A Brief Explanation of Colic

Colic is a very bad and possibly fatal condition a horse can get, and is the leading cause of unnatural death in horses. If you have horses, or a friend does, please read this, and let's keep safety first. =)

Colic is like a bad stomach-ache on a horse. The reason colic is terrible has to do with the tight muscles in the horse's esophagus, preventing the horse from regurgitating food. As such, the food either has to continue onward through the digestion process, or result in rupture or impaction (basically constipation). If the horse is blocked at both ends, this can fairly easily lead to colic.

Naturally, horses are not on the ground without their legs beneath them very often at all. So, being cast puts a horse in an awkward position, and remaining in this position for a prolonged period of time can cause colic. Especially if the horse is rolling and flailing around a lot, trying to free their legs.

As far as colic goes, the main safety is prevention, as well as catching it early on. Depending on how long the horse was cast, watch the horse for any signs of pain near the belly. Some of the possible signs may be a horse having a pained look on his face, looking back at his barrel often, reaching back and biting the skin, and rolling. Of course, every horse is different, so the easiest way to tell if a horse isn't healthy is if he isn't acting normal.

If this has ever happened to one of your horses, feel free to add tips/what you learned below in the comments section. Thanks!

P.S. - Colic can also be caused by a horse rolling around or being cast (see blog post coming soon on November 16), so keep that in mind as well.