Horses - Colic Signs and Treatment

Horse Colic is important to me because I lost my horse Murphy to colic a little over a year ago. I've had bouts of mild colic, but never did I think I'd lose a horse due to colic.

Knowing that I am not a Veterinarian, my readers have written to ask me about colic. Since I believe all horse owners need to know more about colic, this is for you.

Above all, you should know that colic is the number one reason why veterinarians are called for horses.

Horse colic is a medical emergency, especially if the horse is exhibiting signs of severe pain. But there are many things a horse owner can do to help comfort the colicky horse and to treat mild cases of colic.

Colic Types

If one were to boil it down, there are three main types of colic: 1) tympanic colic, 2) spasmodic colic, and 3) impaction colic.

Tympanic colic is caused by a sudden increase of gas in the horse's gut. There are many reasons why a horse's gut would suddenly inflate and not be released as usual. These include change of diet, illness and a bad reaction to medication.

Spasmodic colic is most often caused by internal parasites. Spasmodic colic is a form of colic produced by contraction, or spasm, of a portion of the small intestines: It is produced by indigestible food; large drinks of cold water when the animal is warm; driving a heated horse through deep streams; cold rains; drafts of cold air, etc,

Unequal distribution of or interference with the nervous supply here produces cramp of the bowels, the same as external cramps are produced. Spasmodic colic is much more frequently met with in high­bred, nervous horses than in coarse, lymphatic ones.


Impaction colic, or obstruction colic, is caused by something blocking part of the horse's digestive tract, such as sand that the horse ate while grazing in a sandy pasture.   This is a common bowel trouble and one which is often not recognized for what it is. It is caused by overfeeding, especially of bulky food containing an excess of indigestible residue; old, dry, hard hay, or stalks when largely fed.   It is also caused by a deficiency of digestive secretions of the intestinal tracts, a lack of water, a need of exercise, medicines, etc.

How to treat a foal with colic is a little different from how to treat a horse with colic. There is a particularly deadly type of impaction colic for newborn foals called meconium colic.

The meconium is a foal's first stool. It needs to be expelled in the first 24 hours after birth. If a warm, soapy enema or a 250 ml dose of mineral oil does not shift the meconium, the foal will need surgery or die.

For more on this, please see: Horses - Colic Types and More

The moment you recognize the first signs of horse colic, the better the horse's chances of survival. Time is extremely important.

The most common visual signs of horse colic :

• Lying down more than usual
• Getting up and lying down repeatedly
• Repeated lying down and rising
• Groaning
• Excess salivation
• Loss of appetite
• Pacing
• Frequent attempts to urinate
• Stretching
• Flank watching: turning of the head to watch the stomach and/or hind quarters
• Biting/nipping the stomach
• Pawing and/or scraping
• Pawing at the belly with a hind hoof
• Breaking out into a sweat
• Rolling in a controlled, leisurely fashion
• Pulse rises to 70+ beats per minute
• Sitting on the hind legs in the way that a dog sits

Signs that the colic is severe and that the horse is in extreme pain include:

• Thrashing desperately while rolling

• Rolling the eyes

• Racing pulse

• Sweating to the point of dripping or foaming

• Silence in the gut - a horse's gut should always make some rumbling or gurgling noises. Horses with mild cases of colic will still make some intestinal noises.

Call a Veterinarian

Even if the signs seem to be mild, it is a good idea to call the vet.

After you contacted a vet, keep an eye on your horse and remove any feed in its stall or remove them from feed. The Vet will probably give you instructions as to what to do next.

If the vet is coming out, try to remain as calm as possible so as not to panic your horse and make the situation worse.

If your horse is in a stall, remove any feed or water buckets from its stall. Get the horse clear of all obstacles. If your horse is in a pasture, move your horse to a stall without obstacles.

If you can, check the stall or pasture for fresh but dry manure. The vet may ask to see it when he or she arrives.

I've been told that rolling can sometimes help, but I wouldn't allow a coliced horse to roll. From my experience, horses that are exhibiting severe signs of pain should not be allowed to roll. Instead, just walk them slowly and quietly about. And yes, let the horse take its time.

Treatment

Unless the horse has a history of colic and the owner is well acquainted with the causes of that horse's colic, let a vet diagnose just what type of colic the horse is suffering from. Diagnosis involves a rectal exam and "scoping" or passing a flexible tube down the nose and into the stomach.

