Colic in Horses Vet Guide 2025 – Dr Duncan Houston 🐴🌾

By Dr Duncan Houston, BVSc – detailed guide on recognizing, treating, and preventing colic in horses.

Introduction

Colic refers to abdominal pain in horses—ranging from mild discomfort to life-threatening conditions. It’s the most common emergency in adult horses and a leading cause of premature death. Understanding causes, early signs, diagnostics, treatment, and prevention is critical for every horse owner. This guide equips you with everything needed to act fast and wisely in 2025. ⚠️

📚 What Is Colic?

Colic isn’t a disease—it’s a symptom of abdominal pain with many potential causes, such as gas buildup, impaction, strangulation, inflammation, or non-GI issues like uterine torsion or kidney stones. Even gastric ulcers can trigger colic-like symptoms. Recognize it as an emergency until assessed. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}

✅ Common Causes

• Impaction colic: Dry feed, sand, or other material blocks the large colon—common in pelvic flexure or right dorsal colon :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}
• Gas colic: Excess fermentation causes gas buildup and spasms :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}
• Strangulating obstructions: Twists, displacements, volvulus cut blood supply—urgent surgery required :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}
• Inflammatory conditions: Proximal enteritis or colitis can lead to reflux and systemic illness :contentReference[oaicite:7]{index=7}
• Parasites: Ascarid impaction, tapeworm-induced intussusception in foals :contentReference[oaicite:8]{index=8}
• Foal colic: Meconium impaction, congenital anomalies :contentReference[oaicite:9]{index=9}
• Gastric ulcers: Mucosal damage may cause intermittent colic :contentReference[oaicite:10]{index=10}

🩺 Recognizing Signs

Mild colic signs include restlessness, pawing, looking at belly, lying down or rolling. Moderate to severe signs include lack of gut sounds, high pulse/respiratory rate, sweating, flank-watching, and repeated rolling. Severe cases may involve recumbency, shock, and violent rolling. :contentReference[oaicite:11]{index=11}

🚨 What to Do Immediately

1. Call your vet promptly—time matters.
2. Walk the horse safely to encourage gut motility—45–60 minutes may resolve mild cases. :contentReference[oaicite:12]{index=12}
3. Avoid feed; offer small sips of water every few minutes once cooled down. :contentReference[oaicite:13]{index=13}
4. Monitor vital signs: heart rate, respiratory rate, mucous membranes, pulse quality, gut sounds.
5. Record behaviors and timings to inform your vet.

🔍 Diagnostic Approach

• Physical exam: HR, mucous membranes, hydration, pain response.
• Abdominal auscultation: note hyper- or hypo-motility. :contentReference[oaicite:14]{index=14}
• Rectal examination: to assess impactions, displacements, distension. :contentReference[oaicite:15]{index=15}
• Nasogastric intubation: checks for reflux, decompresses stomach. :contentReference[oaicite:16]{index=16}
• Abdominocentesis: analyzes peritoneal fluid for signs of ischemia or infection. :contentReference[oaicite:17]{index=17}
• Ultrasound/radiographs: useful for sand colic, displaced bowel, enteroliths.

💊 Medical Treatment

• NSAIDs (e.g., flunixin meglumine) for pain and inflammation. :contentReference[oaicite:18]{index=18}
• Antispasmodics like buscopan for gas colic.
• IV/oral fluids and electrolytes to correct dehydration and impactions.
• Mineral oil, DSS, psyllium for impaction management. :contentReference[oaicite:19]{index=19}
• Antibiotics for secondary infections or enteritis.
• Nasogastric decompression as needed. :contentReference[oaicite:20]{index=20}
• Walking therapy—to mobilize gut contents. :contentReference[oaicite:21]{index=21}

🔪 Surgical Intervention

Required for strangulating lesions, unresponsive impactions, enteroliths, severe displacements, volvulus. Medical management fails in ~10% of cases. Survival depends on timely surgery—up to 90% for large colon cases, 65–75% for strangulating lesions. Post-op survival: 86% return to work. :contentReference[oaicite:22]{index=22}

🚑 Post-Treatment Care

• Gradual reintroduction of forage and easy-feed diets.
• Encourage drinking; offer warm water and salt licks. :contentReference[oaicite:23]{index=23}
• Resume turnout/walking gradually to support gut motility.
• Continue pain meds as directed; monitor appetite and manure.
• Dental care and deworming follow-up. :contentReference[oaicite:24]{index=24}

🌱 Preventive Strategies

• Fresh clean water; prevent freezing with heaters in winter. :contentReference[oaicite:25]{index=25}
• High-fiber forage fed little and often; avoid sudden diet changes. :contentReference[oaicite:26]{index=26}
• Regular turnout and exercise; avoid abrupt workload changes. :contentReference[oaicite:27]{index=27}
• Daily routine and feeding schedules. :contentReference[oaicite:28]{index=28}
• Dental floats at least annually. :contentReference[oaicite:29]{index=29}
• Targeted deworming via fecal egg counts. :contentReference[oaicite:30]{index=30}
• Prevent sand colic: avoid ground feeding in sandy areas, use psyllium powders monthly. :contentReference[oaicite:31]{index=31}
• Manage gastric ulcers—use ulcer therapies, reduce stress, maintain roughage. :contentReference[oaicite:32]{index=32}
• Monitor stress and cribbing behavior as indicators. :contentReference[oaicite:33]{index=33}

📋 Quick Owner Checklist

Conclusion & Vet Support 📲

Colic demands rapid response, informed care, and preventive vigilance. With early recognition, proper diagnostics, tailored treatment, and proactive routine management, many horses recover fully and resume their activities.

Need personalized prevention plans, emergency protocols, or dietary guidance? Ask A Vet offers expert colic risk assessments, appointment reminders, and tele-vet consultations via our app. Download the Ask A Vet App today for peace of mind and proactive care. 🐴🌟