Often mistaken for a disease or illness, horse colic is actually a condition covering a broad range of abdominal pain. The conditions can be anything from a case of mild gas to something much more life threatening such as a twisted intestine.

Being the number one natural killer of domesticated Equines, most cases of horse colic fall under one of three classifications:

1. Intestinal Dysfunction – This is the most common type of horse colic where the digestive tract has failed to work properly due to impaction, paralysis, or excessive gas.
2. Intestinal Accidents – Usually requiring emergency medical attention or surgery resulting from an injured or torn intestine.
3. Enteritis or Ulcerations – Can result from many different factors such as parasites or stress, the end result usually produces inflammations, infections, and disease in the intestines.

Common Types of Horse Colic

• Intestinal displacement and/or torsion – Highly fatal if immediate medical attention is not provided, when the intestine is placed in an unnatural position it is displaced, if the intestine twists torsion will occur.
• Gastric rupture – Can also be fatal, the equine is unable to vomit excess food, if it overeats the stomach expands and can rupture.
• Enteritis and/or colitis – Medical attention is required, results when inflammation to the small or large intestines is caused by swelling.
• Impaction – The intestines become partially or fully blocked. Generally not as critical as long as appropriate medical attention is provided.
• Spasmodic – Usually caused by parasites, the intestines will contract spasmodically.
• Gas – The intestines expand as a result of too much gas.

Common Symptoms of Horse Colic

An equine suffering from colic will often roll, showing signs of uneasiness and a change in personality. It is important that you notify your veterinarian if you believe your horse is suffering from colic:

• They paw at the ground repeatedly.
• They look towards his abdomen and bites at the stomach.
• They show signs of restlessness, lies down and gets back up repeatedly, and/or pacing.
• They show signs of apathy, act sleepy or dull, uninterested in food or water.
• They sweat profusely or breathes rapidly.
• They stand in a stretched posture.
• They attempt to kick at his abdomen.
• They have substantially less or no manure produced.
• They begin to roll.

If a horse is rolling normally, they may rub their neck and head back and forth to get a good massage. The horse will then get up and shake itself to get rid of the dust. A colic horse will roll repeatedly, stand listless and look confused or uncomfortable. If the horse is in extreme pain the rolling may be violent.

Common Causes of Horse Colic

Many causes of horse colic can be attributed to feeding. If you feed your horse on sandy ground, overtime this may result in a buildup of sand in the intestines. If your horse gorges on feed, either because of an irregular feed schedule, or because it breaks loose and attacks the feed stores. A sudden change in your horses feed without a slow introduction, the ingestion of moldy or rotten feed, a constant ingestion of fine grain, or the ingestion of sticks, twine, wood splinters, etc. are all contributors to your horses risk in developing colic.

If your horse is a cribber, this may put it at risk of swallowing pieces of wood. Over time, this build up becomes a risk for your horse developing colic.

Improper vaccinations can also lead to your horse developing a case of colic. The parasites and worm infestations can disrupt the circulation or cause blockages in the intestines.

When the intestines of your horse become twisted, this is a very severe form of colic and requires immediate medical attention:

• Parts of the intestine become entangled in tears in the supportive membrane, resulting in strangulation.
• The intestine becomes caught in the inguinal ring of male horses, cutting off the blood supply by twisting, resulting in incarceration.
• One part of the intestine falls into the other. This is more common in foals, and results in intussusception.

Tagged as: Horses