NHANN Newsletter, February, 2007
Natural Horsemanship
Association
of Northern Nevada
2007 BOARD
President: Rebekka Rhodes – 972-9025
centaurgenic@mindspring.com
Vice President: Debora Lay – 972-4334
Activities Coordinator: Susan Lilley 233-1064
**Call for Activities**
Immediate Past President: Mark Rhodes
Membership Director: Ray Henderson 297-6092
Mail membership dues to Ray Henderson, attn:NHANN,
27990 Percheron Dr., Reno, NV 89506. Individual
annual dues are $25.00, family annual dues are $35.00.
Secretary: Claire Henderson 315-2865
Asst. Secretary: Cindy Salyer 853-5546
Newsletter Editor: Carole Dance 626-3902
Treasurer: Dar Meredith 972-1127
Web Master: Jann Hehn 852-7261
For address corrections, changes, or to place an ad,
please call 775-969-3555 or 775-315-2865 or send
an e-mail to: claireandray@earthlink.net.
NHANN Web master: Jann Hehn -visit www.naturalhorsenevada.com !
**Call Jann Hehn (775-852-7261) for any trouble with the
web site, newsletter or calendar on the web site, and the
NOW AVAILABLE Yahoo NHANN chat group!**
In This Newsletter You Will Find:
 A Word from the President
 February Board and General Meeting Minutes
 Special Topic: Colic information
 Calendar of Events (see web site for all events)
 Classified Advertisements, REMINDERS
NEXT MEETING:
***Thursday, March 1, 2007***
Board Meeting 5:15 p.m., General Meeting, 6:00
p.m.
Damonte Ranch Parkway, Round Table Pizza,
South Reno
A Word From The President
"Where Am I?!"
I had a revelation the other day -- about myself -- and
now I'd like to take an informal survey. How many of you
can count to sixty, as if you are counting seconds, in your
head and actually stay on track, on time? If I say it out
loud, or have a clock to count with and watch while I'm
doing it, I can do it fairly well. If I try to count in my head
while I'm doing something else physically, I was shocked
to find it difficult to keep my mind from wandering! Oh
dear! What does this say about my mental ability to stay
on task and stay clear and focused for my horses?!
Somehow I don't think I'm the only one who has this
difficulty, though.
A primary ingredient in your success with your horse is
your ability to remain calmly focused on the task, and to
maintain your horse's attention there with you. I am
better at this when I'm with a horse, for sure, but the
knowledge that my little brain loves to meander was
revealing. I'm more committed than ever to my mental
focus now when I'm around horses. I'll bet it makes a
difference for you and your horse, and you'll both like it
better, so enjoy! (Feel free to tell me your results of my
informal survey!).
Sincerely,
Rebekka Rhodes, NHANN President
February 1, 2007, Board Meeting; Called to Order: 5:17 p.m.
Present: Mark, Rebekka, Susan, Debora, Cindy, Dar, Ray,
Carole, Claire
The Board decided to hold the special Board meeting at 6:00
PM on Sat., Feb. 10, at Debora Lay’s house. Debora will
prepare a meal and the members will pay $5 each. The agenda
will include defining board member duties and by-laws, future
of the club, speakers for the upcoming year, new library items,
coordinating the activity calendar, and volunteering for events
being put on by other clubs.
Debora wants to discuss a NHANN entry for Reno Rodeo
parade, and Ray wants to discuss doing a Rancho Haven picnic
ride. This led to a discussion about looking for hosts around
the various locations such as a ride in Washoe Valley, a ride in
Rancho Haven, etc. The rides would be advertised by putting
a notice in the newsletter as a request: e.g. “Meet at Silver
Knolls park at noon, make sure your horse can do xxx--”
Rebekka suggested that there be some criteria for the horse
and rider as to what is needed in time and skills so that
everyone can have a good and safe ride.
Regarding specific library items, board members should
bring title and author to the meeting. Board members should
forward any other ideas for discussion at the meeting to
Rebekka.
The board decided on the Huffer gift thank you for the
Christmas party, a $50 gift card for restaurant or gift at Sierra
Summit-Ray motioned to approve and Susan seconded. Raquel
will follow up on getting the card.
Presentation: Springtime Rider Fitness Tune-up
Call Mark or Rebekka Rhodes for more info at 972-9025.
The club filed our annual non-profit status paper work and
NHANN Newsletter, February, 2007
paid $25.