Tympanic colic and spasmodic colic often treated with injections of an anti-spasmodic drug like dipyrone and analgesic drugs like xylazine.

The horse may be given IV fluids to relieve or prevent dehydration. The horse also may be given an additional gallon of mineral oil if the vet recommends it.

Spasmodic colic can sometimes go away without drugs, but this should not be relied on.

If the rectum is inflamed, this could be fecal impaction which a vet can remove manually. The horse is sedated and then the vet dons gloves and pulls the feces out. The horse is given an enema and possible IV fluids.

Impaction colic may require surgery, especially if the horse is showing signs of severe distress or the cause of the impaction is unknown.

Never guess at how to treat a horse with colic. Call a Veterinarian right away. Meanwhile, keep the horse as calm and comfortable as possible.

Horses - Colic Types and More

Many of my readers have asked about this and that about Horse Health.

I have really hesitated to write about it simply because, as my readers know, I own horses and have been around them for many years - but I make no claim to being a Veterinarian or as knowledgeable as a Veterinarian.

With that said, as my regular readers know, horse colic is something that took my horse Murphy.

What is Colic?

Horse colic is defined as abdominal pain, but it is a clinical sign rather than a diagnosis. It can be mild or very serious. I always take colic seriously because colic is the leading cause of premature death of horses.

The term colic can encompass all forms of gastrointestinal conditions which cause pain as well as other causes of abdominal pain not involving the gastrointestinal tract.

The most common forms of colic are gastrointestinal in nature and are most often related to colonic disturbance.

There are a variety of different causes of colic, some of which can prove fatal without surgical intervention.

Colic surgery is usually an expensive procedure as it is major abdominal surgery, often with intensive aftercare. The incidence of colic in the general horse population has been estimated between 10 and 11 percent on an annual basis.

It is important that any person who owns or works with horses be able to recognize the signs of colic and determine whether or not a veterinarian should be called.

Types of Colic

This list of types of colic is not complete. But yes, it does detail some of the types which you may be encounter.

For me, like many folks who have written asking me about horse health, I can never remember the medical terms and such.

Knowing this, please understand that I researched this for my readers and have reprinted it here. I'm hoping that you can get the gist of the different types of colic without feeling like you have to have a degree to understand them.

Pelvic flexure impaction

This is caused by an impaction of food material (Water, Grass, Hay, Grain) at a part of the large bowel known as the pelvic flexure of the left colon where the intestine takes a 180 degree turn and narrows.

Impaction generally responds well to medical treatment, but more severe cases may not recover without surgery.

If left untreated, severe impaction colic can be fatal.

The most common cause is when the horse is on box rest and/or consumes large volumes of concentrated feed, or the horse has dental disease and is unable to masticate properly.

This condition could be diagnosed on rectal examination by a veterinarian.

Spasmodic colic

Spasmodic colic is the result of increased peristaltic contractions in the horse's gastrointestinal tract. It can be the result of a mild gas buildup within the horse's digestive tract.

The signs of colic are generally mild and respond well to spasmolytic and analgesic medication.

Ileal impaction

The ileum is the last part of the small intestine that ends in the cecum. Ileal impaction can be caused by obstruction of ingesta.

Other causes can be obstruction by ascarids (Parascaris equorum) or tapeworm (Anoplocephala Perfoliata) as mentioned below.

Sand impaction

This is most likely to occur in horses that graze sandy or heavily grazed pastures leaving only dirt to ingest.

The term sand also encompasses dirt.

The ingested sand or dirt accumulates in the pelvic flexure, right dorsal colon and the cecum of the large intestines.

As the sand or dirt irritates the lining of the bowel it can cause diarrhea.

The weight and abrasion of the sand or dirt causes the bowel wall to become inflamed and can cause a reduction in colonic motility and in severe cases even peritonitis.

Historically medical treatment of the problem is with laxatives such as liquid paraffin or oil and psyllium husk.

More recently doctors are treating cases with specific synbiotic (pro and prebiotic) and psyllium combinations.

Some cases may need surgery.

Horses with sand or dirt impaction are predisposed to Salmonella infection.

Horses should not be fed from the ground in areas where sand, dirt and silt are prevalent although small amounts of sand or dirt will still be ingested by grazing.

Management to reduce sand intake and prophylactic treatments with sand removal products are recommended by most veterinarians.

