Discussion

Klohnen, A.
Aims: The purpose of this retrospective study was to describe the outcome of 632 sand colic horses, which had presented to the Chino Valley Equine hospital. It was our hypothesis that horses, which did not require an exploratory celiotomy to relieve the sand impaction, would respond to medical therapy. Methods: Medical records were reviewed and horses were subdivided into the 7 groups: The only group considered for this retrospective study was the group with medically treated horses for sand impactions in the large colon (312 horses). Results: Auscultation of the ventral abdomen on presentation revealed sand sounds in 64% of horses. Abdominal palpation findings were not specific to a sand impaction in the large colon. In 88 out of 312 horses (28.2%), the initial faecal floatation revealed a small amount of sand. The horses were administered psyllium powder until auscultation of the ventral abdomen did not reveal any sand borborygmi. The treatment length depended on the initial amount of sand accumulated in the colon and ranged from 5 days to 37 days. Abdominal radiography appeared to be the only definitive diagnostic tool, in order to diagnose a sand impaction in the large colon. Conclusions and clinical significance: The results of this retrospective study are in contrast to reports in the literature that treatment with psyllium will not resolve sand impactions in the large intestine. All 312 horses in our study responded to medical therapy and the sand impaction was cleared with the administration of psyllium powder.