Claire will buy a roll of stamps for everyone so that the club
will be able to mail things as needed.
Dar and Mark are going to Wells Fargo this week to add Dar
to the account since she is now treasurer.
The board decided to request final logo concepts by Friday,
Feb. 9. The board will select three from all that are entered,
and then the club will vote for the new logo at the March
meeting. Please enjoy the clip art until we chose a new logo.
GENERAL MEETING
The meeting notes for January were approved and Dar gave
the treasurer’s report. The club had $1635.29 at the beginning
of month and $1635.29 at the end of month. Dar has a
breakdown of the expenses and income from last year if
anyone is interesting in reviewing the club’s financial
information.
Tonight we changed the format to cover important business
quickly and then go straight to the speaker. The reason for this
change is that our speakers are all volunteers who give their
time freely to our club and we want to accommodate their busy
schedules by allowing them to present early. The “share” time
now follows directly after the presentation.
Rebekka reviewed the following important items before Dr.
Coli began his presentation:
Last month we discussed special board meeting, and it has
been decided that Saturday, Feb 10 at 6 PM is the date for
board members to meet and come up with plans for new year.
Members were asked to update contact information and check
for mistakes. All attendees were asked to sign in. Memberships
are due for 2007. Ray said we already have 35 renewals. Ray
had membership forms available for new and renewing
members. Newsletters are available on web site, and please let
Claire know if you need hard copies.
Dennie is volunteering his home for a shot clinic at last part
of February or first part of March. He needs to coordinate with
Comstock Large Animal Hospital when they know the dates
that the vaccines will be available. Comstock will be having
some other clinics which should be listed at their website:
http://www.comstockequine.com/.
Jackie volunteered to host a Washoe ride but hoped to get
more attendees than last year’s two or three!
Debora Lay has farm fresh eggs for sale at $2.50/dozen. Her
chickens just keep laying!
Melinda Cash has tags for 4-H tack sale available. The sale
is February 11 at the Reno Livestock Events Center and is one
of the main fund-raisers for the local 4-H groups in the area. If
you have old tack you would like to put in the sale, you can
consign tack to 4-H and they get 20%, you get 80%.
At this point the meeting moved to the main presentation on
Colic presented by Dr. Joe Coli, DVM from Comstock Large
Animal Hospital. Colic is #1 killer of horses and Rebekka said
that you can’t imagine what it’s like to lose a horse to colic
until it happens to you. Many hands went up for the question
of “Who has had a horse colic?” Fewer hands went
up for the question of who has had a horse die from colic, but
the question itself was sobering and caught everyone’s
attention. Dr. Coli’s presentation is at the end of this
newsletter in case you want to print it out and have a copy on
hand in your barn.
Announcements:
The American Endurance Riding Conference (AERC) is
having their conference at the Nugget 2/22- 2/24. This
conference is an excellent opportunity to see a number of
quality vendors, and there are a variety of sessions covering a
number of equine-related topics as well. Mark Rhodes will
have a Timberline booth and Ray will be helping him with
some Schwingers for sale, too. For more information about the
conference, go to AERC.org.
Monthly meetings are the first Thursday of every month,
with the exception of July. The July meeting will be 7/12/07 so
that there won’t be any conflicts with the Fourth of July. The
other exception on the meeting date will be in December when
we have a Christmas party in lieu of a regular meeting.
This is the planning period for activities and meeting topics, so
please contact any of the board members with ideas or
requests.
SHARE:
WE WELCOME OUR VISITORS AND
HOPE YOU COME AGAIN!
Rebekka Rhodes Rebekka Rhodes lives in the North Valleys
in the Silver Knolls area. She has 9 horses and 3 dogs. Most
of her horses are Appaloosas and Quarter Horses, and there is
one Paint one who lives there too. She is a clinician, trainer,
and farrier. Rebekka’s notes: We just got back from vacation,
had a great time, missed our horses, all are healthy, thanks to
Raquel and Dennie for taking care of horses. Before their trip
they had a colic episode with Loni, seems she had a virus, had
a bad gut and gave her buscapan and followed up with a
couple of days of banamine and she is fine. Rebekka is grateful
for the relative warmth we are currently enjoying!
Mark Rhodes: Mark Rhodes is the past president of the
NHANN and lives with wife Rebekka. Mark was a “ditto” to
all Rebekka said.
