by day 7 she was up to her normal hay feeding.

[PaCe2WN]

Sorry things aren't going so well...I hope Kaiser turns out ok. :(

[Sugarmom]

Poor Kaiser. Poor Cols. I hope he's feeling better and that you're getting some rest.

[cols]

He was right as rain this morning when I went out to feed.
Then, I went to work, so I don't know how he was during the day.
Tonight when I got home, he was fine and there was Kaiser poop in all the usual places. :rolleyes: After I cleaned it up, there was more and it was "good".
This evening, I went out about 1 and a half hours after I fed him and he was AT IT AGAIN. Not much, still eating, but stretching out a bit and looking at his side. :(
So, tomorrow, nothin' but hay and water and see what happens. My friend suggested that maybe something in his feed has gone rancid. ??? Maybe.
I really want to give him the probiotics, which I can't do if I quit giving him his feed. BUT I think it makes sense to rule out the feed.
I won't know anything after the morning feed, because I have to go to work, but I can watch him in the evening.
I'll feed 1st thing, instead of last thing in the morning, too.
Silly horsey. I don't like this. :(

[PaCe2WN]

Don't know much about it...but have you thought about sand colic??? Don't horses deficate when they have sand colic and that's how you test it??? Just a thought...poor Kaiser...and poor YOU. :(

[April]

A couple weeks ago I was taking care of a horse that looked like colic except he was eating, pooping, farting, ect.... He was so painful he was on the ground and we all thought he would die. The vet was baffled because he was clear and there was no impaction. The diagnosis was ulcers, they gave him gastrguard and he has been fine since. You may want to consider that and give your vet a call.

[NoahsArk]

Colleen, I am so sorry poor KY is going through this. I hope you can find the cause soon. Have you called the vet yet and gotten his opinion?

[denise]

I think that was Maeve's problem with her young Clydesdale too, Ulcers?

One other thing the vet told me a couple months ago...Alfalfa can cause colic if you don't feed grass hay with it. (or forage of some kind with it) Because alfalfa doesn't have any forage in it. Which explains why Purina has a feed which is made for those who feed straight alfalfa.

[denise]

PaCe2wn, problem with sand is it will collect in the intestines, clogging.
Which is why you feed the beet pulp, it goes through the intestines like a drain snake, forcing the sand out the other end. So if you were to test a horse for sand without giving him the beet pulp, most of the sand would still be in the intestines.

[justbcos]

If you think it's ulcers, please call the vet out. We lost a stallion at the barn due to ulcers, I don't think it's usually so serious, but better to be safe.

[cols]

Well, I am leaning toward ulcer now.
I have started him on a slippery elm/aloe vera protocol with probiotic twice a day. Tonight was the first dose. I'm also making sure that they have LOTS of hay. We'll see how we go now. So you know, this horse is NOT in agony. He is pretty much asymptomatic now. Don't worry, you all. I WILL call the vet if he doesn't continue to get better.
Wish us luck !
(I need to sleep........)

[Finley's Mom]

My horse rarely poops in the trailer! I have always been grateful... hmmm, maybe I had better re-think that! My friends horse colic'ed and that scared me! Sand Clear for my boys! But I also decided I didn't want him picking up his grain off the sandy ground, so I bought a stall mat, placed it on the ground just inside the fence, tied his feed bucket to the fence post so it was centered over the mat. That is where he gets his grain. Most all of the spilled grain gets dropped on the mat. I sweep the mat every few days or as needed. I think it is better than eating off the sany soil we have. As far as the hay goes, I always walk it into his pasture and throw it down where there is no poop and yet has decent grass covering to help eliminate sand take up while eating his hay. I hope these things help my boy avoid the dreaded "colic". Just ideas that might help others too! :)

Good Luck Cols... I hope he is doing much better real soon, for both your sake!

