SARAH: "What is the difference between regular colic
and impaction colic?
Is one that more bad than the other?"
This is interesting.
I don't know what regular colic is.
DR LYDIA GRAY: I don't either.
I don't either.
I'm just going to go with this.
Although this is also a question I really
like, because it's a little bit related to poop.
SARAH: That's true.
That is very true.
DR LYDIA GRAY: So let's start at the beginning,
just so that everybody is on the same page.
And colic is abdominal pain.
The AAEP, or the American Association
of Equine Practitioners recognizes
three kinds of colic--
three categories, I should say, or classifications.
One is the intestinal dysfunction,
and that's where the impaction fits in.
Also included here would be gas colics, the spasmodics,
the ileus, which is where the intestine's not
moving, for whatever reason.
The next category is intestinal accidents.
These are the bad ones.
These are the ones that go to surgery.
These are the torsions, and displacements, and twists,
and entrapments, strangulations, obstructions.
Things that you just hear and you go, "Ooh."
Those need somebody to go in and fix them.
And then the third category is your general-- your other.
And it's things like just inflammation, infection,
parasites, sand and stress.
Medication sometimes can lead to colic.
So I don't know where regular colic fits in.
One of those.
SARAH: When I read it, my thought was OK,
regular colic is probably just like "Oh, he's
a little colicky.
Give him some Banamine.
Now he's fine."
DR LYDIA GRAY: So maybe mild would be how I would-- yeah.
And probably gas colic.
SARAH: Most commonly.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yeah, I would think.
SARAH: Walk them around, put them on a lunge line,
and then celebrate when they poop.
It's that one.
DR LYDIA GRAY: And so her question
was, how are they different?
SARAH: How is regular colic and impaction colic different?
Is one worse?
DR LYDIA GRAY: Well, the mild colics that are resolved
on the farm with a little bit of help--
maybe your vet didn't even have to come out--
would be classified as medical.
And then the ones that don't get better with even
the veterinarian support--
like the pain, we can't control the pain.
Maybe they're going into shock, they're
having cardiovascular issues.
Or one of the tests your vet does on the farm for colic
is a rectal.
They find that obstruction, they find that entrapment,
and they know, uh-oh, this horse has to go to surgery.
So one answer to your question is regular colics
or mild colics tend to be medical and conservatively
managed, and then other colics can turn into surgical colics
and have to be operated on.
The other is the risk factors.
We know there are some things that lead to colic
or increase your horse's chances for developing colic.
There's some specific ones, like coastal Bermuda hay,
which is a hay that's common in the southeast parts of the US.
That can lead to a very specific kind of impaction colic
in the section of the small intestine called the ileum.
So if your horse had an ileal impaction
and you were feeding coastal Bermuda hay,
you're veterinarian's probably going to say,
"Let's try something else."
Same with any kind of coarse, poor-quality hay.
Some people feed even straw, because they
want to get their horses chew time and gut fill,
but they can't have the calories.
And boy, that can lead to a case of impaction.
As can dehydration or not drinking water.
SARAH: Can you explain what, exactly, impaction is?
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yeah.
We did some training yesterday upstairs,
and I showed pictures, and we had
a little video of the intestinal tract-- the colon.
Between one section of colon and another, it's like this big
around, and then it goes down to this small.
Well, guess where impaction colics happen?
So it's when bulky, coarse food that doesn't have enough water
in it-- it's not moist enough--
lodges, and blocks, and doesn't move forward.
And then it's in impaction, and it
stretches internal receptors.
And it's uncomfortable to the horse,
and he begins to show pain.
Now, some of those can be resolved medically,
when the vet passes a stomach tube and puts down,
say, mineral oil or even just more water.
And they get softened, and then they naturally pass.
But sometimes, if they're too hard or when they're too long,
or they're beginning to deteriorate the--
SARAH: The health of the intestine--
SARAH: Yeah, devitalize it, cause a lack of blood flow.
Then, it's time for surgery.
SARAH: So it's entirely possible that a mild impaction could
look like a regular colic, if you give Banamine and then
everything relaxes, and it passes through,
and then the horse is fine.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Correct.
SARAH: But a more severe impaction
could be all the way up to surgical, and life-threatening.
SARAH: And I always recommend people--
call your vet every time you see a horse acting uncomfortable.
Don't wait, because time is of the essence as far as survival.
SARAH: All right.
And for anybody else who is worried about colic,
I would encourage you guys to go onto our website
at SmartPak.com/ColicRiskQuiz.
We have a quiz where you can get a custom
assessment of your horse's own colic risk, based on factors
like what type of hay you feed, how well-hydrated your horse
usually is, and a whole list of other proven colic risk
factors.
And then, of course, if you want a little extra peace of mind,
I always want to make sure people know about ColiCare,
which is a free colic surgery reimbursement program that's
paired with a digestive health supplement
and a veterinary wellness program--
a vet-directed wellness program.
You guys can learn about that one at SmartPak.com/ColiCare.