Equine Colic - Signs, Symptoms, Treatment
Certain regions of the horse’s digestive tract are more susceptible to colic, and different types of colic can arise due to anatomical or physiological problems. Ten percent of colic cases result in surgery (strangulation, obstruction, displacement, severe impaction)
Types of Colic in Sections of the Equine Digestive Tract
STOMACH
Distention of stomach — The cardiac sphincter connects the esophagus to the stomach (prevents the backflow of digesta and prevents vomiting) and puts the stomach at risk of rupturing when it is overfilled with gas or fluid.
Gastric Ulcers — Horses have a small stomach (holding only 8-10L of fluid), and are meant to graze and eat frequent, small portions of feed for extended periods each day. In a natural grazing situation, a steady flow of acid is required for digestion and the acid is buffered by both feed and saliva. As such, the horse’s stomach produces gastric acid at all times, even when the horse is not eating. If the stomach is empty the mucosa acid will cause ulcers in the stomach’s protective lining, and it is therefore important to have forage in the horse’s stomach to help absorb stomach acid.
LARGE COLON
The large colon is the site of colitis (inflammation of the colon), displacement, twists/torsions, and gas buildup. Gas buildup can be caused by feeding large amounts of grain (digestible carbohydrates reach the hindgut and ferment, producing lots of gas.)
This area is also the site of obstruction due to parasite overload and impaction resulting from dry feed (due to dehydration) passing through the intestine.
PELVIC FLEXURE
This is a common site of obstruction/impaction due to the sharp bend and narrowing of diameter of the intestine.
SMALL COLON
The small colon is the site of obstruction due to enteroliths (mineral stones that block the intestine), more common in Miniatures and horses that consume a high alfalfa diet.
The Colic Risk Rater
The Colic Risk Rater is available on Equine Guelph’s education platform, TheHorsePortal.ca. Kindly sponsored by CapriCMW Insurance Services Ltd, the invaluable tool takes ten minutes to complete, not only calculating your horse’s risk for colic, but providing a downloadable print out of prevention tips.
“I’d like to encourage everyone to visit or revisit the Colic Risk Rater tool on The Horse Portal,” says Mike King, national lead of equine programs at CapriCMW Insurance Services Ltd. “We can think of no better risk management tool to prevent colic than education. This free tool and the Gut Health & Colic Prevention course offered by Equine Guelph are well worth the investment.”
