Hearps praises Bendigo Equine Hospital as Umgeton fights back from severe colic

The classy mare ran second at Moonee Valley last Friday week and less than 48 hours later she was fighting for her life with a severe case of colic.

“She always takes a couple of days to recover from a run and I thought that was the case again when I saw her last Saturday,’’ Hearps said.

“I thought she’d be OK by Monday, but when I saw her Sunday I knew she was in strife.

“(Vet) Mike (Whiteford) came down and gave her pain killers and we walked her... but she wan’t getting better and I wanted her operated on.

“Vets Sarah (Jalim) and Mike operated on her at 10pm on Sunday night and finished at midnight.

“The horse came out of the anaesthetic at 2am and she was put in a stable. Sarah and Mike were back looking after her by 8am the next morning. I can’t speak highly enough of what they’ve done for the horse.”

A week later, the horse is on the road to recovery and doing well, all things considered.

Colic is the number one cause of death in horses and can be caused by the accumulation of foreign material in their stomachs.

BEH owner Dr John Brown praised Umgeton for her toughness.

“If Umgeton didn’t have surgery, she would have died,’’ Dr Brown said.

“For that horse to run second at Moonee Valley with the problems she was having is a mighty effort.

“She would have had tummy pains and indigestion type of stuff and then it’s moved into the small colon on Saturday night.

“Then it was acute colic and impending death.

“Sarah Jalim is our registered speciliast equine surgeon. She did an outstanding job to save the horse.”

Umgeton is only the second horse Hearps has trained that’s needed surgery for colic and he expects her to return to racing in the winter.

“She’ll be out for three months, but there’s no reason why she won’t come back as good as ever,” Hearps said.

“She’s always been a tough horse. She’s been through a lot, but I’m sure she’ll be