Sarah Baiza is a friend of Debora’s. She used to own
Debora’s horse Sundance who hurt her confidence when he
tossed her in the air on her first ride. Tonight was her first time
here, and she has a new horse named Moose. He is an 8yr old
½ Mustang ½ paint, well trained but virtually blind as a result
of juvenile cataracts and subsequent surgery. He is completely
blind in one eye and sees light and dark in the other. She will
have him in two or three weeks and wants to use him in the
wild horse and burro expo to help people understand that a
horse can still be useful even when he has equine vision
problems.
Debora Lay Debora Lay said that most of her horses have
come from Sarah in one way or another. Wrangler the OTTB
is coming along very well…initially he didn’t express himself
NHANN Newsletter, February, 2007
well and had pull-back issues and didn’t know how to back.
Today he backed all the way down the barn breezeway.
Debora was riding bareback the other day and dropped the
lead rope she was using as a rein. When he started freaking
out, she told him to tell her what the problem was and he
finally lifted his leg and showed how the lead rope was twisted
around his leg! She is pleased at how well they are
communicating now.
Carol Huffer Carol hasn’t ridden much because of the cold
weather. She went on vacation last week and her animals were
fine. Misses Cancun!
Carole Dance got her first horse after 40 years of wishing and
has been learning. Wilson is her only horse. He is a 16.3hh
former lead pony, TB/QH cross. Carole has a trainer working
with him and he loves to chase the steers in the roping arena,
but Carole doesn’t really want to rope steers. She wants to get
a big ball and have him work with that. She is going to speak
to Debbie Ribnick more about her Parelli ball. Wilson is a
character and will sneak all the salt blocks out and toss out the
block and bucket but no one ever sees him do it. He likes to
have something to do, doesn’t have vices but enjoys a job.
Claire Henderson Claire had a good ride last Saturday and
then a wild ride the next day when her horse Rohan (OTTB)
spooked and they landed in the middle of the arena facing in a
new direction from where they had been trotting down the rail.
This was a successful ride though, because when Claire luckily
landed right back in the saddle (she was airborne just like her
horse!) she started to really RIDE him and get with him in a
new way. She has been using Donna Artz’s CD and thinks
perhaps that is why instead of getting paralyzed by fear she
was able to start managing the situation as Rebekka has taught
her to do. They ended on a successful note and Claire has a
new appreciation for how PRESENT she must be at all times
with him. Her other horse also had a great success that day
when she worked him in the round pen and he stayed engaged
and interested throughout the session. This other TB came to
her with many emotional and physical issues, so to have him
go through an entire session staying mentally engaged without
exhibiting his customary lolling of his tongue to escape human
pressure was a real success.
Ray Henderson lives with wife Claire in Rancho Haven with
their seven horses and three dogs. Ray finally got to ride
Pinky last weekend and she’s doing great since her colic
episode where her spleen and colon got rearranged. Speaking
of trying the one-rein stop unsuccessfully, Pinky can bite her
rear end and keep galloping, so she’s not a good candidate for
the one-rein stop. The last time she was in a bad mood riding
they ran like that for a while but Ray made her repeat a hill
several times until she finally straightened (literally) back up!
Dar Meredith lives in Silver Knolls and has two horses, a
Thoroughbred and an Arab/Andalusian who have entirely
different personalities Dar said that both of her horses are
healthy and Dar is appreciating the warmer weather. Her
saddle has come in and she should get to ride in it this
weekend! Yippee! She is looking forward to graduating from
Junior and riding CJ, but she needs to figure out how to mount
since he is so tall!
Dr. Joe Coli said that he now has 5 horses…they lost 3 this
year, and reminded everyone that it happens to all of us. He
said he enjoys hearing the stories. We not only enjoyed Dr.
Coli’s fine presentation –he had a rapt audience!
Susan Lilley Susan Lilley has a 10-year-old mare. Susan
Lilley is taking lessons with Rebekka once a month, and it is
really helping. She and her horses are doing well, and she had
a 10-day vacation.
