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Colic

Colic is a common emergency and has a wide range of causes and clinical signs.

Key Points:

  • “Colic” is a general term for abdominal pain
  • There are a wide range of causes of colic, some related to management and diet, and other causes are due to the anatomy of the horse’s gastrointestinal tract
  • Colic symptoms are incredibly varied – they may be very subtle, like looking at their side or curling their lip, or could be extremely dramatic, such as repeatedly getting up and down and rolling or thrashing
  • If you think your horse is colicking, remove feed from their stall, and do not administer any medications until you have communicated with your veterinarian

Colic is an emergency that can bring a lot of stress to horses and their owners. It is important to recognize signs of colic, so that it can be treated promptly.

Colic signs can include any of the following: Pawing, kicking at the abdomen, looking at the abdomen, curling the upper lip, stretching out as if to urinate (but not actually doing so), inappetence, decreased or absent bowel movements, random sweating, repeatedly getting up and down or laying down uncharacteristically, and rolling or thrashing on the ground.

A colicky horse is not going to display all these signs; they may only show one or two. Typically, mild cases of colic will have milder symptoms, while more severe cases of colic will involve more dramatic symptoms  – but this is not always the case.

If you think that your horse is colicking, there are several important things that you can do.

First, get in contact with your veterinarian. Most colics will require some sort of medical intervention, and time is often the most important factor in colic cases, especially in cases where referral to a hospital is necessary. The sooner your colicking horse can be seen, the sooner they can be helped and feeling better, or sent to a hospital for further diagnostics and treatment.

Next, remove all hay, grain, and other feed from the horse’s stall or enclosure; water is okay.

If the horse wants to rest quietly either standing or laying down, it is perfectly fine to let it do so. While walking can sometimes be helpful, it is only necessary if the horse is continually getting up and down or rolling and thrashing. A horse that is rolling or thrashing is not more likely to ‘twist’ its intestines by rolling.

There are also several important things to not do if you think your horse is colicking. First, do not try to administer water or other liquids such as mineral oil by mouth via syringe, hose or any other device. Next, avoid giving medications before you have communicated with a veterinarian, namely Banamine. Banamine is a potent anti-inflammatory and pain reliever used in treating colic. It can, however, mask a lot of colic signs and your veterinarian will likely want to see how your horse is behaving before administering any medications.

When your veterinarian arrives, they will do several things as a part of their colic examination. This includes a thorough physical exam to assess their vital signs and gut sounds as a marker of motility; a rectal examination to further assess the anatomy of the intestinal tract; and passing a nasogastric (stomach) tube looking for gas or fluid built up in the stomach.

Treatment for colic in the field may include pain relievers, muscle relaxers, sedatives, oral fluids (via nasogastric tube), electrolytes, and mineral oil (via nasogastric tube).

If the horse continues to be colicky despite treatment in the field, or if your veterinarian finds something on their colic examination that concerns them, they may recommend referral to a hospital. There are a variety of additional diagnostics and treatments that can be done in hospital that cannot be done in the field, including point-of-care bloodwork, abdominal ultrasound, abdominal radiographs, intravenous fluid therapy, and colic surgery.

There are a variety of factors that can influence colic. These can include management factors such as sand, diets high in grain or concentrate feeds, diets with low-quality feeds, abrupt changes in the diet, infrequent meals, inadequate water intake, inadequate parasite control, and stress. Additionally, the horse’s gastrointestinal tract can be predisposed to movement within the abdomen, leading to torsions, volvulus (“twists”), or displacements. Older horses may be more prone to getting strangulating lipomas, a type of fatty tumor that can wrap around the intestine and cause a blockage. Obviously, some of these causes of colic related to management can be mitigated by good husbandry, while others – like ones related to their anatomy – may not be able to be prevented. 

If you are concerned that your horse may be colicky, it is always best to reach out to your veterinarian as soon as possible – recognizing early signs and getting diagnostics and treatment done quickly will lead to the most favorable outcome possible.