Enterolith

Enteroliths in horses are round balls of mineral deposits often formed around a piece of ingested foreign material, such as sand or gravel.

An enterolith is a mineral concretion or calculus formed anywhere in the gastrointestinal system. Enteroliths are uncommon and usually incidental findings but, once found, they require at a minimum watchful waiting. If there is evidence of complications, they must be removed.


An enterolith may form around a nidus, a small foreign object such as a seed, pebble, or piece of twine, that serves as an irritant. In this respect, an enterolith forms by a process similar to the creation of a pearl.

An enterolith is not to be confused with a gastrolith which helps digestion.

Equine enteroliths are found by walking pastures or turning over manure compost piles to find small enteroliths, during necroscopy, and increasingly during surgery for colic. Therefore, the incidence of asymptomatic enteroliths is unknown.

Equine enteroliths typically are smoothly spherical or tetrahedral, consist mostly of the mineral struvite (ammonium magnesium phosphate), and have concentric rings of mineral precipitated around a nidus.

When they move from their original site they can obstruct the intestine.

Enteroliths are not a common cause of colic, but are known to have a higher prevalence in states with a sandy soil and where an abundance of alfalfa hay is fed, such as California.

Some say that once a horse is diagnosed with colic due to enterolith,  it usually requires surgery to correct the condition.
A simple cases of obstruction, where there are no complications, then a variety of non-surgical and surgical techniques are used to remove the enterolith.

These include crushing the enterolith and milking it back to the stomach or forward to the colon, surgical removal via an uninvolved segment of the gastrointestinal tract, and resection of the involved segment.

Large roundworms

Occasionally there can be an obstruction by large numbers of roundworms.

This is most commonly seen in young horses as a result of a very heavy infestation of Parascaris equorum that can subsequently cause a blockage and rupture of the small intestine.

Deworming heavily infected horses may cause a severe immune reaction to the dead worms, which can damage the intestinal wall and cause a fatal peritonitis.

Veterinarians often treat horses with suspected heavy worm burdens with corticosteroids to reduce the inflammatory response to the dead worms.

Blockages of the small intestine, particularly the ileum, can occur with Parascaris equorum and may well require colic surgery.

Large roundworm infestations are often the result of a poor deworming program.

 Horses develop immunity to parascarids between 6 months age and one year and so this condition is rare in adult horses.

Tapeworms

Tapeworms at the junction of the cecum have been implicated in causing colic. The most common species of tapeworm in the equine is Anoplocephala perfoliata.
Cyathostomes

Acute diarrhoea can be caused by cyathostomes or "small Stronglus type" worms that are encysted as larvae in the bowel wall, particularly if large numbers emerge simultaneously.

The disease most frequently occurs in winter time.

Pathological changes of the bowel reveal a typical "pepper and salt" colour of the large intestines. Animals suffering from cyathostominosis usually have a poor deworming history.
Left dorsal displacement

Left dorsal displacement is a form of colic where the left dorsal colon becomes trapped above the spleen and against the nephrosplenic ligament.

It may necessitate surgery although often it can be treated with exercise and/or phenylephrine, at times anesthesia and a rolling procedure, in which the horse is placed in left lateral recumbency and rolled to right lateral recumbency while jostling, must be performed to correct the condition medically.

This condition can be diagnosed on rectal examination or through ultrasonography by a veterinarian.

Right dorsal displacement

Right dorsal displacement is another displacement of part of the large bowel. Although signs of colic may not be very severe, surgery is usually the only available treatment.

Torsion

Various parts of the horse's gastrointestinal tract may twist upon themselves. It is most likely to be either small intestine or part of the colon.

Occlusion of the blood supply means that it is a painful condition causing rapid deterioration and requiring emergency surgery.

Intussusception

Intussusception is a form of colic in which a piece of intestine "telescopes" within a portion of itself. It most commonly happens in the small intestine of young horses and requires urgent surgery.

Epiploic foramen entrapment

On rare occasions, a piece of small intestine can become trapped through the epiploic foramen.

The blood supply to this piece of intestine is immediately occluded. The intestine becomes trapped and surgery is the only available treatment.

Strangulating lipoma

Benign fatty tumors known as lipomas can form on the mesentery.

As the tumor enlarges, it stretches the connective tissue into a stalk which can wrap around a segment of bowel, typically small intestine, cutting off its blood supply.

