Biltmore post race w/ OMNI

["guest@endurance.net" <guest@endurance.net>]

K S SWIGART   katswig@earthlink.net

Roger said:

>A RECAP- After 38 miles - loop 2 Omni clears VC 2 and starts a mild
>colic. Lack of response to preliminary treatment, 2 dose Banamine and
>about 4 gal water/lytes by tube, did not correct the problem. 
Suspecting
>a full gut shutdown he was placed on IV fluid and Ca. Came out of it 
in
>good shape after  30 liters.

I find this interesting in light of Bob Morris's question about whether 
it might be the treatment that causes horses in "marginal" metabolic 
states to crash when many marginal horses that are just watched (rather 
than treated) seem to come out of it.

And I think, it is possible, in this case that Bob might be on to 
something.  I remember reading recently (in the last six months??) of a 
study of the effect of NSAIDs (which include Banamine) on gut action.  
And the finding was that NSAIDs as a class reduce the peristalic action 
of the gut in "healthy" horses.  The speculation was that using NSAIDs 
on partially compromised horses may actually exacerbate the condition 
by causing a gut that already had low peristalic function to completely 
shut down.

I am not saying that this is the case here (I don't think anybody has 
enough information about that), but I do remember thinking at the time 
that I read the report that if I had a horse that was "a little 
colicky" that I wouldn't try to relieve that discomfort by giving it an 
NSAID as that might just make matters worse. Instead, I would reserve 
the NSAIDs for their painkilling properties and use them only in the 
event that the pain is so intolerable that the horse will either do 
itself further damage in trying to avoid it, or that it is sufficiently 
severe that the horse cannot rest (and therefore recover on its own).

Understand that this was just one study (I will see if I can find the 
reference), so it is not conclusive evidence that giving Banamine to a 
horse with a mild colic will turn it into a full colic, but I would 
certainly entertain the possibility.  There is no way to know what would
have happened had OMNI not been given 2 doses of Banamine, but for me
there is enough information to make me ask, "might he have been better
off without it?" (And, of course, no way to ever answer that question).

Oh for the days of Dipyrone, a drug I liked much better for treating 
"mild colic."

kat
Orange County, Calif.