General Vet Care

Equine Colic

'Colic' which means abdominal pain, strikes fear in the heart of most knowledgeable horsemen. While many colics are simple and don't require extensive treatment, some are severe and life threatening. The trick is to tell which are serious and which are minor.

The problem is that the outward signs are deceiving. A seemingly violent colic with sweating and thrashing may be short-lived and not serious (if the horse doesn't injure itself rolling). On the other end of the confusing scale can be a horse that doesn't really colic as such but is depressed, off feed, sweats and paws a little, and all the while has a twisted bowel.

The general rule for colic first aid is to walk the horse for 1/2 to 1 hour and many cases will resolve in this time. In cases that 'don't make sense' or don't respond to walking, a veterinarian should be called. Most cases are simply resolved at this stage and go no further.

A small number of cases will have twisted bowels or other surgically correctable problems. The key to these cases is early (right now not tomorrow morning) recognition of the problem. Horsemen and veterinarians alike must learn that a negative finding doesn't rule out severe problems. For example, in the early stages of a twisted bowel colic the pulse and gut sounds can be normal. The quality of the gut sounds or decreased sounds are associated with bad news unless corrected medically. Banamine is a very potent drug and although very beneficial, it can make bowel sounds seem normal for some time, even in the presence of a twist, and so it must be used with great care.

The three essential tools that help the veterinarian separate the minor from the severe colics are the stomach tube, the belly tap and the internal rectal exam. The stomach tube can reveal abnormal gas smells or the presence of fluid running out the tube. These signs should be taken as a probable twisted bowel until proven otherwise. The belly tap samples the fluid between the intestines and body wall. This normally looks like clear apple juice. Opaque or bloody fluid is abnormal. This internal retal exam often allows direct palpation of abnormal bowel. Caution needs to be exercised here in that a normal rectal exam doesn't prove that the horse is normal. Often the ideal surgical candidate doesn't look that sick but the timely performance of these tests gets him to surgery early with a good chance of recovery.

There is a saying that time is life so "Don't let the sun set on a colic!"