The tumor forms a button that latches onto the stalk of the tumor, locking it on place, and requiring surgery for resolution.

Mesenteric rent entrapment

The mesentery is a thin sheet attached to the entire length of intestine, enclosing blood vessels, lymph nodes, and nerves.

Occasionally, a small rent (hole) can form in the mesentery, through which a segment of bowel can occasionally enter.

As in epiploic foramen entrapment, the bowel first enlarges, since arteries do not occlude as easily as veins, which causes edema (fluid buildup).

As the bowel enlarges, it becomes less and less likely to be able to exit the site of entrapment. This problem also requires surgical correction.

Gastric ulceration

Horses form ulcers in the stomach fairly commonly.

Risk factors include confinement, infrequent feedings, a high proportion of concentrate feeds, such as grains, excessive non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use, and the stress of shipping and showing.

Gastric ulceration has also been associated with the consumption of cantharidin beetles in alfalfa hay which are very caustic when chewed and ingested.

Most ulcers are treatable with medications that inhibit the acid producing cells of the stomach.

Antacids are less effective in horses than in humans, because horses produce stomach acid almost constantly, while humans produce acid mainly when eating. Dietary management is critical.

Bleeding ulcers leading to stomach rupture are rare.

Other causes that may show clinical symptoms of colic

Strictly speaking colic refers only to signs originating from the gastrointestinal tract of the horse.

Signs of colic may be caused by problems other than the GI-tract e.g. problems in the kidneys, ovaries, spleen, testicular torsion, pleuritis, or pleuropneumonia.

Diseases which sometimes cause symptoms which appear similar to colic include laminitis and exertional rhabdomyolysis.

Pathophysiology of equine colic

This can be divided broadly into simple obstructions, strangulating obstructions, and non-strangulating infarctions.

Simple obstruction

This is characterised by a physical obstruction of the intestine, which can be due to impacted food material, stricture formation, or foreign bodies. The primary pathophysiological abnormality caused by this obstruction is related to the trapping of fluid within the intestine oral to the obstruction.

This is due to the large amount of fluid produced in the upper gastro-intestinal tract (around 125l daily), and the fact that this is primarily re-absorbed in parts of the intestine downstream from the obstruction.

The first problem with this degree of fluid loss from circulation is one of decreased plasma volume, leading to a reduced cardiac output, and acid-base disturbances.

There also occur serious effects on the intestine itself, which becomes distended due to the trapped fluid, and by gas production from bacteria.

It is this distension, and subsequent activation of stretch receptors within the intestinal wall, that leads to the associated pain. With progressive distension of the intestinal wall, there is occlusion of blood vessels, firstly veins, then arteries.

The difference in time to onset of occlusion is due to the relatively more rigid walls of arteries compared with veins.

This impairment of blood supply leads firstly to hyperaemia and congestion, and ultimately to ischaemic necrosis and cellular death.

The poor blood supply also has effects on the vascular endothelium, leading to an increased permeability.

This results initially in leakage of plasma, and eventually blood into the intestinal lumen. In the opposite fashion, gram-negative bacteria and endotoxins can enter the bloodstream, leading to further systemic effects.

Strangulating obstruction

Strangulating obstructions have all the same pathological features as a simple obstruction, but the blood supply is immediately affected. Both arteries and veins may be affected immediately, or progressively as in simple obstruction.

Common causes of strangulating obstruction are intussusceptions, volvulus and displacement of intestine through a hole, such as a hernia, a mesenteric rent, or the epiploic foramen.

Non-strangulating infarctionIn a non-strangulating infarction, blood supply to a section of intestine is occluded, without any obstruction to ingesta present within the intestinal lumen.

The most common cause is infection with Strongylus vulgaris larvae, which develop within the (primarily cranial) mesenteric artery.

Diagnosis

Many different diagnostic tests can be used to diagnose the cause of equine colic, which may have greater or lesser value in certain situations.

The most important distinction to make is whether the condition should be managed medically or surgically. If surgery is indicated, then it must be performed with utmost haste, as delay is a dire prognostic indicator.

History

A thorough history is always taken, including age, sex, recent activity, diet, any recent dietary changes, and routine anthelmintic treatment.

However, the most important factor is time elapsed since onset of clinical signs, as this has a profound impact on prognosis, and the type of treatment that will be undertaken.

