The C Word

The worst word someone who loves horses can hear - Colic.

Colic sounds like something babies get, right? Any horse person can tell you that in a horse, it's far, far worse. 

Dealing with colic has changed a little bit over the years. There are still the same remedies, but sometimes you just gotta let the horse lay down. Walking them for too long exhausts them.

Now, there's a difference in the laying down thing. If they lay down and they're thrashing, kicking at their belly, rolling, rolling, rolling, and they've got that look in their eye that says "I'm not seeing anything, all I feel is this hurt in my belly," that's a bad thing. But if they lay down and lay fairly still, maybe roll a couple times and then lay there quietly waiting for things to happen, that's different.

There are as many paths to heaven as there are people on this planet, and colic seems to be the same way. It's incredibly individual.

I know all this because last night one of our elders colicked. It appears it was a gas colic, which if you must have colic, is probably the one you want because a) if there's feed impacted in their digestive system it's a lot harder to move than gas and b) if it's a torsion, which is a twisted gut, you're looking at surgery if the horse is a good candidate, or lights out if the horse is not. 

Tango with a client

Tango is going on 27. He's not a candidate for surgery. So I was relieved when what he appeared to have going on was gas colic - as relieved as you can get when the C word is spoken.

We walked him. He pooped little bits. He breathed hard. He tooted a lot, and that really helped, because the gas was moving. He laid down, rolled a couple times and then let nature take its course. Through it all he was alert and looking around. He didn't have that vacant stare that says "I'm in so much pain I can hardly stand it." 

You are probably familiar with that, if you've had a bout of gas yourself. It's miserable.

We got lucky. The next morning he was feeling better. Today he might get to go back out to his shelter and pasture.

This horse is precious to me - he is patient, kind, and loves to coach. He had a rough start in life, being a ranch horse on three ranches before he was 9 (and he has the brands to prove it). It's been my privilege to continue the work my mentor, Joy Turner, started with him, to let him be himself and decide what he wanted to do with his life. Turns out being in a pasture with a really cute girlfriend horse and doing some coaching with people suits him just fine.

So many thanks to the people who take care of our horses for us, Zoe and Zac, for being there, setting up a camera so he could be watched, and taking such good care with him. I can't tell you how much it means to me.

It could have gone the other way. The C word is scary. I'm so glad it turned out the way it did.