Colic Prevention: Proven tips to reduce risk

January, 2007

The NAHMS (National Animal Health Monitoring System) Equine ?8 Study found the incidence of colic in the US horse population to be 4.2 events/100 horses per year, 11% of colic cases were fatal, 1.4% resulted in surgery and the annual cost was estimated to be $115,300. The point: colic is a common, expensive and potentially fatal condition in horses that owners should try to prevent through proven management strategies. Let’s review what colic looks like, how it’s diagnosed and treated, then get into prevention.

"Colic" refers to abdominal pain in horses that may be caused by a number of different problems. The American Association of Equine Practitioners brochure "Colic: Understanding the digestive tract and its function" includes this list of clinical signs:
  • pawing
  • looking at, kicking or biting the abdomen
  • stretching out as if to urinate without doing so
  • repeatedly lying down and getting up
  • rolling, especially violent rolling
  • sitting in a dog-like position, or lying on the back
  • not eating or drinking
  • lack of bowel movements
  • absent or reduced digestive sounds
  • elevated respiration or pulse rate
  • depression
  • lip curling (Flehmen response)
Because your horse has a better chance of recovery the sooner treatment is started, contact your veterinarian right away if you notice any of these signs. He or she will perform a complete physical examination--including rectal palpation and stomach tube passage--to find out what’s causing the pain and provide relief. For mild colics, medical treatment includes the pain-relieving flunixin meglumine, the new antispasmodic Buscopan, and xylazine, which sedates and relaxes muscles. Oral or IV fluids may be given, as well as mineral oil as a laxative.

If response to medical treatment is poor, vital signs are deteriorating, or your veterinarian feels an entrapment, displacement or torsion, he or she may refer your horse to a hospital for surgery. Sometimes the only way to diagnose the cause of abdominal pain is to perform exploratory surgery.

So how can you try and prevent colic in the first place? Dr. Noah Cohen is an associate professor at Texas A & M University’s College of Large Animal Medicine and Surgery. He has organized studies of the causes of colic into four main areas (5th edition of Current Therapy in Equine Medicine):

Diet and feeding

"Changes in diet, specifically changes in the batch, type or amount of hay and in the type or amount of concentrate, are associated with an increased risk of colic." Some horse owners have only been concerned about being careful when changing their horses?grain, but this finding shows that owners must also take care when switching hay.

"Turnout of horses onto lush pasture may predispose to colic, and changing pastures also may be associated with colic." Just like when changing hay, horse owners should take care when rotating between pastures because the type of forage may vary considerably. Consider adding a digestive supplement with probiotics, enzymes and other helpful ingredients to assist your horse during transitions.

Stabling and housing

"Increased time being stalled is a risk factor for impaction of the large colon." Daily turnout or exercise is good for horses on a number of levels. When it is not possible due to lameness, weather or other reasons, owners should make sure their horses stay sufficiently hydrated.

"Lack of access to adequate fresh water is a risk factor for colic." Studies show horses with access to grass or hay but not water had a higher incidence of colic than horses which were able to eat and drink at the same time. In the winter, horses will drink more water if it is warmed, which is one strategy to encourage drinking. Another is to topdress feed with electrolytes, which stimulates thirst.

Activity

"Both increases and decreases in activity levels may be associated with colic." However, it is difficult to blame colic on changes in activity alone because many times changes in exercise go hand-in-hand with changes in stalling and feeding. For example, a horse that becomes lame may be prescribed stall rest and hay only when he was used to daily riding and turnout on pasture. This is another time when a digestive supplement may be helpful in maintaining a healthy GI tract.

Veterinary health management

"Regular administration of an anthelmintic, rather than infrequent purging of parasites, appears to decrease the risk of colic." It makes sense that using a daily dewormer to prevent infestation and migration of parasites would prevent colic due to inflammation of the gut wall or GI blood vessels. Farms that perform regular fecal examinations have also been shown to have a reduced incidence of colic.

"In the UK, strong evidence exists that tapeworms are associated with ileal impactions and other forms of colic." Although the incidence of tapeworms in the US varies by region, dewormers that contain praziquantal (or the new TapeCare Plus with pyrantel pamoate) have been proven to control this parasite.

Colic Prevention: Proven tips to reduce risk
By: Lydia F. Gray, DVM, MA
SmartPak Staff Veterinarian and Medical Director
January 2007