Cornell Ruffian Equine Specialists

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Have you ever heard of the term colic? If you own a horse, the answer likely is yes! Colic by definition is abdominal pain and it can present in many different ways. Attached is a very interesting colic case that we had in our clinic earlier this year. Fortunately, the horse was brought to us just in time as her condition was very severe. Meet Penny. She is a 9 year old Argentinian Thoroughbred who actively competes in Polo. Upon presentation to CRES, Penny had all the classi...c colic signs (rolling, pawing, flank watching). A thorough colic examination and workup was performed. Abdominal ultrasound revealed a piece of Penny’s small intestine had telescoped inside of itself. This is called an intussusception and is very rare in adult horses. Abdominal fluid was collected, and based on the laboratory values, indicated that her intestine was not getting enough oxygen. Due to the emergent nature of her colic, the findings on ultrasound, and the fluid from her abdomen, we knew that she needed emergency colic surgery. Abdominal exploration confirmed the intussusception at the level of the jejunum (mid small intestine) and so this section, along with additional compromised small intestine, were removed. We call her diagnosis a jejunojejunal intussusception. In total 16 feet of her small intestine had to be removed. Due to the complicated nature of this procedure, important steps were taken to make sure that the bacteria laden contents of the intestine being removed did not make their way into the abdomen and cause a potentially deadly infection. After the surgery, she was monitored very closely because although infection is relatively rare, it is still a possible risk. After surgery Penny did great! Her prognosis upon leaving the hospital was good for return to her previous level of activity. She followed the prescribed physical rehabilitation program and we are happy she is doing so well! See more

Cornell's Equine Hospital, the New York State 4-H Horse Program and Cornell Cooperative Extension are proud to host the Equine Seminar Series. The seminars are free to attend and open to the public. We hope you will join us and other equine enthusiasts for this exciting virtual learning opportunity! Follow the link below to sign up! #equineseminar #lameness #lamenessseminar #equinehealth

Just a reminder that our facility will be operating on emergency hours only starting tomorrow, November 26th, through the long weekend. Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, From our team at CRES.

A gelding was first seen by his owner showing signs of what she assumed to be colic. A thorough examination by his veterinarian determined that he had a blocked urethra and was actually painful due to an inability to urinate. He was then referred to Cornell Ruffian for further workup. Once at the hospital, we were able to slowly pass a urinary catheter, pushing whatever was obstructing the urethra back into the bladder. The gelding was finally able to pass urine and we were a...ll relieved (but probably not as relieved as the gelding!). The following morning, a cystoscopy was performed, allowing thorough assessment of the bladder. Just as we suspected he had a urolith (bladder stone), which had obstructed his urethra preventing him from urinating normally. OUCH! Although he was able to urinate normally now, he would likely re-obstruct soon. So, we decided to surgically remove the stone. Under standing sedation, a small surgical incision was made to gain access to the bladder via his urethra. Using the video endoscope and snares, the urolith was successfully removed from his bladder. All remaining sediment was washed from his bladder in hopes of preventing future stone formation. The gelding did excellently following surgery, urinating happily and without discomfort. In the first picture below is an image from his cystoscopy, you can see the urolith sitting in his bladder. In the second image is the urolith cleaned off once removed during surgery, notice the spikey appearance to the stone. This is a calcium carbonate urolith, one of the most common bladder stones in horses. #equinehealth #equinevet #cres #cornelluniversity #cornellvet