The Horse:Your Guide To Equine Health Care provides monthly equine health care information to horse owners, breeders, veterinarians, barn/farm managers, trainer/riding instructors, and others involved in the hands-on care of the horse.
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27 February 2016 THE HORSE TheHorse.com Southwood said she generally adminis- ters antimicrobials for 24 hours after sur- gery and non-steroidal anti- inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for three to five days to help prevent infections and keep the horse comfortable, respectively. Once the horse is ready for hospital dis- charge, the owner assumes responsibility for monitoring him, along with commu- nicating observations to the veterinarian. As the gastrointestinal tract resumes proper function and the surgical incision in the body wall heals, Southwood said it's crucial to watch for: ■ Incisional infections and other issues, such as hernia formation; ■ Additional colic episodes (in up to 20- 50% of horses, she said), which tend to be mild and usually do not require hospitalization; ■ Laminitis development (in less than 1-2% of cases); Also be sure the horse maintains: ■ A consistent body weight (or weight gain, if the horse lost it in connection with the surgery); ■ A normal demeanor (an unusually quiet or depressed attitude could indi- cate complications); and ■ Adequate water and food consumption and manure production. Southwood recommended keeping the horse stalled, with hand walks and graz- ing, for the first four weeks following sur- gery to allow the body wall to heal. Then, she said, the horse can move to a small paddock or a stall with a run-in for anoth- er four weeks before resuming his regular turnout routine. Exercise or training can begin after 10-12 weeks if the incision has healed without complications. Many surgeons use absorbable sutures that don't need to be removed; however, if the surgeon used staples to close the inci- sion, he or she should remove those after 10 to 14 days, Southwood said. Before and after staple removal, she generally doesn't recommend owners clean the inci- sion unless it becomes infected and starts draining. In those cases, she recommend- ed the veterinarian gently open the wound to allow it to drain. She also encouraged practitioners to take a sample for bacterial culture in these scenarios to determine what's causing the infection. If an incision becomes infected, she doesn't generally administer antimicrobials. Rather, she fo- cuses on keeping the wound clean and dry and monitoring it for hernia formation. Southwood said most patients can resume a normal diet, generally following a veterinarian-prescribed one for a time after returning home. In some cases, she noted, the surgeon might recommend modifying the diet, perhaps transitioning to a complete feed (reducing the horse's reliance on forage) or adding oil if the horse is losing weight. Several researchers have evaluated horses' return to work following colic sur- gery. After six months, Southwood said, 68% of horses in one study had returned to work, with 56% of horses returning to their previous level; after 12 months, 76% had returned to work. She noted, however, that other factors— including additional hospitalization and laminitis development—delayed return to work following surgery. Southwood said many trainers don't believe horses can have successful racing careers after colic surgery, so the New Bolton group compared racehorses' performances following colic surgery to the performances of horses that had not undergone colic surgery; they randomly selected untreated horses from runners in each treated horse's last race before the colic surgery. Key findings included: ■ 76% of the study horses—all aged 2 to 5 years old—returned to racing; ■ Horses with strangulating obstructions (twisted intestine, for instance) were more likely to return to racing than those with nonstrangulating obstruc- tions (such as enteroliths or impac- tions); and ■ There were no performance differences between case- and age-matched control horses except in the first six months following surgery; in that time, controls raced and earned more because case horses were still recovering. Southwood also touched on brood- mares that undergo colic surgery. She said studies have shown that 66.7% of mares that undergo surgery while preg- nant deliver a live foal, but live foaling rates decrease when the mare undergoes colic surgery early in gestation, when the surgery lasts for more than five hours, or when the mare is 15 years old or older. Finally, she offered tips on how to reduce the likelihood of colic: ■ Increase time on pasture; ■ Decrease grain amount in the diet; ■ Ensure the horse has adequate water and good-quality hay; ■ Schedule regular dental exams; ■ Employ strategic deworming; ■ Increase exercise; and ■ Make dietary changes slowly. She also noted that horses that crib and those that live in certain geographic areas could be at higher risk of colicking, so these owners should take extra steps to reduce the chances of their animals developing colic. Exercise can begin 10-12 weeks after colic surgery if the incision healed without complications Keep horses stalled, with hand walks and grazing, for the frst four weeks following colic surgery. ANNE M. EBERHARDT/THE HORSE