Symptoms of Colic

Colic is the most common disease among horses today and
is the #1 natural killer of horses. Colic can range from
severe to life threatening in which case surgery may be
needed to correct the problem. Today with better
nutritional knowledge and advanced de-worming products the
cases of colic are most often milder than severe.

The causes are many and varied but I will list a few:

a.. Overfeeding (feed room bingeing)
b.. Access to sandy paddocks
c.. Parasites
d.. Moldy hay or feed
e.. Non-consistent feeding times
f.. Fine hay & feed
g.. Changes in feed (make gradually)

Symptoms of colic:

a.. Restlessness
b.. Little or no stomach sounds
c.. Lack of appetite
d.. Lying down and getting up repeatedly
e.. Biting or kicking at the belly
f.. Depression
g.. Sweating
h.. Pawing the ground
i.. Stretching as if to urinate (but don't)
j.. Small or no droppings

Keep this in mind; a horse lives for food and loves
nothing better than to eat and eat and eat! If your
horse goes off his feed or seems disinterested in food
all together, something is wrong! At the first signs of
colic in your horse call your veterinarian immediately
for help until he/ she arrives.


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