Cardiovascular parameters

Heart rate rises with progression of colic, in part due to pain, but mainly due to decreased circulating volume, decreased preload, and endotoxemia.

The rate should be measured over time, and its response to analgesic therapy ascertained. A pulse that continues to rise in the face of adequate analgesia is considered a surgical indication.

Mucous membrane colour can be assessed to appreciate the severity of haemodynamic compromise. Reddening of membranes reflects worse prognosis, and cyanotic membranes indicate a very poor chance of a positive outcome.

Laboratory tests can be performed to assess the cardiovascular status of the patient.

Packed Cell Volume (PCV) is a measure of hydration status, with a value 45% being considered significant. Increasing values over repeated examination are also considered significant.

The total protein (TP) of blood may also be measured, as an aid in estimating the amount of protein loss into the intestine. Its value must be interpreted along with the PCV, to take into account the hydration status.

Rectal examination

Repeated rectal examinations are a cornerstone of colic diagnosis, as many large intestinal conditions can be definitively diagnosed by this method alone. Other non-specific findings, such as dilated[disambiguation needed] small intestinal loops, may also be detected, and can play a major part in determining if surgery is necessary.

Naso-gastric intubation

Passing a Naso-Gastric Tube (NGT) is useful both diagnostically and therapeutically.

Fluid is refluxed from the stomach, and any more than 2 litres of fluid is considered to be significant.

Increased fluid is generally as a result of backing up of fluid through the intestinal tract, due to a downstream obstruction.

This finding is important as it represents a relatively advanced stage of colic, and is often a surgical indication.

Therapeutically, gastric decompression is important, as if fluid build up occurs, gastric rupture may occur, which is inevitably fatal.

Abdominocentesis

The extraction of fluid from the peritoneum can be useful in assessing the state of the intestines. A sanguinous fluid represents an infarction, and usually indicates surgery is necessary.

A cloudy fluid is suggestive of an increased number of white blood cells, which indicates the disease is relatively advanced.

The protein level of abdominal fluid can be analysed, and may also give information as to the integrity of intestinal blood vessels.

Abdominal distension

Any degree of abdominal distension is usually indicative of a condition affecting the large intestines, as distension of structures upstream of here would not be large enough to be visible externally.

Auscultation

Auscultation of the abdomen, usually performed in a four quadrant approach, can be a useful tool. Increased gut sounds are not usually found with major changes, and may be indicative of spasmodic colic.

A decreased amount of sound, or no sound, may be suggestive of serious changes.

Fecal examination

The amount of feces produced, and its character can be helpful, although as changes often occur relatively distant to the anus, changes may not be seen for some time.

In areas where sand colic is known to be common, or if the history suggests it may be a possibility, feces can be examined for the presence of sand, often by immersion in water, or simply by its texture.

If you suspect that your horse has colic - don't hesitate to call a Vet!

Time is one of the most important factors when dealing with colic. My advice is to get a Vet on the phone and let them give you instructions as to what to do next.

Empowering Women

This short video was sent to me with a request to post it here.

After watching this video, I am very honored that I was asked to make this available to my readers.
The folks over at the NRA put this great video together. It's short but very well done.

And yes, it speaks to the concern of American women because they will be the most adversely affected if Obama and the left take away guns from law abiding citizens.

I'll let the video speak for itself. 

This new NRA Women short is exactly what we need to see. Too bad the main stream media won't present this to women out there.

If a woman is harmed because her ability to defend herself is impaired by anti-gun liberals, then those anti-gun liberals are to blame as if they were the attackers themselves. They are as guilty as her attackers.

Besides the fact that a defenseless woman is a step back in women's rights, it is unconscionable conduct of those in the government to allow anyone to be vulnerable -  a prey to those who would harm them or their families.

We need more women like these out there talking about gun ownership for women. These women understand that they need protection and will do what it takes to protect themselves and their families.

California Governor signs bill to Confiscate Legal Firearms

Governor Jerry Brown announced Wednesday that he has signed legislation expanding the ability of state law enforcement agents to seize firearms from nearly 20,000 Californians.

How do they know exactly how many? Because these are legally obtained firearms that are to be confiscated!

They collectively own more than 39,000 handguns and 1,670 assault weapons but are prohibited from owning firearms because they have been convicted of crimes, ruled mentally unstable, or are subject to domestic violence restraining orders.

