Colic

What is Colic?

The term "colic" means only "pain in the abdomen" or "pain in the belly". There are many causes for such pain, ranging from the mild and inconsequential to the life threatening or fatal. One of the problems with equine colic is that it can be very difficult in the early stages to distinguish the mild from the potentially fatal. This is why all cases of abdominal pain should be taken seriously right from the onset.

Signs of Colic

The signs of colic in horses range from almost imperceptible in mild cases to extremely violent in severe cases. The following list includes the most common signs:

Ling down more than usual
Getting up and lying down repeatedly
Standing stretched out
Standing frequently as if to urinate
Turning the head towards the flank
Repeatedly curling the upper lip
Pawing the ground
Kicking at the abdomen
Rolling

Horses do not handle pain well generally and may injure themselves severely sue to pain.

What to do

The severity of the case will dictate what you do when you find your horse showing signs of colic. If he is behaving violently call your veterinarian immediately. Violent behavior usually equates with great pain, which usually equates with a serious case of colic. Time is of the essence here. Not all horses show the same severity of signs with the same type of colic, though, and some horses may become quite violent with a relatively "mild" case. If the signs of pain are less extreme, you can take a few minutes to observe the horse's appearance and behavior before calling the veterinarian.

If possible, take his temperature, pulse and respiration rates. Note what his appetite has been like in the past day or so, and the consistency and frequency of defecation.

Has his water intake been normal?
Are his gums a normal color?

Think about whether he has had access to any unusual feedstuffs in the past day or so, whether any medications have been administered, and whether there have been any changes in management.

Now call your veterinarian! It is important to take all food away from the horse until the veterinarian arrives. If he is nibbling at his bedding, find a way to prevent this. Walking the horse can be a useful way of distracting him from the pain, but he should not be walked to exhaustion. If the horse insists on rolling, there will be little you can do to prevent it. If possible, try to get the horse to an area where he will do himself the least damage when he rolls. But do not get hurt yourself. Do not administer any drugs until your veterinarian has seen the horse, or unless he/she tells you to do so.

Prevention of Colic

If you happen to be a horse, colic is probably an unfortunate fact of life. Annual colic incidences of approximately 10% are quite common. Listed below are some of the management factors, which are thought to reduce colic incidence. Horses, which fall into high-risk categories, such as stabled horses in intense training and fit horses recently injured, should be monitored particularly closely.

Allow as much turnout as possible
Maintain a regular feeding schedule
Ensure constant access to clean water
Provide at least 60% of digestible energy from forage
Do not feed excessive digestible energy
Do not feed moldy hay or grain
Feed hay and water before grain
Provide access to forage for as much of the day as possible
Do not over graze pastures
Do not feed or water horses before they have cooled out
Maintain a consistent exercise regime
Make all changes in diet, exercise level and management slowly
Control intestinal parasites and assess efficiency periodically.

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