# Do you hear gut sounds when a horse colics?



## Luv equins (Oct 10, 2014)

Do you hear gut sounds when a horse colics?


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

Luv equins said:


> Do you hear gut sounds when a horse colics?


Depends on what type of colic.
In impaction colic-no, or greatly reduced

In gas colic, increased gut sounds


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## Wallaby (Jul 13, 2008)

My only experience with colic is when my senior mare got her gut twisted [she was gray, apparently had a gray-horse-melanoma connecting her abdominal wall to her intestines, and one day the tumor decided to detach from her abdominal wall...etc].

But I do remember that she had "limited" gut sounds. There were still some sounds, but they were much quieter than normal.

I'm not sure if that's the norm, but it's what I experienced.

Maybe a good rule of thumb, about colic and gut sounds, is that gut sounds won't typically be normal [more sounds that normal or fewer sounds that normal] when colic is present? At least that's what I'm guessing from my experience and Smilie's post... haha


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## SlideStop (Dec 28, 2011)

I'd recommend listening to you horses gut sounds so you can hear what his/her normal gut sounds like. Count how many gurgles you hear a minute.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

SlideStop said:


> I'd recommend listening to you horses gut sounds so you can hear what his/her normal gut sounds like. Count how many gurgles you hear a minute.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


It also pays to really know your horse(s).

The horse in my avatar lived with strangulating lipomas 2-1/2 years that we know of. I could tell the split second he was starting to get a belly ache. He would suddenly drop his head, stare at the ground or his stall floor, then start going in a circle or pacing the front pasture, depending where he was. He was not a nervous horse so, when he started fidgeting outside, I knew he was beginning to colic.


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

walkinthewalk said:


> It also pays to really know your horse(s).
> 
> The horse in my avatar lived with strangulating lipomas 2-1/2 years that we know of. I could tell the split second he was starting to get a belly ache. He would suddenly drop his head, stare at the ground or his stall floor, then start going in a circle or pacing the front pasture, depending where he was. He was not a nervous horse so, when he started fidgeting outside, I knew he was beginning to colic.


I agree that watching for unusual/off behavior is much more reliable that gut sounds, and for our food motivated horses, if they ever lack interest in feed or a carrot, you know there is something wrong.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

Maybe, if it's a mild colic. In that case, take your horse on a trailer ride until he poops. This happens more often than not, so that by the time the horse gets to the Vet, he is recovering.
If it is a severe colic, you don't need to listen to the gut. You can feel the sides and the flank swollen and hard as a rock. I have felt that on somebody else's horse and DH trailered her horse to the Vet clinic for emergency colic surgery because she didn't have a trailer.


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Colic can definitely effect gut noises (more noise or less) but it can also not, so while it's definitely something to check it's not the only factor.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

If in doubt always call your vet. 
Prompt attention can often mean the difference between a very small fee and a huge one - or the difference between life and death


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

Corporal said:


> Maybe, if it's a mild colic. In that case, take your horse on a trailer ride until he poops. This happens more often than not, so that by the time the horse gets to the Vet, he is recovering.


This! My horse had multiple gas colics before I moved him to a place with more turnout (no regular gut sounds, just a 'pinging' sound in his case) One of the times a friend had her trailer already hooked up and ready to go, so we popped him in and as soon as we shut the doors pretending like we were ready to go he immediately pooped. 

Of course, then there's the time I trailered him out to a lesson (only about 15 minutes away) and he was fine when I loaded him in, but colicking when I went to unload him... :-?


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Gut sounds are definitely not my go to for "is my horse colicing" as said behavior is usually a give away.

Had a vet tell me to always take the heart rate. A wimpy horse with a mild colic can be thrashing around while a stoic horse with a severe colic may just stand quietly looking miserable. The heart rate is the give away.

I guess a colic based on behavior, there's usually something "off", once I even noticed a horse lying down in the sun on the hot day with his friends, except the friends would go up and down and go graze and he was lying down in different spots for a LONG time. Once I suspect I will watch closer than take vitals, handwalk, administer meds, call vet, etc.

As said if in doubt call the vet!


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