Horse Colic - Causes and Recovery

Colic is a fact of life for horse owners. Chances are very good that anyone who keeps horses for several years will encounter colic at some time. Mild episodes may resolve on their own before a veterinarian can arrive and more serious equine abdominal discomfort can often be managed with medication. Surgical intervention is available at clinics all over the country when it is deemed necessary for severe cases.
If colicky horses usually recover with no negative effects why do horse owners still fear colic? The answer may be tied to the fact that a horse may have what appears to be a simple bellyache at first yet may have other conditions present that make it impossible to save him.
Large and Small Intestine Colic
Colic of the large intestine can result from gas or fluid distension obstruction impaction or enteroliths or twisting of the gut as in large intestinal volvulus or displacement of the large colon. The clinical signs of large intestinal colic are moderately elevated heart rate 60 to 80 beats per minute or more whereas normal is 28 to 40 beats per minute and mild to moderate pain that is often intermittent. Usually there is no gastric reflux when a nasogastric tube is passed into the stomach.
Impactions are dry masses of feed material that lodge in the intestine and occlude it. The intestine can spasm which further squeezes water from the impaction and this produces more pain. Fluid or gas will accumulate ahead of the impaction and distend the gut.
One of the most common areas for impaction of the large intestine is the pelvic flexure. The pelvic flexure is a 180 degree turn between the left ventral and the left dorsal colon it is normally found in the lower left of the horses abdomen and is easily palpated rectally. This hairpin turn and narrowing of the large intestine predispose it for impaction but impactions can occur anywhere in the large intestine. Fortunately pelvic flexure impactions usually respond well to medical management although affected horses will sometimes need to be hospitalized to receive intravenous fluids in order to remain hydrated.
Enteroliths are concretions of mineral that usually form around a foreign body such as baling twine or fencing debris. As an enterolith enlarges it can act as a ball valve in the large intestine causing a buildup of fluid and gas ahead of it. The enterolith can slip back into a position