[denise]

One of the vet techs told me most of the sand a horse ingests actually is that fine stuff they breath in, not caused from eating it. Although they said not to feed on the ground ever. One of the reasons I now feed in two 8' round water troughs. The only thing bad about the troughs though is when they are out of hay, Buddy will stand in front of the trough and KICK it! Bang, bang, bang, bang...we watched him yesterday. As soon as we get the stalls built, I'm putting a bathtub in each stall for their hay and a corner feeder for their grain. It's what our last barn had and it works really great. I always inclose the tubs though so if they lay down they can't get their legs under the tub.
Right now they stand outside in the WIND and eat.

[cols]

I don't have any sand at my place. ;)

Kaiser is being such a good boy for his syringe full of slime ! :p
He is actually lowering his nose and bending toward it now "reaching" for it.
What a trooper.
I'm feeding them A LOT of hay. Belle is going to be a butter ball, I just know it. She forgot to read the chapter on freechoice feeding in the horse care handbook, I think. Her idea of freechoice hay is to eat and eat until it's all gone. :rolleyes: I swear, she wouldn't sleep for days if she always had food available. Well, we'll see if she slows down on it. I have my doubts, though. When I first got her, she was so fat, I thought she was going to have triplets ! :eek: She was pastured on 20 acres at the time and I think she was alone or just with cows.

OK, so now I have a question:
Just before Kaiser started having all these tummy troubles, I was about to deworm.
They are DUE !
Now, I don't want to give him anything that's going to make things worse, of course.
I went to buy some diatomaceous earth yesterday and of course, they were out. :rolleyes:
So, how long do you think I should wait to give him the ivermectin?
As I say, he's doing fine now, but I don't want to send him backward.

[April]

You should look into a wormer for pregnant mares and foals. it may be a little gentler on his tummy and most are still boticides.

[cols]

You should look into a wormer for pregnant mares and foals.
I didn't know there was such a thing. :confused:
Any suggestions ?
I just bought Ivermec.
I wonder if giving him a smaller dose spread out instead of all at once would be good?

[Barbara]

Cols, if you're worried about the wormer, give him Strongid, instead of the ivermectin. I'm on the fence about DE...it's really powerful stuff, and has environmental implications from what little I understand about it...but Strongid is very "mild" :rolleyes: as far as that goes.

I wouldn't give a smaller dose than normal if he's been wormed regularly, since then you'll still be putting chemicals into his body but not enough to cause the worms much harm ;) . If you're going to do it, give him the full dose.

(As an aside, tapeworms have been suspected in some colic cases...they shed periodically and can cause blockages...the Strongid is suppsoed to be effective against them, so that may help, too)

[cols]

Thanks Barbara.
I never even thought of a different class of dewormer. DUH !
I'll do that !

What environmental impacts have you heard about with diatomaceous earth?
They mine the stuff right up the road from me. ;)
Funny thing is, it goes half way across the county for processing and then we buy it at our feed stores. :rolleyes:
I've never heard anything "scary" about it.
What have you heard?
I CERTAINLY don't want to do this horse any harm at this point.
Thanks for your help !

[denise]

My wormer has a warning about giving the full dose!
Paracitic colic, I was told happens sometimes right after you worm your horse. The parasites, worms try to escape the medicine by going through the stomach lining. They still die, but it can cause the horse to colic within a 24 or 48 hour period.

[Deb]

Strongid is a bit milder than Ivermectin but not effective if you don't give the full dose. You need a double dose of strongid to kill tapeworms and it does not kill bots. Best time to worm for bots is after we have had some good frost. :)

[proudtobespotted]

I would stay away from any combination products like zimecterin gold or equimax and quest. I would think plain ivermectin would be ok.
I know a lot of people dont like the daily wormers, but I have had good luck with the strongid c.

Susan

[denise]

I have a rotational schedule for worming. you can pick one up at most feed stores or vets offices. Different wormers are needed at different times of the year and for different areas where you live. So if you live in GA you need to worm differently then you do if you live in WA.

[cols]

I'm going to call the vet tomorrow and see if I can bring some manure in for testing before I do anything.
I ordered some Strongid from our vet supplier and I already have the ivermectin, so depending on the results, I'm all set to deworm as necessary.
AND by getting them testing, I slow myself down and give Kaiser a few more days to "recover" before I start bombarding him with chemicals.
Thanks to all for the advice.

