Miniature Horses & Colic Surgery

Colic can be a very painful, serious condition in horses. While sometimes this abdominal pain is mild and easily treated, other times it can be life-threatening or deadly. Miniature horses have their own set of problems when it comes to colic, some of which stem from their diets and dental care. Unfortunately this makes them more susceptible to a type of impaction colic which often requires surgery.

  1. Fecaliths

    • Fecaliths are hard balls, made up of fecal matter, that can obstruct the horse's intestines. If they do not pass on their own, surgery is often required in order to remove them. In a study of 57 cases of colic surgeries in miniature horses at the Michigan State University Large Animal Teaching Hospital, 38 cases involved fecaliths. Fecaliths were found to be most common in miniature horses that were younger than 6 months old.

    Risk Factors

    • According to Nicole Johnson, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, fecaliths are more common in miniature horses because they are often fed diets that are more suitable to full-size horses and ponies, rather than designed specifically for miniatures. She says another factor is dental care; there are challenges to properly maintaining a miniature horse's teeth, which can make it difficult to properly chew its food.

    Colic Symptoms

    • There are many signs that a horse has colic. Some symptoms include loss of appetite, pawing, rolling, looking at or kicking at its abdomen, squatting or stretching its body. A miniature horse with a fecalith may develop symptoms slowly and its condition may get progressively worse; watch for signs of abdominal pain.

    Requiring Surgery

    • Surgery is not always necessary to treat colic in a miniature horse. However, if the horse is unresponsive to other treatments, surgery may be the only option. Surgery can remove obstructions, such as fecaliths, and can also remove or treat other causes of colic, such as foreign bodies, gas build-up, sand or displaced or damaged intestine.

    Prognosis

    • The Michigan State University study found that 98 percent of the horses survived the surgery and were discharged. Some 87 percent of the horses they were able to follow up on were still alive for at least one year following their surgeries. The type and severity of the horse's colic, and how soon surgical intervention is received, are factors that will affect the outcome of surgery in a miniature horse.