Colic

The leading cause of death in horses, colic refers to abdominal pain. The discomfort can be caused by a simple obstruction, usually in the large colon; a strangulation, usually a twist or torsion in the small or large intestine that shuts off the food passageway and blocks the blood supply; abnormalities of the intestinal blood supply (vasculature), usually caused by parasites (i.e., strongyle larvae in the blood vessels); and other disorders that include gastric ulcers. Early systems include sweating, discomfort and pawing the ground. Horses with severe symptoms of colic will roll or throw themselves to the ground. Because horses cannot normally regurgitate, the contents in the stomach or small intestine must pass through the entire digestive tract before being eliminated.

Early treatment of colic often includes sedatives, analgesics (pain killers), and administration of mineral oil directly into the horse’s stomach via a nasogastric (stomach) tube to assist the horse in passing an obstruction or to relieve excessive gas. An antifermentative might be prescribed to reduce gas. Surgical intervention is sometimes necessary to remove an impaction or correct a twist or other abnormality in the intestines. Horses can have many feet of their intestine removed and still have a normally functioning digestive tract.