[TwoEyedFancyChip]

Does your horse have access to a salt block b/c if a horse needs the salt sometimes they will lick dirt which could cause sand colic. With dewormers the best thing to do is change the type of ingredient say from ivermectin to panacur or oxibendazole and so on. just changing the brand doesnt mean you changed ingredients. I am a student at Ohio State University studying Equine Science and from what I have learned from school is that colic can occur from the pressure changes in the atmosphere due to cold and warm fronts. When he had his colic problem did he have any gut sounds or did you check? Was he just laying down or was he rolling and getting up and down frantically. Just wondering. As always the vet is the best person to ask questions to because they know your horse better than anyone else does.

[denise]

My horses have 24 hour access to salt blocks and mineral blocks and they not only will lick the ground but will also bite the dirt, scraping their teeth on the ground. WEIRD! I believe it's behavior learned from being in the wild. They also use their blocks. But as long as they get their beet pulp/forage it isn't a problem.

[cols]

I took my "samples" in to the vet this morning.
It took my 45 minutes to coax those two into giving me those "samples", too ! Sheesh ! Goofy horses. They were as fresh as possible, though, let me tell ya. Yick ! Hee Hee

[cols]

As always the vet is the best person to ask questions to because they know your horse better than anyone else does.
Well, actually, *I* know my horses better than anyone else does, since they live with me and I am the one who cares for them. ;)

[denise]

So when will you know anything?

[cols]

So when will you know anything?
I was hoping that the tech would call me at work, but she left a very generic message on my machine at home instead. I have to call her and get the details. All she said was that my horses have parasites. Well, I KNEW that. I want to know WHAT they have. She said I should call and "we can go over treatment options". I've been at this long enough to know all that stuff, thanks, just give me specific species and counts and I'll be on my way ! :rolleyes:

[vsolubo]

I hope you find out what kind of worms they have & kill them all dead! I hope K is doing better today.

[cols]

I hope you find out what kind of worms they have & kill them all dead!
LOL ! :p
Sounds like a commercial for Raid ! Hee Hee
You bet ! That's the plan !!
Heck, maybe I'll even go through a little less hay when they are all cleaned up, too ! :rolleyes:

[denise]

How long has it been since you wormed? I'm just wondering if it's because it's that time or if it's a parasite the worming didn't get?

[cols]

The office is really busy today, so I still didn't get to talk to the person who ran the tests, BUT the wonderful woman who runs the desk (and I suspect the whole show ! LOL) told me that it was "bad".
They are really infested.
EEK !
They were over due ... well, they were due to be dewormed and then Kaiser had his tummy issues, so I held off.
So, the plan remains the same. LOTS of hay so they never run out.
Geoff is bringing me home some Strongid and in a couple of weeks, I'll hit them again with Ivermectin.
To be fair, that was ONE FRESH SAMPLE, so nothing would have had a chance to migrate or discipate (or be eaten by birds :p )
BUT ..... the other side of that is that my "horse hippie" days are well and truly OVER ! I'll try not to let the pendulum swing too far the other way, but no more of this playing around with "natural" stuff for me.

[denise]

We just had our second snow last weekend, so I guess I'll be deworming mine next week. I like to hit them after the first good frost, or second snow. :D

Atleast you've found Kaisers problem and can cure it easily.

[kayla]

What kind of mineral oil? What is banamine and how much and where do I get it? And what kind of antacid?

[cols]

What kind of mineral oil? What is banamine and how much and where do I get it? And what kind of antacid?
Be VERY careful when giving mineral oil.
If you use the wrong one, you can cause SERIOUS harm to horse or human.
Make sure the directions say that it is a laxative AND don't trust the store to have it in the right place. Staff are not always careful. If you use the one for first aid it can be a real problem. Light mineral oil is for external use only. For internal use, you want HEAVY mineral oil.
I use our house brand equivilant to Diovol for the antacid.
Banamine you can ask your vet about. It comes in oral and injectable forms and you can ask to "have it on hand" if you have a good relationship with your vet. (I still don't have any...what a dunce !)



