What Causes Colic in Horses?

There are several types of colic that horses are prone to; each has the ability to kill the horse. Many symptoms may be present with colic and cause extreme pain to the animal. If you suspect colic, call the vet immediately and describe the behavior of your horse and if at all possible, have the horse's temperature taken to give the vet a better idea of the horse's state of health. Colic surgery is expensive but may be the only way to save the horse's life.

  1. Function

    • There are many causes of colic in horses from the overfeeding of grain, twisted intestines, a parasitic infestation, gas build-up, inadequate watering leading to impaction, accidental poisoning by noxious weeds, or introducing feed too fast instead of gradually switching to a new feed. Ingestion of a foreign object that gets stuck in the intestines may act as a nucleus, rather like a grain of sand in an oyster gathering mineral particles until it's turned into a pearl. This is called an enterolith, an intestinal stone.

    Effects

    • Feeding a horse directly on the ground may cause, over a period of time, sand to be ingested into the digestive system which gets stuck in the intestines. A horse may ingest as much as 80 pounds of sand with no possible way to rid it from its body; this may cause sand colic and needs immediate attention from a veterinarian.

    Features

    • Signs and symptoms of colic in a horse include pawing or stomping at the ground, walking into fences, looking behind or nipping at its sides, sitting down like a dog, stretching out trying to defecate, snorting and sniffing, restlessness, pacing, continually getting up and lying down again, sweating and rolling around. The horse is in a lot of pain and needs the vet right away. Try making the horse get up and walk him around for 20 minutes; rolling around on the ground will only makes matters worse. After walking him, allow him to rest.

    Identification

    • When the vet arrives, he will examine the horse, listen to his gut sounds, tap his stomach and perform other tests to determine colic, and if so, from which type he is suffering. Depending on what the vet discovers from his examination, he will work swiftly with a remedy. The vet will most likely administer some pain medication such as morphine or phenylbutazone. A muscle relaxant medicine will be given if he is having muscle spasms. If the vet determines the horse is suffering from impaction, he will administer a laxative. A stomach tube may be inserted to administer laxatives with antibiotics to kill gas-causing bacteria in the horse's stomach. Mineral oil will be given via stomach tube if impaction from gorging is suspected. Surgery may be necessary to remove part of the horse's colon that may have twisted and collapsed in on itself.

    Prevention/Solution

    • To prevent colic do not overfeed grain. Pelleted forms of grain may be fed in moderation or rolled oats in small quantities. Feed plenty of roughage in the form of hay in the winter or pasture in the summer, which is high in fiber and keeps the horse's digestive tract in good health. Walk the pasture to spot noxious weeds that might poison your horse like jimson weed which contains atropine. Poke berries should be removed and poke plants should be kept under control. Plenty of good, clean, fresh water should be available to the horse to avoid impaction.