Melinda Cash had a question about one-rein stops. She
wanted to know if it works to use a pulling rein and apply leg
pressure simultaneously. Rebekka replied that Maggie Green
sent article from Western Horseman regarding the “cavalry
stop” which is similar to a pulley-rein. The one-rein stop can
be useful if the horse follows his nose, but some rubber-neck
horses will run through it. Using the leg aids where you cause
the horse to yield haunches to disengage the engine can be
used if the horse knows it and you have taught it, but only if he
knows you mean yield not GO…many horses associate leg
aids with GO so he must be taught that they can be a disengage
signal as well. When using a snaffle bit: both rein
pressure=collection, single rein=control. In the cavalry stop,
one hand is placed on withers and other hand lifts and pulls the
rein up or out. In the one rein stop you must release the
moment the horse considers stopping, meaning when there is a
hesitation. Don’t use one-rein stop when horse is running. If
you can’t turn horse’s nose or horse has braced neck
completely rock hard, that’s when the cavalry stop can
help…cavalry stop works well with snaffle bits…many horses
get upset when they are out of balance and the horse loses his
sense of being all right…the cavalry stop creates balance and
so can be useful for getting the STOP signal through.
Robbie Maus Robbie said that speaking about pulley stops,
she has been working on balance trying to help her horse be
balanced. She said she also needs to work on her own balance
since she rides bareback. She is starting to get it and will see
how things go with Rebekka at a lesson on Sunday.
Jacquie Wyllie hasn’t been here for a couple months. She has
an 11 year-old former competitive QH, and she got frustrated a
couple of months ago by the progress they were not making.
She has had success with Donna Artz’s CD helping her to get
him through some difficulties. She has worked with Lydia
Hibby Animal Communicator who helped her understand a lot
of things about her horse…Lydia said that he is concerned that
she is going to sell him, and he’s worried about that. He has
never been a pet and was beaten because he wasn’t fast
enough in the arena. Lydia said Jackie needed to talk to him,
and things became completely different after she started
talking to him. Lydia said his eyesight is poor and she needs to
tell him everything and she hasn’t had a problem since she
started talking to him. Jackie generously donated her copy of
Lydia Hibby’s book to the NHANN library.
JillAnn Stevenson Jill said that she has two horses, a two year
NHANN Newsletter, February, 2007
old and an almost 4 year old palamino gelding. She feels
totally blessed, because she bought them at an auction but got
two great horses.
Terese Cash has been balancing classes, jobs, social life and
4-H. She is getting her horse tuned and ready for show season,
and he’s being really good.
Melinda Cash said that her horse shared the front page of the
Nevada Appeal with the governor. Her horse was eating snow
and smiled when someone took a picture, and he wound up on
the front page. Also see Melinda’s question another column
on one rein stops.
Treecie White has three horses, and has one horse who tends
to colic so she was sorry she missed most of the presentation.
She has had an incredible success over 4 months where she
was sure her young horse purposely bucked her off on Oct. 8,
and everyone said she should sell the horse. Six weeks later
she worked with Rebekka and got a different view. Treecie
went off his right hip and he wouldn’t let her approach that hip
for weeks, and was still protecting that right hip area. Treecie
has sat quietly on him twice and doing other work on the
weekends, but this past Sunday he offered her that side and she
rode him about an hour bareback because he was finally ready.
Treecie finally realized that it was a big fear reaction that
caused the spook that sent her off and he was afraid of having
that happen again. So on Sunday she told him he needed to
take care of her and he told her he was ready and they had a
great ride. Treecie is going in for surgery on her neck on
Monday, so it was great that she had such a good ride. She felt
it was the first time he really wanted her to ride him. The work
that she did out of the saddle reminded her that we don’t
always have to ride to get that communication and closeness.
Dennie Hartman said that everyone survived the cold snap
while Mark and Rebekka were gone. Lucky, Micco and Bo
had interesting discussions with Dennie. He is getting back to
his routine, and Arrow is appreciating more attention, always
wants more attention. Whiskey and Fire aren’t quite sure what
to do with the attention they have been getting (wild
mustangs). As weather gets warmer he’ll have more time to
spend with them. Dennie said he will organize a shot clinic
with Comstock.
Carla Case hasn’t been here for a couple months. She is
trying to get weight on her mare after foal. Foal weighs 650
pounds at 8 months, ponies alongside the mare. The foal
reared up and struck her during one of the rides so she used a
chain shank for two rides and now she ponies just fine with a
pony saddle on her. She stands to be trimmed and clipped
without issues. Carla is having fun and getting the weight back
on the mother. The mother was a retired barrel horse, and for
the first couple of weeks that Carla had her, she thought it was
a mistake, but six years later she is delightful.
Rebekka added at the end that she has two young horses that
she is working with at Maplewood that she has ridden about 6
times. Today they both came over to see the saddle and asked
to be ridden!
