Complications of Equine Colic

Your horse's bouts with colic---severe, painful and possibly fatal intestinal distress---may leave you concerned over what else could possible go wrong. Your veterinarian mentions that complications of the disease can occur regardless of whether your horse requires surgical treatment; learning more about what to expect can prepare you for what might lie ahead.

  1. Laminitis

    • A bout of colic can trigger laminitis (also called "founder")---a hoof condition characterized by an inflammation of the lamina, the lining of the hoof wall. Caused by the overflow of toxins into your colicky horse's bloodstream, laminitis symptoms consist of severe lameness, typically on the front feet, heat in the hoof wall and your animal's unwillingness to move. Veterinary treatment includes medications to lessen the inflammation and special shoeing to decrease pressure on the hoof wall.

    Intestinal Torsion

    • A torsion occurs when any part of your horse's intestines, typically the colon, becomes impacted, turns and rolls inward, becoming displaced and beginning to necrotize and die. This condition usually happens when your colicky, painful animal rolls and twists on the ground to relieve the pain, and the gut becomes coiled around itself. Surgery may be necessary "to remove devitalized intestine or repositioned displaced intestine," say doctors of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

    Peritonitis

    • According to veterinarians at the Louisiana State University Equine Hospital, peritonitis (the inflammation of the abdominal wall and organ) occurs both prior to and after colic surgery in horses. Bacterial contamination of the abdominal cavity results from foreign material leaking into the abdomen from an affected intestinal segment or leaking of the gut contents from a torsed colon or bloated stomach. Treatment revolves around decreasing the inflammation and may include intravenous fluids, antibiotics and peritoneal lavage---flushing the gut with sterile water.

    Intestinal Impaction

    • Your colicky horse's intestines can become impacted with fecal material at any point, resulting in total shutdown of the animal's intestinal tract. The cecum, the small intestine, the small colon and the large colon can usually be palpated upon veterinary inspection and may require surgery, state veterinarians at Texas A&M's College of Veterinary Medicine.

    Salmonellosis

    • During a colic episode, your horse's immune system may become compromised and any bacteria or organism he carries in his gut can no longer be controlled. The salmonella bacterium, in particular, which all horses carry, can flourish and cause severe diarrhea. Dr. Erin Malone of the University of Minnesota Horse Extension Program says that salmonellosis "can be a severe complication of colic and can be difficult (and expensive) to treat."

    Post-Surgical Complications

    • A study performed by veterinarians at the University of Liverpool Philip Leverhulme Equine Hospital from 1998 to 2002 on 311 horses recovering from colic surgery reported a recurrence of colic episodes in 32 percent of the patients, with 16 percent showing incidences of incisional infection. Jugular thrombosis (blood clot in the jugular vein) showed up in 10 percent of the patients, while 8.4 percent developed hernia around the incision site. Three of the horses developed laminitis and two came down with salmonellosis after surgery.