We had a heavy frost a while back, but it was sunny and 25` celcius today ! Crazy !!

I gave them the Strongid today.
The vet's office wants me to use Quest Plus in a couple of weeks.
I'm still scared of Quest and will probably opt for Ivermectin unless you guys can convince me that Quest is safe. What is the "plus" in Quest Plus ?

Yeah, so I guess Kaiser's tummy trouble was from the parasites. Maybe. Hard to say. Anyway, the poor dears. Mommy promises to get a hair cut and a real job and stop being such a hippie !

[kayla]

Hrmm, Zahra hasn't been wormed in 6 months. :( Maybe it's worms.

I've also heard it could be related to a heat cycle??

[cols]

Hrmm, Zahra hasn't been wormed in 6 months. :( Maybe it's worms.


Six months seems pretty long to me.
I'd think that could definitely be a factor if she is colicky.

[denise]

I use to worm every 3 months but in Wy there isn't as many parasites as the areas that are warm humid and green.
I worm every 4 months, using a rotation schedule. I think Ivermectin is next, I'll have to look. They are due in Oct.

Banomine, if you get the injections I was told you don't have to keep it refridgerated. A friend took a shot up to the mountains last month with us, just incase. I thought about it, but I have the paste and it must be refridgerated.
Here we can get Banomine at the vet's and it's over the counter. For 3 doses I believe it's $35.
I have gas x in the tack shed, one tablet for every hundred pounds. (I have two boxes) My guys are big. :D I also keep bute on hand. I think everyone should keep Bute and Banomine on hand, you never know when you'll need it, up in the mountains or 8pm on a sunday. It's never during office hours though. :D

[Deb]

Quest is a little better at getting encysted small strongyles than Ivermectin and the plus is praziquantal(sp?) which kills tapes. It is brand new in Canada but has been out in the states for a while but you can also get one of these new combos with ivermectin which is better at getting bots and still kills tapes. I think it is called Equimax, also brand new in Canada, so maybe if you are more comfortable with ivermectin that could be an option for you. Hope this helps. :o

[cols]

Thanks Deb.
As I said, she never did tell me WHAT parasites my horses had. That was pretty disappointing, actually.
Well, I may just bite the bullet and do as I'm told this ONE TIME.
I'm really nervous about Quest. I don't like it. Too many horror stories.
OK, I'll close my eyes and give it just this once.
I'll go get some from the vet and give it to them in a couple of weeks.
The tech that did the float recommended Strongid now and Quest plus two weeks from now.
Should I get them retested after I give them the Quest Plus?
How long after the Quest Plus should I wait to give them the Ivermectin?
I was thinking at least 2 months.
That will put us into consistant freezing temperatures and I shouldn't have to deworm again until thaw. Yes? No?

[Deb]

They must have had had tapes if they want you use strongid now and questplus again in two weeks. I think that tapeworms are one of the worst for causing colic symptoms. I don't know if it will make it any easier for you but for the first time, this fall I used Quest plus cause my horses had tapes too. No one seemed off or anything after I used it. I didn't use it in my pregnant mare though cause it is not proven safe yet. I would ask the tech when she wants another fecal I am not really sure when the right time is but certainly before the next worming to make sure you don't have to treat tapes again. I would do them again in Dec to be safe because it is the best time to kill bots.(I don't know if bots are a problem where you are but here they are pretty bad) Good Luck.

[denise]

Maybe you should NOT pay them till the vet has time to actually have a conversation with you. I can't believe she still hasn't called to discuss the findings. URGH

[cols]

Maybe you should NOT pay them till the vet has time to actually have a conversation with you. I can't believe she still hasn't called to discuss the findings. URGH
I "prepayed" ! :o
I know. I'm disappointed. It was a really busy weekend for them and she just didn't have time, I guess.
Ah, well.
I'll just "do as I'm told" and hope for the best.
Wish me luck.