Treecie has been hand walking the horses along with the dogs
out on trail. She said this is really helping the horses deal with
how the ground changes with snow…the bright white then
dark where there is no snow can freak out the horses, so
getting them used to it is really helpful. She also said that the
Nevada Division of Forestry said they are gathering up horses
and antelope because there isn’t enough water for the range
animals to live. Let’s all hope for rain or snow soon!
Raquel Minky has a 5 year old buckskin named Micco. They
had a recent success when there were 5 horses along walking
down the street and there was a large truck on one side and a
large trailer with a motorcycle on the other side. The horses
were getting antsy, and Bailey went first but was having some
problems because she was ponying Loni. Micco finally
decided to walk calmly through, and everyone followed. This
was wonderful because usually she would have had to have a
“discussion” with him about moving through this type of
situation before he would go. She also had a ride with Lacey
and Rebekka where Micco behaved really well after Raquel
told him he needed to behave because Lacey needed help
today. He was a real gentleman
Debbie Ribnick Debbie went on a ride with a friend in a dirt
area. There was ice in one area so she and her friend got off,
but Debbie’s horse slipped to his knees. He managed to get up,
but he went to turn around and horse slid on ice and stepped
into the reins. Debbie was able to unsnap the reins which she
had luckily changed back to the snap-on variety right before
this ride. They got out all right but it was a tricky situation.
Rebekka commented that a good winter activity is to play with
ropes around the legs and teach the horse to lead with a rope
around each foot. Mark added that another good activity is to
check capillary refill times and respiration to learn what their
status quo is.
Martharuth and Robert LaFever said that riding has been
iffy because they are working on bridle paths where she lives
in Spanish Springs, has to be aware if the monster trucks are
going to be on the path.
Donna Artz was in attendance but had to leave before Share.
We hope to hear from her next time.
NHANN Newsletter, February, 2007
Joan Edwards was also in attendance. We hope to hear from
Joan next month too!
***PLEASE NOTE LOCATION FOR OUR MEETINGS!
NHANN Meetings are held at the Round Table Pizza off
Damonte Ranch Parkway, in South Reno. The Damonte
Ranch Parkway exit off of Highway 395 is just north of the
Virginia City/Mount Rose interchange. The Round Table
Pizza is on "Old Virginia", which is a new street serving
the shopping center just West of the highway. Call any of
the board members if you need help with directions!
CALENDAR of EVENTS*
(This is a limited calendar of events, listing
primarily club meetings and activities, and items
presented by club members. A full listing of
local/regional events can be found on our web site
at www.naturalhorsenevada.com.)
March, 2007
* March 1 -- NHANN Club meeting at Damonte
Ranch Round Table Pizza. Board meeting 5:15pm
General meeting 6:00pm. Presentation: Springtime
Rider Fitness Tune-Up presented by Claire and Ray
Henderson. Claire and Ray are former triathletes,
marathoners, triathlon coaches, and personal trainers
certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine,
the Cooper Institute, National College of Strength and
Fitness, and USA Triathlon (governing body for the
sport of triathlon). They will present some great
information on how to improve your fitness for the
health of both you and your horse!
*February 11th 4-H tack sale at the Reno Livestock
Event Center: The sale will be open to the public from 9am
to 3pm. People wishing to have tack on consignment can
begin dropping off items on Saturday, usually after 4pm to
about 9pm, then again before the start of the sale on Sunday
morning. 20% of the proceeds goes to 4-H clubs. This is a
wonderful opportunity for the kids to have income for club
activities. Contact Melinda Cash for info 775-246-0198
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING
Ads are free to members, and may be for businesses, wanted
items or sale items. Contact Rebekka Rhodes.
Ads must be renewed each year with membership.
LILLEY’S THERAPEUTIC & SPORTS MASSAGE:
Long rides and sore muscles? Call me! Susan Lilley,
LMT, NCTMB, at 775-233-1064. specializing in Swedish,
Injury Massage, Deep Tissue, Trigger Point, Sports
Massage, Seated Massage. Reasonable rates, flexible
hours. Gift Certificates available. (1/06)
HORSE FRIENDLY PRODUCTS:
Timberline Saddle Company Custom Saddles; Western,
Dressage, English, Trail and Endurance models. 60 – 90
days delivery for custom orders. Custom saddle pads,
girths and cinches, bridles and accessories available.
