Harrisburg, South Dakota
Excellence in Large Animal Medicine and Surgery since 1981!
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Harrisburg, South Dakota Excellence in Large Animal Medicine and Surgery since 1981! |
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Colic Colic is one of the more severe problems that a horse can have. Your horse may be perfectly normal at one minute and be exhibiting signs of abdominal pain (colic) the next. This abdominal pain may only be a short passing discomfort or may progress to be life threatening. Colic simply means abdominal pain. This pain can originate from many different organ systems; mainly gastrointestinal, but also less frequently urogential, musculoskeletal, liver, and etc. A horse has a number of ways to respond to this pain, including but not limited to, rolling, looking at or biting his side, pawing, not eating, restlessness, laying down, kicking violently, and sweating. Clinical signs, particularly severity of pain, do not always correlate to the final outcome of the colic. What do we do about this problem? First of all evaluate what the horse is doing. Is he simply rolling in the new bedding or is he painful? Does he look at his side then lay down and roll? Does he shake off (normal response) after getting up from rolling? If standing is he paying attention to his surroundings or is he depressed? Can you interest him in food? What color are his gums? Is he sweating? A few minutes evaluating your horse’s situation will aid greatly in deciding the course of action to take. The first thing to do after your brief examination is to walk your horse if possible. This is particularly important if he is rolling violently because it will decrease his chances of twisting his intestines. Important things to note at this time are absence or presence of bowel movements, intestinal sounds, and his attitude. Many times walking your horse for 10-20 minutes will stop the pain by stimulating some intestinal movements and your horse will act normally afterwards. If however, your horse refuses to move, violently throws himself, or after 20 minutes of walking is still painful or depressed, call your veterinarian. Be prepared to give some basic facts at this time and continue walking the horse (if possible) until the veterinarian arrives. The veterinarian’s main goals will be to control the pain and establish a diagnosis and treatment of the problem which is causing the pain. Treatment ranges from medical and supportive care to surgical correction. Early detection and treatment will greatly improve your horse’s chance to have a favorable outcome.
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