Colic in Horses: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments

In horses, colic is an umbrella term used to describe the symptom of abdominal pain caused by a range of gastrointestinal conditions. These conditions can range from mild to life-threatening in severity and can stem from a number of causes.

In this guide, we’ll discuss colic in horses, including the most common types, causes, symptoms, and treatments.

Read on to learn more!

Colic in Horses: Common Types and Causes

Equines, including horses, mules, donkeys, and ponies, are unable to vomit due to three anatomical mechanisms that assist the continual movement of food through the digestive tract. One function of these mechanisms is to prevent food from backflowing from the stomach to the mouth, disallowing vomiting.

This lack of ability to vomit can present serious issues during some gastrointestinal conditions. If a horse eats something they shouldn’t or their stomach becomes overly distended, they are unable to vomit to get rid of toxic contents or relieve the stomach distention. For horses, a distended stomach can become at serious risk of rupturing without medical intervention. In addition to being unable to vomit, horses also can’t burp, leaving them only one mechanism to pass a buildup of gas through their system. If intestinal spasms prevent gas from passing through the colon, the risk of abdominal distention increases.

Now that we understand how the lack of an ability to vomit or burp can cause dangerous manifestations of colic in horses, we’ll talk about some of the most common causes and types of this abdominal symptom.

Spasmodic Colic

The most common type of colic in horses is spasmodic or gas colic. This type of abdominal pain can result from a number of factors including the following:

• Changing feed too quickly.
• Excessive fermentation in the gut caused by over-grazing of high sugar forage in the spring (e.g. fields high in clover).
• Stall confinement, causing decreased intestinal motility.
• Excess grain in the diet.
• Long-term NSAID use, which alters the gut microbiome.
• Parasites

The buildup of gas can stretch the gut wall and the intestine begins to spasm, causing pain.

Impaction Colic

Impaction colic occurs due to an accumulation of firm, dry masses of food or foreign material in the gastrointestinal tract, resulting in a blockage. Typically, the large intestine is the site of the blockage. The most common causes of impaction colic include:

• Sand ingestion, often due to inadequate access to hay.
• Ingestion of straw bedding.
• Feeding on poor quality, overly coarse grain.
• Tapeworm or equine roundworm (Parascaris equorum) infection.
• Dehydration.

This type of colic is most common in the fall and winter when horses are less prone to drinking large amounts of water and aren’t feeding on lush, moist grass. As such, the food they ingest tends to be drier and the manure moving through their colon is also drier.

Types of Colic in Horses: Displacement

The third and most serious type of colic is displacement. Displacement results from the movement of a section of the intestinal tract to an abnormal location within the abdomen. This type of colic can result in a number of serious and life-threatening conditions, such as nephrosplenic entrapment in which the colon becomes entrapped between the spleen and the kidney.

Twisting is another type of displacement in which the bowel twists on itself, which can result in blood flow cutting off. A simple gas colic can turn into a displacement if the distended gut becomes too buoyant, causing it to twist. If the twisted gut causes blood flow to become cut off to an area of the gastrointestinal tract, this is known as a strangulating displacement.

Colic in Horses: Signs and Symptoms

It’s quite difficult to discern from just observing the underlying cause for the colic your horse is enduring. The symptoms can be similar for a mild or life-threatening case. Additionally, some horses act rather stoic when in pain as a defensive behavior while others may be quite expressive during a fairly mild case of GI distress. Thus, their behavior may not reveal the severity of the GI condition. As such, when horse guardians notice signs of colic in their horse, they typically call in a vet as soon as possible to perform a thorough evaluation. Signs and symptoms of colic in horses stemming from a range of GI conditions can include the following:

• Lethargy.
• Decreased or a lack of appetite.
• Pawing.
• Lip curling.
• Restlessness and agitation.
• Increased breathing and heart rate.
• Looking at the flank.
• Decreased or cessation of passing manure.
• Abdominal pain.
• Repeatedly lying down and getting back up.
• Posturing as if to urinate without urinating.
• Lying on the side for increasing durations.
• Intense rolling and thrashing on the ground.
• Sweating.

Colic in Horses: Treatments

If you suspect colic in your horse, it’s important to contact your vet as soon as possible. In the meantime, it can be helpful to encourage your horse to walk as this can provide some degree of pain relief and encourage hindgut motility. If your horse insists on rolling, take them to an open area where they are much less likely to become injured especially if they are thrashing quite violently.

The claim that allowing your horse to roll will increase the chances of gut-twisting is a myth. However, your horse can become injured while rolling in an enclosed space, and they also may inadvertently hurt you. So providing an open space if they must roll is the safest option. Walking your horse may also indicate the potential severity as mild cases may see relief through walking, which may stimulate passing the buildup of gas. If your horse is in too much pain to walk, this may indicate a much more serious condition.

The treatment for colic will depend on the underlying cause of the abdominal pain and any potential complications. GI conditions that present with colic are one of the most common causes of death in equines 1-20 years of age. According to the American Association of Equine Practitioners, about 4 colic events occur for every 100 horses each year. On average, 1.2% of these equine colic events require surgery and 11% resulted in fatality.

By quickly recognizing the signs of colic and calling in your vet as soon as possible, you can help reduce the chance of your horse requiring surgery or tragically succumbing to a colic event. Additionally, it’s crucial to work on preventing GI distress by understanding the most common causes and how to best support the health and well-being of your equine companion.

Treatments for Spasmodic or Gas Colic

For mild cases of gas or spasmodic colic, the condition may improve on its own, generally within 30 minutes to 2 hours, through passing gas and movement. Your vet may also provide pain relief along with fluids, electrolytes, and anti-gas medicine.

Treatments for Impaction Colic

In cases of impaction colic, your vet may administer large amounts of fluids, mineral oil, and electrolytes via a stomach tube to break up the impacted material. For more serious cases, surgery may be necessary to remove the obstruction.

Treatments for Displacement Colic

In the most severe cases of displacement colic in which twisting, entrapment, and strangulation can occur, surgery is immediately necessary to save the horse’s life. Your vet may choose for a range of surgery options depending on the state of the intestinal tract.

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