Tacky-Tack Saddle Pads – extreme comfort and non-slip
security; washable and breathable. Turtle Snaps quick
release ties. Skidmore’s Leather Care products. Contact
Mark Rhodes, 775-972-9025 or email
‘centaurgenic@mindspring.com’. (1/06)
FOREVER YOURS
Custom animal portraits in oil or acrylic on canvas.
Professional and affordable with your horse, dog, cat,
(bird? Turtle?) in an idyllic setting of your preference. To
see examples of my work, call or email me, Carolyn
Burton, at 775-972-7490 , usnusnus@aol.com. (5/06)
EQUISCHWINGER
Hand-made bamboo training sticks by Ray Henderson.
These light-weight training sticks and whips are the
answer for sore wrists and tired arms! These gorgeous,
hand-made sticks are light but strong and can be
customized to your specifications. Call Ray at 775-2976092 or visit his web site at www.equischwinger.com. 
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TEN THINGS ONLY HORSE PEOPLE KNOW!
Everyone was reminded that the AERC Conference is
February 23 & 24 (Friday and Saturday) at John Asguaga’s
Nugget. This is a GREAT shopping opportunity for all kinds
of equestrian gear, and Mark will have a booth.
* Know that all topical medications come in either
indelible blue or neon yellow.
ALL EVENTS OF EQUESTRIAN INTEREST ARE
WELCOME TO BE POSTED ON THE CALENDAR.
Please check the club web site for a detailed calendar
listing of regional and area events at
www.naturalhorsenevada.com
* Know why a thermometer has a yard of yarn attached
to one end of it.
* Think nothing of eating a sandwich after mucking out
stables.
* Know what gets banned from Laundromats.
NHANN Newsletter, February, 2007
* Fail to associate whips, chains and leather with
sexual deviancy.
* Have less wardrobe than their horse.
* Engage in a hobby that is more work than their day job.
* Believe in the 11th Commandment: Inside leg to
outside rein.
* Can magically lower their voices five octaves to
bellow at a pawing horse.
* Have a language all their own ("If he pops his
shoulder, I have to close that hand and keep pushing
with my seat in case he sucks back".)
* Will end relationships over their hobby.
* Cluck to their cars to help them up hills.
* Insure their horses for more than their cars.
* Will give you 20 names and reasons for that bump on
your horse.
* Know more about their horse's nutrition than their
own.
* Have neatsfoot oil stains on the carpet right next
to the TV.
* Know that mucking stalls is better then Zoloft any
day.
* Can smell moldy hay a mile away, but can't tell
where the odor in the refrigerator is coming from.
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Here are some club reminders for 2007.
1) Advertising here is free for members. All members who
have had an ad in the newsletter for 2006 must renew their ads
with their membership.
2) The library is open at each meeting to members only.
Members will be asked to leave a check or credit card in the
amount of the item(s) checked out of the library. The length of
checkout is ONE MONTH. If no one requests the item, and
additional month’s check out may be made. No item may be
held by any member for more than two consecutive months.
3) The club by-laws contain all library provisions, as well as
other important member information. Please feel free to
request a copy from the club secretary.
4) This is your club! If you want the club to do or provide
something, please ask the board, and volunteer to help.
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* Have a vocabulary that can make a sailor blush.
PRESENTATION:
COLIC by Dr. Joe Coli, Comstock Veterinary Hospital
(You may want to print out the following to keep on hand:)
Colic is something that just about every horse owner will have to deal with at some point in time…if you haven’t yet, you unfortunately
probably will deal with it at some point in time. It is the #1 killer of horses but most cases resolve with simple medical treatment—can
range from a simple problem lasting a few minutes to a situation requiring surgery. Colic is not a disease; it is abdominal pain that is
usually a symptom of some other ailment.
How to recognize colic: The horse may display any of the following signs: turning the head toward the flank, pawing, kicking or
biting at the belly, stretching out, repeatedly lying down, repeated rolling, sitting in a dog-like position, holding head in unusual
position, teeth grinding, not eating all their food, lack of bowel movements, reduced or absent digestive sounds (could also hear more
sounds), inappropriate sweating, rapid breathing or flared nostrils, elevated pulse rate (greater than 50 bpm) depression, lip curling
unrelated to sexual interest. However, colic can sometimes be asymptomatic. Dr. Coli gave an example of an endurance horse with
very few signs other than the owner’s assessment and when he went to surgery they found 13 feet of dead bowel…surgical decision
made because horse didn’t respond to medical therapy, owner was a nurse and wanted to go in and find out Unfortunately that horse
did not survive.
