Colic Management
By Zeb Prawl, Director of Nutrition, Evergreen Mills, Inc.
Recognizing Colic: Every Horse’s Problem
If you own horses, then at one time or another, you probably had to witness your horse experiencing some type of colic. As horse owners, we have to realize, that while we will never totally prevent colic cases, we can do much to recognize and treat a horse during a colic incidence. If we can do both in an effective manner, it will likely result in many years of comfortable living for our horses.
What is Colic?
Colic is not a disease. The word colic simply means “pain in the abdomen.” In the horse, there can be many causes for such pain. It might be a mild problem with a simple treatment, or it might be a life-threatening problem that requires surgery to correct. Because colic cases can start mild but end up severe, one must be familiar with the early warning signs and be ready to treat a horse in a short time frame.
To fully understand how colic can occur, one must understand the basic layout of the horse’s gastro-intestinal (GI) tract.
Once food has been chewed, it travels down the esophagus into the stomach. After a period of digestion in the stomach, food passes into the small intestine. The small intestine is approximately 66 feet long. At the point where the small intestine joins the large intestine, there is a pouch called the caecum. Food passes from the small intestine into the caecum before it actually enters the large intestine. These latter two components of the GI tract make up the “fermentation vat” for the horse. Fermentation actually takes place in these two areas that allow the horse to digest the forage in its diet and extract energy from it. The large intestine is 9 – 12 feet long, but is much wider in diameter than the small intestine. It takes up the biggest part of the abdominal cavity. Having all this length of tissue stuffed into a horse means that it is coiled in a complex maze that consists of over 170 bends or “flexures”. Keeping this in mind, it makes it a little easier to understand what happens to all the feedstuffs we put in a horse before it comes back out.
Types of Colic
Impaction colic: This typically happens when the intestine becomes blocked by a firm mass of feed. These impactions are fairly common and typically occur at one of the flexures in the large intestine.
Gas colic: Because a horse ferments forage in the hindgut (large intestine and caecum), gas is produced. This gas can become trapped in the gut at some point and stretch the intestine, causing pain.
Sand colic: This is most likely to happen in horses that graze sandy pastures or overgraze pastures where they ingest a lot of dirt. Sand/dirt accumulates in the flexures of the large intestine and cause impaction. The sand/dirt can also act as an abrasive material and irritate the lining of the gut, causing further problems or pain.
Displacement/volvulus/torsion (twisted gut): In a horse that has “twisted a gut,” a portion of the intestine has moved to an abnormal position in the abdomen. Because the entire intestinal tract is actually suspended inside the horse’s abdomen, this can happen fairly easily. This type of colic usually results in a total blockage of the GI tract and requires surgery to remedy it.
Gastric distension/rupture: When a horse has gorged itself on grain or a fiber source that might expand rapidly when dampened, the contents of the stomach will swell. In extreme cases, this can lead to stomach or GI tract rupture. If this happens, death is inevitable.
Although these are some of the most common cases of colic, there are others that can be just as prevalent. In all cases, one needs to be aware of the signs of colic so action can be taken quickly.
Signs of Colic
Clinical signs of colic can be so small we might not notice them. The signs can also be to the point that the horse has become violent. A partial list of these symptoms includes:
- Lying down and/or rolling more than usual
- Going off feed
- Standing stretched out
- Turning the head towards the flank
- Pawing the ground or trying to kick at stomach
- Anxious, trembling, or sweating excessively
Treatment of Colic
The severity of the case will determine your appropriate actions when you suspect your horse has a case of colic. In most cases, especially if the horse has become violent, you should immediately call your vet. If signs of colic in the horse are still subtle, you can look at some specific points to help determine the state of your horse:
- If possible, take his pulse rate. Normal heartbeat rate will be around 50 beats per minute. Elevated heartbeat is a sign the horse is experiencing problems.
- Pull his lips apart and look at his gums. They should be a nice pink color. If they are purple or blue, it is a sign of decreased circulation that might suggest a severe case of colic.
- Listen for gut sounds in the flank area. If there are none, it could be a sign of a problem.
In all cases, immediate withdrawal from feed should be done in order to prevent any further complication of the situation. After you have evaluated your horse, you can then make the decision whether or not you need to call your vet. In the meantime, if your horse wants to lie down and roll, you can lead him around to help take his mind off of the pain. This could help prevent further problems if there is an obstruction of the GI tract. Be careful though not to exercise the horse to the point of exhaustion.
Prevention of Colic
It is important to understand that we will never prevent every case of colic in our horses. While a large majority of horses might not ever experience a clinical case of colic, there is always the chance that they could and it could be potentially severe. Some horses are at higher risks than others in terms of susceptibility to colic, such as stabled horses and horses being fed large amounts of concentrated ration. If all cases, these points should help decrease the chance of colic incidence:
- Practice good feeding management. This includes feeding at the same time, day after day; providing clean, fresh water at all times; and feeding good quality forage and grains.
- Provide at least 60% of the digestible energy in the feeding program from forage.
- Do not feed moldy hays and/or grains.
- Do not feed horses on the ground, particularly in sandy soil areas.
- Allow as much time for regular exercise as possible.
- Make all changes in diet, grain ration or forage, over an extended period of time.
- Control intestinal parasites by regular deworming.