Are you fast at spotting colic in your pony? How quick are your reactions?
There are lots of misapprehensions about colic in horses and this can cause unintentional delays in arranging for therapy and care when colic does strike. Horses recover fast and completely if they receive instant treatment. As a pony owner, it befalls you to be completely familiar with all of the indicators of colic and to be ready for it at any time in the slightest. You can play a no-risk, effective game by following the steps detailed below if you suspect colic:
1. Contact your vet at once. Get his advice on what to do and comply.
2. Keep cool and calm. Taking some deep breaths gets you focused. You are not going to be of much help to your stricken horse if you are jumping around like a cat on hot bricks. Just bear in mind that colic can be serious, but unless in a very extreme stage, it’s not a killer.
3. Dispose of all hay and grain in the immediate vicinity of your horse.
4. If you understand how to, monitor and note down your horse’s vital signs once in 5 minutes. While your notes can be of great help to your veterinarian, don’t get upset if you are not able to do it. It is handy though not a life-saving requirement.
5. Leave your pony alone if she seems to be calm. Groom her gently with a curry or massage her if you can do it without causing distress. Beware of kicks and bites because she could be tender. When soothing hurting animals, including human beings, remember the golden rule: if they don’t desire it, don’t do it!
6. Try taking your pony out for a stroll if she appears to be very restless. A walk may keep her mind off her pain and also provide assistance in moving gas or other obstructions. Leave the pace to your pony. Whatever speed she seems to want to set, let her do so. In everything you do, target reduction of stress and increase of comfort for your pony.
7. Don’t constrain your pony in any manner in the slightest, whether with cross ties or otherwise. You will just panic her, leading to injury to either or both of you. Never forget you are coping with a pony in pain.
8. Try your absolute best to stop your pony from rolling on the ground, if she makes an attempt to. She may cause harm to herself, especially by amplifying her colic. Nevertheless do not try to stop her at the risk of injury to yourself or others.
9. Keep your pony safe from injury. Remove all objects that would cut or injure her from her vicinity. Line her stall walls with bales of hay to stop her from injuring herself.
10. You have no choice if you’re alone, but if you can call on the help of others, do so. It’d be a real relief to have somebody hold your pony while you are grooming her or checking for vital signs.
And more than anything else, keep positive.
These are some other tips. There isn’t any verifiable scientific explanation for this, but some horses do appear to feel better when they are listening to soft music. You can try out all of the genres of music that could be classified as soft and see what your horse appears to like best.
Rather like humans, some horses feel better when there’s company around, but some seem to prefer to be left alone. If your pony is of the company-seeking type, let her hobnob a bit with her pasture mates, if there are any.
As far as water is concerned, it’s much better to be safe than to be sorry, and so , unless you have specific contrary instructions from your veterinarian, it’s better to get rid of all water from around your horse.
Horses are Heather Tomspassion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers http://www.horsehorses.net/
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