🐴 Feeding Horses During and After Colic: What to Do in 2025 for Safe Recovery 🩺🍃

By Dr Duncan Houston BVSc

Colic remains one of the most common and potentially life-threatening emergencies in equine medicine. While treatment often focuses on relieving pain and restoring gut function, what you feed your horse before and after colic is just as critical. In 2025, we know that feeding mistakes can delay recovery—or trigger another episode. Here’s what you need to know. 🧠🐎

🚨 What Is Colic, and Why Feeding Matters

Colic is a broad term meaning abdominal pain, typically related to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. It can be caused by:

• 🌀 Gas buildup
• 🧱 Impactions
• 🔁 Displacements or twists (torsions)
• 🐛 Parasites or sand ingestion

Horses with colic often stop eating and drinking. Dehydration worsens gut motility, leading to a dangerous cycle. This is why fluid therapy is the cornerstone of early treatment. 💧

💧 Initial Colic Management: Fluids First

Horses with colic must be evaluated promptly by a veterinarian. Walking the horse is not a treatment. While some cases may resolve on their own, many do not, and delaying veterinary care can be fatal. 🕒⚠️

Dehydration is a major factor in colic. Most colicky horses won’t drink, so your vet may administer fluids via:

• 🛢️ Nasogastric tubing—direct delivery to the stomach
• 💉 IV catheterization—if dehydration is moderate to severe

🚫 Never try to administer water with a hose! This can cause aspiration pneumonia and worsen the situation.

🌿 Feeding During Colic Recovery

Once the colic episode has resolved and your vet gives the green light to reintroduce food, the process should be slow and strategic.

🥄 First 24–48 Hours Post-Colic:

• 🍃 Offer small handfuls of hay every 2 hours
• 🚫 No grain or concentrate for at least 2 days
• 💧 Monitor water intake closely—encourage drinking with soaked hay or flavored water

📆 Day 3–7: Gradual Reintroduction

• 🥣 Reintroduce grain at ¼ of the normal ration
• 📈 Increase by ¼ every 2 days if no signs of discomfort return
• 🧪 Continue to monitor appetite, fecal output, and water intake

Appetite is one of the best signs of recovery. If your horse still won’t eat, they may still be painful or not fully recovered. 🚨

🧠 Why Hay Is Safer Than Grain After Colic

Grain is rich in non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs) which ferment rapidly if they reach the large intestine, especially if gut motility is sluggish. This can lead to:

• 🔥 Hindgut acidosis
• 💥 Gas production
• 🚨 Secondary laminitis

By contrast, hay is fibrous and digests more slowly, supporting healthy gut bacteria and providing mechanical stimulation to resume motility. 🌿✅

🛡️ Preventing Colic Recurrence Through Feeding

Once your horse has recovered, a few changes can prevent future colic episodes:

• 🕒 Split grain into smaller, more frequent meals
• 🚰 Ensure 24/7 access to clean water—heated in winter if needed
• 🥄 Feed high-quality forage and limit sugary feeds
• 🔁 Make feed changes slowly—over 10–14 days
• 🐛 Maintain a strategic deworming plan

Most importantly, feed for your horse’s workload, age, and metabolism—not just convenience. Personalized diets reduce digestive stress and support long-term gut health. ⚖️🐴

📲 Ask A Vet for Colic Recovery Nutrition Plans

Unsure what to feed after colic? Visit AskAVet.com or use the Ask A Vet App to get custom post-colic diet plans, hydration strategies, and gut health tips. 📱🐴

Dr Duncan Houston and the team are ready to help prevent the next episode—and guide your horse back to full recovery. 💬🧠

🏁 Final Thoughts

In 2025, feeding horses after colic is all about hydration, patience, and gut-friendly forage. Never rush back to grain, and always watch for the subtle signs of discomfort. With the right nutrition and vigilance, your horse can recover fully and thrive again. 🐴🩺

Need a printable colic recovery feeding schedule? Visit AskAVet.com to download now 🌾📊