Go Back

Colic

Signs of colic

There can be a wide range of symptoms of colic, and these don’t always correlate with the severity of the disease. The signs can include any individual or combination of the following:

• Not wanting food
• Being quiet and subdued
• Pained expression on face (tension around eyes, wrinkled nostrils, ears back)
• Lip curling (flehmen response)
• Flank watching (turning head around to look backwards towards their belly)
• Pawing the ground with a front leg
• Tail swishing
• Lying down and getting back up
• Lying down flat out
• Heavy breathing
• Rolling
• Sweating

If you suspect colic at all veterinary attention is required as soon as possible. The severity of the colic can only be determined following a thorough clinical examination including an internal rectal examination. Sometimes the less dramatic looking cases have more serious disease and likewise the opposite can happen, so it is never worth the risk of leaving it.

Causes and treatments of colic

The causes of colic can be largely categorized into two groups – medical or surgical. Medical colic refers to colic which can be treated with medication and treatments without any need for an operation, this could happen at home or at a hospital. Surgical colic refers to problems which can only be treated with an operation at a hospital and are life threatening. The veterinary surgeon will use a range of their findings from clinical assessment to determine whether a colic is medical or surgical and offer the relevant treatment options to you.

Medical colic types

Spasmodic colic

The most common type of colic. This is when the intestines go into spasm. This is treated with drugs such as anti-spasm medication and pain killers. If a horse has spasmodic colic recurrently it may be worth investigating for an underlying cause such as worms, gastric ulceration, sand, liver disease or inflammatory bowel disease.

Sand colic

This can present as spasmodic, impaction or diarrhoea. This can be tested for by a faecal test or x-ray of the abdomen and is treated with pain killers, stomach tubing, Epsom salts and psyllium. Please tell the vet if your horse has colic and lives on sandy soil.

Impaction

A blockage of dried-up foodstuff usually in the part of the large intestine called the pelvic flexure. This is treated with medication, starving (to prevent further blockage build up), exercise and regular stomach tubing (to hydrate and flush through the blockage).

Displacement

The large intestine has altered motility causing one part to fill with gas and flip over on itself up to 180 degrees. The displacement can be left or right sided. This is treated with medication, starving (to reduce blockage risk and gas production), exercise and regular stomach tubing. The displacement will often self-correct within 1-5 days but these can be labour intensive cases.

Colitis

Severe diarrhoea with inflammation of the large intestine. This is treated with medications and may require fluid therapy and possibly hospitalization and a drip in severe cases.

Enteritis

Inflammation or infection of the small intestine. Treated with anti-inflammatories and antibiotics if indicated.

Surgical colic types

Severe displacement or impaction not correcting medically

Sometimes these don’t respond to medical management and require an operation to empty the gas and food from the intestines and untwist the intestine if twisted.

Small intestine strangulation

This can be a twist on itself, the small intestine being trapped or being strangulated by a lipoma on a stalk. The operation will unravel any twists and remove intestine which has been irreversibly damaged.

Colon torsion

A 360-degree twist of the large intestine which can only be untwisted by surgery.

Caecal impaction

A serious blockage of the caecum which requires emptying in an operation.

To operate or not to operate?

If you are faced with the unfortunate situation of a horse having a surgical colic it is a big decision whether to have surgery done or not. In these situations, the alternative is to have the horse put to sleep as there is no other treatment and we must prevent unnecessary suffering. Either option is perfectly reasonable, and the right decision is different for everyone. Some important points to consider include the age and general health of the horse, the ability to box rest the horse for a prolonged period and manage the wound after surgery and finances (colic surgery costs range from £5,000 to in excess of £10,000 with most costing around £8,000). There is of course no guarantee of a positive outcome with short term survival rates reported at approximately 80% and longer-term survival rates up to one year post surgery reported at approximately 60%. It is sensible to consider how you feel about colic surgery for your horses in advance of being in the situation so that you can make quick educated decisions if ever required.

Prevention

A lot of colic cases are random and can not be prevented, however some routine considerations can help prevent cases which could be, including:

Worming

Worm burdens will predispose to colic so a worming programme is essential.

Dentistry

If the teeth are poor the food won’t be chewed properly therefore hits the intestines in a non-digestible state and can cause colic. Routine dentistry is advised every 6-12 months with a vet or BAEDT.

Routine

Changes to routine and management are a risk factor for colic in particular changing fields, feeds, hay, stabling, yards, competing etc. Always make feed and grass changes as gradually as possible and do your best to minimize stress caused by major changes in management.

Feeding

Horses are trickle feeders and so require a constant source of fibre. Most horses require a high fibre low sugar and starch diet to have enough energy for their workload and maintain optimal gut health. It is also important to consider the microbiome by feeding high fibre diets and considering a probiotic particularly for sensitive horses.

Hydration

To prevent blockages the horse needs to drink plenty of water. Always provide constant access to clean fresh water and consider using mash-based feeds to further increase water intake.

Movement

A risk factor for impaction colic is box rest due to lack of movement. Where possible provide horses with turnout and exercise to keep their guts moving. If your horse requires box rest for a medical reason, then increase the water intake of the horse by soaking hay and feeding mash-based high fibre feeds. As soon as the horse is able to walk out to hand graze and in-hand walk then start this under vet advice.

Sand management

If you keep your horse on sandy soil it is recommended to treat with psyllium (1 gram per kilo so up to 500g for a horse!) preventatively for one week every month to clear the sand out of the system. There is also evidence that sugar beet is a super-fibre which helps clear sand so consider using this as part of the normal feed ration.