colics

The knowledge of some horse owners about different ailments on many occasions gave me some anxious moments. Especially during colics, they give all the available medicines and try for hours before calling us to treat. When we arrive at the farm, the animal would be toxemic, dehydrated and near death. The habit of giving Lasix(frusemide) to horses suffering from colic is so rampant that sometimes they end up giving double the therapeutic dose. So when we arrive at the scene it is almost no hope. We tried hard to convince the owners that diuretics should not be administered without the advice of the veterinarian, as it causes more damage than relieve the suffering during colic due to impaction. Here we more often face colics due to feed impaction, sand colics and torsion or displacement of intestines. Once I was called to attend a colic in a racing filly, which I referred it for surgery as it can’t be cured by medical therapy. The owner kept telling me that the filly is not passing urine, I removed the urine by catheterization and told him that it should be sent for surgery. After an hour when I came back to the stable to know the status of the filly, I was shocked to see the filly being covered by a racing colt. When the colt mounted on the filly, she collapsed and died instantly. I asked the owner what he was trying to do. He said some experienced trainer had told him that the colic is due to block in the urinary passage and if covered by a stallion, it will open up the urinary passage and the filly will pass urine freely. On a few occasions those horses we referred for surgery with displaced colon or impaction, when they reached the referral clinic after about two hours of drive, landed healthy as if nothing has happened. These were some embarrassing moments for us. A horse owner made it as a treatment schedule, whenever there is a colic in his stable, load the horse in the horse float and drive for an hour, some times it worked.. Once I was asked by a Prince to attend to his mare suffering from colic, after the initial treatments and examination I found it to be a displacement of colon, i told him that it should be sent for surgery, but the prince insisted that it is not passing dung and I give the injection to make the mare pass dung, I told him that it is not possible and there is no readymade drug available to do like that. He said that I don’t know anything about the horses and told me to leave the place immediately, those who were with him(sycophants) also told him that I am a brainless vet refused to pay for whatever the treatments I did, after about six hours the mare died, the groom who was a Pakistani told me later that the sycophants bought some medicine from local pharmacy saying that it will cause the mare to pass dung immediately, even after five repeated injections the mare did not pass the dung but breathed last.
(to be continued)