The bill authorizes $24 Million for the state Department of Justice's Armed and Prohibited Persons program.

The money will go to hire more agents to confiscate the weapons and reduce the backlog over the next three years.

The program, which is unique to California, cross-checks five databases to find people who bought weapons they are no longer legally allowed to own.

In other words, even if you have had your grandpa's .22 rifle since you were 10 years old, if you are now 60 years of age and have seen a doctor for any sort of anxiety problems or even marital counseling both considered mental health problems, or if you have broken one of the states thousands of laws, your 2nd Amendment Rights as an American citizen are void.

OK, sure I would like to see illegal guns off the streets. But friends, all the state is doing is going after "soft" targets who have bought their guns, or have had them passed down to them, legally. 

Fact is, 90% of the killings, the murders with firearms, in the state of California are done with illegally obtained weapons.

Go after them? Hell no! They don't want to go after those who are really committing the crime, instead they look successful by going after people who have gotten their guns legally.

The bill called SB140 by a Democrat State Senator Mark Leno, out of San Francisco, authorizes the funds to hire more agents to confiscate the weapons but it doesn't do a damn thing to stop the killings in places like Stockton and Oakland where guns are expensive but can be had on the black market.

And how about East L.A.? From what I have been told lately, the L.A. police doesn't even what to patrol in East L.A. because the gangs rule the streets and are armed to the teeth with weapons that are not even available for purchase by citizens in the United States.

I can't help but wonder if Leno or Attorney General Kamala Harris, who said "California is leading the nation in a common-sense effort to protect public safety," actually believe that their confiscating legally obtained guns will stop the killings from those using illegal guns.

I'm not recommending anyone do this, but I wouldn't be surprised if many of those people now considered unqualified to own guns will report their guns stolen soon?

And by the way, a friend of mine who was once part of a domestic violence call from a busy body neighbor, told me that he can't own a gun in California because of that call. He's a policeman who got into a heated argument with his better half and the police were called.

His department was notified of the call and he went through some sort of counseling program. He asked me if these new confiscation laws will pertain to policemen and women who are on the job right now?

So what if a policeman goes in to see a shrink after a shooting incident, does he fall under the law as having received mental health treatment?
And if so, are Democrats Mark Leno and Kamala Harris making it compulsory for those police officers to surrender their duty weapons?

Will this bill result in a loss of police officers on departments? How many officers throughout the state of California have had domestic violence problems or mental health treatment for stress and other work related conditions?

Police-perpetrated domestic violence in California is no small matter. After all, they are people like everyone else. But the question should be asked, how many of those 39,000 handguns and 1,670 assault weapons belong to police officers?

Besides what effect this will have on infringing on our gun rights, California Bill SB 140 takes millions of unconstitutionally-collected Dealer Record of Sales (DROS) funds and uses it to to compensate for the failure of more than 500 local law enforcement agencies for not enforcing existing gun laws.

It expands the California Department of Justice, and pays for raids and confiscation of weapons from those whom the State deems to be prohibited based on unreliable data from an untrustworthy list.

SB 140 has no guidelines to verify the accuracy of the Armed Prohibited Persons File before DOJ raids your homes.

DOJ trained, at taxpayers’ expense, thousands of California peace officers on how to use the armed prohibited person database over the past several years, which yielded little to no enforcement activity.

The DOJ expansion comes on the heels of the successful passage of SB 819 (Leno – 2012) which allowed the DOJ to use unconstitutionally-collected excess DROS funds for undefined enforcement activity. Now we know what the money was for.

And by the way, SB 140 requires the California states DOJ to create reports that liberal politicians would use to advance their anti-gun agenda.    It's true! It really does that while not set limits on how DOJ may use the re-appropriated funds.

Is California ready to go down that road? Are the liberals in charge of this state ready to see people hide their guns or report them stolen, disarm police officers, turn law abiding Californians into criminals overnight?

I don't think Governor Brown and the rest of the Liberals in charge of California's capital give a damn one bit who they effect with their horseshit laws - positive or negative - it's all just more political theater.

The state of California, like the Federal government, has lost the war on illegal drugs, so now they want to take on legally obtained guns.

Good luck! Let's see how many citizens are dumb enough to comply with the state taking their grandpa's .22 rifle or a handgun bought before the law said they couldn't? I have a feeling, not many!