Preventing Fall and Winter Colic

The fall is a time of lovely colours, family get-togethers and winding down the busy show season. However, fall is often a time of increased colic calls to veterinarians. While not all colic can be prevented, paying attention to your management of the horse can go a long way to decrease the incidence, and the suffering of episodes.

Colic, which is actually not a disease itself but a sign of stomach pains, can be caused by many different factors so it is well worth every horse owner's time to learn all they can about prevention of this syndrome.

 
Dr. Ken Armstrong is an equine veterinarian who has been in practice for many years and has seen many horses for episodes of colic during this time. "A lot depends on the weather, as the temperature swings can result in frozen or ice-covered water. This can result in horses drinking less water. At this time of year, they are also shifting from a high moisture diet (grass) to a low moisture diet (dried hay)." Armstrong adds, "Make sure the horse has water available as sometimes the water may freeze during the night and not melt until late morning."
 
Paying attention now will help you prevent impaction colic from developing as a result of diet and weather changes and the lack of water intake.
 
A Few Points to Keep in Mind for Colic Prevention:
 
1. Watch out for poisonous plants. Ingestion of poisonous plants may be a higher risk in the fall as hungry horses are looking for grass that is diminishing. They may start