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RE: [RC] Weather Change Colic - heidialthough like Angie, if there is very much reflux, I'd also be curiousto know if the horses are on daily dewormer, and if the attending vets felt that the reflux was due to anterior enteritis or to impaction.>> Neither: heart rates were normal (40) on all three horses, no increased white blood cell level (they ruled out enteritis), and they did not suspect or detect (ultrasound, palpation) impaction. The attending vet at the clinic labeled it 'excersize induced ileus'. I don't know about the others, buy my mare was not on daily wormer. First off, anterior enteritis is a metabolic issue rather than an infection, so will not elevate the white count particularly. But how much reflux are we talking about, and did it go away promptly with the administration of fluids? The classical anterior enteritis cases are more like what Howard describes, where the cellular fluid transfer in the small intestine actually reverses, and the small intestine pulls fluids OUT of the body as fast as you can put them in IV, so the reflux is gallons and gallons. If the reflux was not this copious and did not particularly continue after the horses were rehydrated, then that would be the indicator IMO that you were not dealing with anterior enteritis. With regard to impaction, I would not expect a mass per se in such cases that could be detected by palpation or ultrasound since the horses were indeed exercising. But I'd still say this is classic of impaction, since the gut is apt to be dehydrated and shuts down as a result. Most classic winter impactions have the horse continuing to eat over a period of 2-3 days so that fecal matter builds up--and you would not have that scenario on an endurance ride. Instead, you have partially emptied the gut going down the trail, and have simply failed to replace the water. So I'd still consider impaction here, despite the absence of a mass of unpassed fecal material, simply due to dehydration. The normal pulses are classic in cases of impaction as they are not nearly as painful as some other types of colic. Did all three horses recover after administration of fluids? If so, that is also typical of impaction. I HAVE seen a case of what I would have termed "exercise-induced ileus"--and it had to do with depletion of calcium. The horse continued to worsen despite the administration of fluids, but rebounded quickly with administration of a milk fever preparation containing high levels of calcium--not only was there an ileus, but the bladder was also somewhat paralyzed by the hypocalcemia, and was uncomfortably full and unable to contract! Poor horse--urination and gut sounds both occurred within about 10 minutes of the calcium administration, and he heaved a HUGE sigh of relief and went on to an uneventful recovery. But I really doubt that that sort of scenario would fit this case, where you are seeing multiple horses with the same symptomology. Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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