Wet grass colic!

[benjismum]

I fetched Alf in last night and he didn't seem quite right, didn't want his tea and then went into classic colic symptoms. Fortunately the vet arrived really quickly and he had a couple of jabs of buscopan and a painkiller, which perked him up almost immediately. He is still a bit subdued today, but much better.

But the reason I'm writing is that the vet thinks it was due to him getting a bellyfull of wet grass!! Apparently it was the 3rd colic of the day, and they (the vets) expect colic calls in wet weather. This was news to me, I know that frosty grass can cause colic - but wet grass!?

I'd be really interested to know if anyone else has come across this, and what they did to manage the situation.

I'm terrified now to turn him out, although this is the first time in the 3 years since I got him that he has colicked and he's out during the day in all weathers, so why yesterday was any different I don't know. There isn't much I can do to make the grass drier and I really don't want to keep him stabled, he would go mental!!

Any advice would be very gratefully received, thanks x

[valerie n scout]

Wow that's scary, I hope he is ok x

[zeldalithgow]

Hope he is ok , but surely horse would colic all the time if wet grass caused it, we've hardly had any dry grass this year. My feelings are that it might be partially stabled horses that colic on frosty grass as there body hasn't had time to adjust to the grass becoming frosted like a horse that is out 24/7 but wet grass

[Tynedale]

Hope Alf is okay for you!

[Fi]

maybe if an area is really waterlogged they take in more suspended soil particles or something?

no idea really, just the only thing I could think of. Be interested in the real answer, considering how wet everywhere is at the moment.

[tinkerdorisalison]

Well if this is a recognised 'version' of colic then we are all up a creek without a paddle!!!

I have heard of frost and gassy colic but never wet grass

Hope Alf is ok now x

[harveydales]

Yes, I've heard of this. The TB I used to have many years ago would colic sometimes when turned out on grass after heavy rain and I knew of another TB horse where this would happen more regularly. I haven't come across it recently though and never in Natives and never in ponies living out.

I expect this was a one off for Alfie and you'll probably never find out what triggered it for sure. The main thing is he is OK now.

[flintfootfilly]

Hope he's much better.

If it happens again, I'd ask for a comprehensive blood test including muscle enzymes. Bloods have proven so useful to me over the last year or so in helping to pinpoint problems that were proving difficult to get to the bottom of, and colic-like symptoms can be for various reasons so it might help find the cause and help you to reduce the chance of it happening again. Scary stuff.

Sarah

[benjismum]

Thanks for the comments everyone, he seems ok now although a bit subdued still, I've given him a few days off, and I've turned him out this morning although with loads of hay, which will hopefully keep him off the grass (there is hardly any grass anyway!)

Pam what did you do with your TB, did you keep him/her in on wet days or just carry on as normal? It's such a worry now, I'll be watching him like a hawk.

Sarah if it should happen again I will definitely ask for a blood test, thanks for the suggestion, the vet was happy with his worming programme and doesn't think it was due to tapeworm, but I suppose there are a lot more reasons it could happen - fingers crossed that this is a once-off though!!

[Fi]

glad to hear he's OK now.

[Debbie]

I've never heard of it, but if you're having extremely wet conditions, could the grass be fermenting somehow? During our wet years, the crops have all moulded in our area, and even my grass has sheets of black mould in between the grass tufts.

When Galahad would get his colics (he was prone to them), it would leave him subdued for a couple of days.

[flintfootfilly]

If he's still subdued, then I'd definitely check his pulse and temperature a few times each day. Sometimes that can help to tell the difference between a pony just being quiet, and one who is stoically looking normal when actually they aren't well. It's also an easy measure for the vet to understand if things aren't normal.

Hope he's soon tons better.

Sarah

[harleydales]

Mind you, if you'd had a rotten belly you'd be subdued for a few days too.

If it is the wet grass then we are truly stuffed! Plus if there are f looded bits in the field Harley makes a beeline forthem and grazes actually under the water! It must be sweeter or something when it's sodden!

[flintfootfilly]

My last, personal, experience of a rotten belly was a reaction to a salmon starter on Christmas eve morning. Fine whilst eating it, within half an hour I was barricaded in the loo, emerged a couple of times, went home, slept it off, and by late afternoon I was ready to go out for another meal! So personally, my gut seems to go "problem eliminated, let's get on with things" although I accept that may not be the case in every situation.

Similarly, though, when one of the ponies was at death's door with colitis, I stayed up with him til the early hours for a couple of nights waiting for him to die as he rolled around and got up and lay down and groaned (vets had topped up with whatever meds they thought appropriate, and surgery wasn't an option, so it was either carry on or pts there and then). On the third night, I made the decision to phone the vet and ask him to come out and euthanase the next morning first thing if the pony was still so uncomfortable. Left the pony looking thoroughly miserable in the early hours. By 6am, pony was greeting me over the gate, demanding breakfast and looking as though he'd never been ill in his life. Temp and pulse had returned to normal.

According to my colic vet books, colic is less common in horses out on grass 24/7, and is also less common if they have unlimited access to water. It also mentions that colic risk for horses on lush spring grass with a high moisture, low fibre content is reduced if hay is provided as well as the grass (Handbook of equine colic, chapter 6)...... but it does say a lot of the information about diet and colic is based on hypothesis of extrapolation from other species, so may or may not be relevant.

Sarah