The price that I was quoted for the surgery was $4-6k. When I said he'd be a candidate for surgery, I didn't make the decision without giving it a lot of thought. It would mean driving my old truck 2-3 more years and and doing without central a/c for at least another summer. Not to mention putting my horse thru it, but he's 13, the picture of good health, gets shots regularly, wormed regularly, teeth and feet tended regularly. Yeah, he's 'just' a trail horse, and yes, with what horses bring these days, I could buy several for $4k, but he's never bucked, kicked or bitten me, he's taken good care of me on lots of occasions, and he's got a super sweet personality. I'm not sure I'd get this lucky again, and would want to give him every chance to recover.

That being said, KG, I've been thinking about what could have caused our colic besides the weather, and I am at a loss. I went thru your list of things, and really can't point to one and say 'that'. My first thought was could they have not watered enough while the horses were in for the 3 days, but really, I don't think it was that. Sand colic? We are not a sandy area, and wouldn't the others have it too? We did change their feed 90 days ago, and I would have thought if it were going to cause a problem, it would be before now. The BO is a stickler for feeding at the same time everyday, and while I was not there watching over his shoulder, I believe that he fed on time. The vet had me monitoring his temperature so that the colic was not a symptom of a problem, and he's been a very steady 99.6 all week. The only thing that seemed unusual was that mine was in for 3 straight days, when he is NEVER in for that length of time.