Colic Articles

Treatment For Equine Colic

Animals are prone to various diseases. Some of these may leave permanent damage while others are fatal. One example, which could go either way, is equine colic. This happens when the horse experiences pain in the abdomen and things can get worse if medical attention is not administered immediately.

If the doctor has not arrived yet, the person can do certain things, which can help in the treatment. This includes taking the temperature and monitoring the heart rate, recalling what kind of food was given the past few days as well as the water consumption and checking the color of the gums.

The veterinarian may be on call elsewhere so until help arrives, no food must be given to the horse. It will also be a good idea to walk the animal so it will not think about the pain. If the creature does not want to get up but it still continues to roll on the ground, everyone should help out and transfer the horse elsewhere so it does not inflict any damage to itself or others.

The doctor will usually give the horse some antibiotics. This will help ease the pain and it is a wait and see game after that to see if there are any improvements. Some horses recover quickly while there are those that don’t so this really depends on the animal.

There are other experts who have a natural treatment formula to treat equine colic. Instead of using drugs, herbs are used instead. Some examples of these are cape aloe leaf, ginger root, fennel, wild yam root and cayenne powder. This is mixed together with water or some alcoholic formula and then given to the horse.

Prevention of course is still the best way against any disease. This is because the cost of medicine and the professional fees of a doctor are quite expensive. Here are a few things that horse owners should do to prevent equine colic.

1. First, the person should watch the food being served to the horse. Processed grains from a reliable supplier are ideal when raising such a magnificent animal. Some people think that hay is ok but it may have bugs or other foreign objects, which could cause problems. This should be checked before this is given.

2. Aside from checking for foreign objects in the hay, the individual should also have a parasite control program. This will make sure the stable is clean at all times even if this is washed thoroughly several times a week.

3. Horses need plenty of exercise to stay fit. A short ride or simply walking with it for a few minutes everyday can help strengthen its immune system. It will also need adequate rest. There must be time given to the horse to just roam around or just lie still in the stable.

4. All multivitamins or drugs that will be given to the horse must first be examined by the vet. This is because some may make the animal sick especially if it has a sensitive digestive system.

5. The person should also make sure the horse practices proper hygiene. This means giving it a bath and brushing its teeth since deposits may soon become infections that could get worse if nothing is done to treat it.