What to do if you suspect colic:
1. Call the vet immediately! Time is of the essence in this situation, and alerting the vet at least has them on board if the situation
deteriorates. They can recommend specific ways to treat and monitor to determine if further treatment will be needed.
2. Remove all food, leave some water
3. Keep the horse in an area where it can be watched
4. Allow rest or walk the horse around if it is continually rolling or in danger of hurting itself, trotting can actually be helpful in some
cases if you can get the horse to do it
5. Always continue observation. Do not just walk the horse around, give some pain medication and think the horse is better if the
symptoms go away. Do not just go to bed and assume the horse will be better in the morning…you may wake up to a dead horse.
Constant monitoring is absolutely necessary until all symptoms are resolved for an on-going period of time.
NHANN Newsletter, January, 2007
Important information to try and find out if you can:
When you call your vet to report a suspected colic, you can help determine the urgency of the situation by providing the following
information: specific signs and their severity, respiratory rate, rectal temperature, color of the gums, moistness of the gums, capillary
refill time (normal is 1-2 second, press thumb under lip on the gums and see how long it takes for the blood to flow back in), digestive
sounds (can listen in different areas)…take a stethoscope or put ear up to horse’s flank, listen in 4 quadrants, upper left in flank
between ribs and hip, listen in lower quadrant in left side, and then the same thing on the other side…listen more than once and come
back five minutes later and things could sound completely different—like to hear good gurgling and moving sounds…with sand you
can actually hear a sound under the belly that sounds like the ocean, bowel movements, recent changes (diet, exercise, shots, wormers,
etc.), and medical history (do they have a history of colic, have they or herd mates had a recent illness, etc.). However, never
jeopardize your own safety to obtain any of this information. Some horses become frantic and do not want to be poked or prodded…in
these instances, just call the vet and don’t worry about not having enough information!
Veterinary Evaluation
If the horse is frantic, usually the vet will sedate horse first even though it makes evaluation harder. If the horse can be evaluated
without sedation, the vet will try that first. The vet will go through the following information: accurate history (worm schedule,
vaccinations, feeding, etc.), and a review of your observations, a complete physical examination (vital signs and intestinal sounds).
The vet then may proceed to a rectal palpation, which is dangerous for both horse and vet…can tear their rectum if they strain, so
sedation is really necessary in that situation. Once you create a tear, the horse is going to die from peritonitis. But the rectal palpation
helps assess what is going on, and the vet can sometimes diagnose from the rectal exam.
After that, the vet will probably go to passage of nasogastric (stomach) tube…the first reason for doing is to check for pressure that
can’t be released backing up; if stomach is full of fluid, it’s usually because things can’t pass to the intestinal tract, sometimes because
things are backing up from intestinal tract). The tube can also help alleviate gas if they do have pressure. The vet will then probably put
mineral oil or some other milk-of-magnesia type ingredient through the tube to help things pass through.
Later the vet may collect abdominal fluid (peritoneal or “belly” tap). Sometimes in very severe cases they will look at fluid in
abdominal cavity to see how sick they are…that fluid will show if there is internal bleeding or bowel death, fluid leaking, etc. Protein
levels that can be measured in the fluid will go up in the stomach, and a blood tinge to the fluid is a good indicator of bowel death. All
along the vet will be evaluating the horse’s response to treatment in case surgery is required.
Success rate of surgery often depends upon how quickly the horse gets to surgery…belly tap is a good indicator of how successful
surgery might be…timing is very important, but it also depends what the problem is…surgery averages $7500 if no complications,
costs go up from there depending upon the after-care that is required. You can get insurance for colic surgery or you can get enrolled in
the daily de-worming program from Pfizer and get up to $5000 for the surgery. The club has a DVD from Pfizer that explains the
program.
Dr. Coli then reviewed the anatomy of the horse’s GI tract. The cecum is the horse equivalent of the human appendix. The horse has
many feet of intestines that wrap around various organs. Some parts of the intestine tend to be held in place by other organs, but other
parts of the intestines are more loosely placed in the gut which is why twists and other complications can occur.
