Colic is one of the most common horse conditions in which you will need to call your Veterinarian. Colic is not a disease; it is a clinical sign of many possible diseases. Increasing your knowledge of this common condition of horses could save your horse’s life.
Colic means literally a pain in the abdomen. When a horse “colics,” this means that the horse is acting painful, and it appears that the pain is coming from the abdomen.
Horse colic can vary greatly in severity. Some colics will go away with just taking your horse for a walk, but other forms of colic will require surgery, and can be life threatening. So if you think your horse has colic you should contact your Veterinarian immediately.
There are many possible causes of colic in horse. One possible cause of colic could be from a changing diet. The diet could be too high in grain or maybe there is moldy hay in the feed. Another possible cause is when a segment of the horse’s intestine twists in the abdomen, this happens not infrequently in horses. Generally your Veterinarian can diagnose this by ultrasound, palpation, or by use of a stethoscope. To cure this type of colic, surgery is often required. This means you have to take your horse to the Veterinary hospital. Colic surgery in horses is very expensive costing $2,000 at a minimum. Plus the hospitalization is rather extensive too.
Some common treatments for horse colics could include products that relive the pain like analgesics called Banamine or Aspirin. Also, mineral oil is used sometimes if it is thought that extra lubrication in the intestines would help the pain pass. Sometimes in severe cases intestines can rupture which often leads to death. But with proper feeding and care you can prevent most cases of colic.
Often times when calling your Veterinarian about your horse having colic they will often advise you to not let your horse try to lay down and roll over. If they are in pain many horses will try and lay down and roll around on the ground trying to relieve the pain. It is important to prevent this as a horse can do even more damage to themselves in this condition.
A secondary problem often overlooked when horses colic is that lameness could develop. This is a disease of the feet which is also a very common problem of horses.
If you think your horse has colic you should contact your Veterinarian immediately, even if it’s late at night. When your horse has colic minutes and hours count towards finding a resolution to the problem.
Another important thing to be aware of is that some horses are more prone to colic than other ones. This is a question you should ask a horse owner if you are thinking about buying their horse.
By becoming aware of the common disease conditions in horses you can catch them earlier and provide relief earlier. If you have more questions on colic, or think your horse may have colic, be sure to contact your Veterinarian.
Horse Colic?
The truth is I don't know the reason my horse colicked. It was a minor case and with alot of walking and running he felt much better, this happened on Xmas Eve morning. Two weeks ago I gave him his wormer Zimecterin Gold, the next day and thereafter, he was quite not himself. Could this have caused his colic. Also does anyone know of a supplement to prevent colic.
Colic can be caused by a billion different things, no way to completely prevent it.
Wormer can cause problems if he gets an impaction from the dead worms that he is trying to poop out (gross, but true). If he had a heavy worm load, that is definately possible.
some horses colic because they are too cold, too warm, you change the feed, hay is a different crop, nervous about something, you look at them funny, etc. Pretty much anything can cause colic, and it is hard to narrow down.
Be thankful that you had an easy case- however, you do not want to run your horse- you just want to walk at a brisk pace and never let him roll.
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danielle pretty much covered it all, I just want to add that in a mild cases of colic that my mare got this summer, we loaded her in the trailer and took a ride. The reason we did that is because what is the first thing a horse seems to do when it gets in a horse trailer? Poop…I know it doesn't work all the time, but it worked for me, along with mineral oil.
EDIT…I just want to add somthing…the butterfly person said to feed a horse with colic a bran mash with corn oil…NEVER feed your horse when it has colic! EVER…if you can't tube your horse yourself to give it mineral oil, then just call a vet. But never feed your horse anything when it has colic. It's already got a impaction or possible twist…lord knows why anyone would feed a horse and add to the problem. We as humans don't eat when we have a tummy ache, now why would we do that to our equines…geez
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Putting a horse in a trailer when they colic helps a lot of times. Not sure if it's the bouncing around that gets things moving or what but it helps.
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Zimmectrin Gold has been known to cause colic, this is because it is a stronger worm medicine. Keep your horse on a really good deworming schedule (every 6 to 8 weeks) with a regular wormer and then worm every 6 months with Zimmectrin Gold.
There is no "magic pill" that prevents colic, unfortunately. Some things you can do daily to help are:
1. make sure your horse has plenty of fresh, clean water to drink, and that he is drinking it
2. Give him a bran mash once a week with corn oil ( 1 cup) in it
3. Make sure he is eating plenty of actual hay (not pellets or cubes) to get roughage into his system.
4. Make sure his feed is not moldy or sour
If you see signs of colic, some things to do are:
1. Walking the horse (try not to run him as too much movement can cause the gut to twist in some cases)
2. Give him a very watery bran mash with lots of corn oil (they seem to eat corn oil better than mineral oil when sick), MSM, and liquide devil's claw.
3. Call the vet
References :
http://www.ultimateequine.net/blogs/