Sand colic can be a problem whenever horses ingest sand. It is very difficult to keep horses from eating off the ground no matter how
you try, so psyllium may be a useful product to help prevent sand colic. The usefulness of psyllium is not universally accepted and is
often debated, but in Dr. Coli’s experience, it is helpful in this region of the country for the type of sand the horses ingest. You can
check the amount of sand in the horse’s digestive system by putting a stethoscope on their abdomen and listening for an ocean-type
sound of water over sand. Or you can take some manure and put it in a jar or long plastic glove (like vets use for rectal exams) and let
it sit in water. If sand drops to the bottom, your horse is ingesting sand and could probably benefit from psyllium. You should do
this check over several days to get the most accurate assessment. Before giving psyllium, you can give wheat bran as a bran mash to
pull water into the digestive tract and soften things up. You need to use 4-5 pound of wheat bran if you are using it as a laxative. The
only time bran is of concern is for young horses where it can interfere with bone development Beet pulp is also good but needs to be
soaked…un-soaked beet pulp can lead to choke.
Classifying Colic:
1. Intestinal dysfunction: most common category, includes spasms, gas distention, impaction and decreased motility, responds well to
medical treatment…sometimes a virus or other illness can affect motility of the bowel…usually these cases respond well to
medical treatment
2. Intestinal Accidents: Occur less frequently and include twists and entrapments, this category almost always requires
surgery…bowel twists around itself…horses can develop benign tumors in the stomach that the intestine can twist around
NHANN Newsletter, January, 2007
3.
Inflammation or ulceration: named according to bowel segment involved and usually require medical therapy
Treatment
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Pain relievers (analgesics or sedatives-banamine better than bute but can mask the progression of the disease because it can mask
the pain too much). These analgesics won’t change the motility of the bowel but sedatives will…sometimes want to relax the
bowel if there is cramping and spasticity. Do not administer without discussing with your vet!
Fluid therapy by either nasogastric or IV (when horse is dehydrated, not when they have accumulated fluid)
Laxatives (mineral oil) to be administered by vet
Enema (limited efficacy because don’t often go in far enough)
Surgery
Prevention
1. #1 cause is stress, limit stress as much as possible, any disruption in a horse’s routine can cause stress!
2. Parasite control program: Quest and Panacur can get the encysted larvae that lie in the intestines and cause problems when they
emerge and cause irritation in the lining of the bowel. This sometimes happens when the weather changes. Once a year you may want
to use one of these de-wormers. A good time to do it is at the end of winter going into spring. Use caution when administering Quest
and deliver only the appropriate amount due to toxicity concerns. May not want to use Quest in thin horses due to toxicity concerns.
Panacur has a very safe program that can be followed once yearly.
3. Establish a set routine each day
4. Provide a high quality diet (roughage); alfalfa causes more gas, but grass hays can be poor quality. Any change in diet should be
administered gradually over a course of days.
5. Limit the amount of grain-based feeds…they will change the pH in bowel and can cause some other issues, and divide the daily
concentrate ration
6. Provide exercise or daily turnout—this is more important than just about anything else
7. Provide fresh, clean water and heat water in cold weather. If you use heaters, make sure they are connected with an automatic safety
shut-off to prevent shock. There are special GFC power cords that will automatically shut off if something happens.
8. Avoid giving meds not prescribed by vet
9. Check for toxic substances in hay, bedding, pasture, and environment
10. Avoid putting feed on the ground if you can, but help with rubber mats, old pieces of carpet, etc.
Dr. Coli answered some questions regarding psyllium: It can be fed wet. If you use Metamucil, use 8oz for each horse for 7 days. With
straight psyllium, administer 4 oz for 7 days. Loosen up with wheat bran mash the day before psyllium. Rice bran is not the choice for
this…high levels of rice bran can add a lot of fat that will disrupt the bowel if you try to use it as a laxative.
Other recommendations were: reduce stress and allow for a lot of turn-out and exercise, pay special attention to animals when
transporting, observe foaling mares (pre- and post- foaling), pay particular attention to horses with previous bouts of colic, and
maintain accurate records.
The key to minimizing colic is good management…minimize impact by identifying the problem early and calling the vet immediately!
Treat every incident of colic as serious and never jeopardize your horse’s health by just thinking it will resolve on its own given time.
The club thanked Dr. Coli for his great presentation and moved on to the “share” portion of the meeting. Dr. Coli was interested in all
of our stories and stayed to hear what is happening with everyone’s horses.