COLIC - Signs, Causes & Treatment
Your Horses Health
COLIC - ABDOMINAL PAIN
Signs
- Not eating, looking at sides, kicking at belly, laying down more than usual, rolling,
stretching, sweating, sometimes violent rolling, getting up and down, unable to keep on
feet.
Causes
- Impaction - blockage of intestine by food material that dries excessively.
- a. dry hay with many stems
- b. lack of adequate water intake
- c. change of feed
- Gas Colic
- a. excess grain
- b. leafy alfalfa
- Large Intestine displacement
- a. bowel only attached to right flank
- b. foaling
- c. feed change
- d. bowel motility changes
- Blockage of Arteries to Bowel by Bloodworms
- a. irregular deworming program
- Small Intestine Displacement
- a. changes in bowel motility
- b. holes in mesentary
Spasmodic Colica.
- spontaneous
- barometer changes
- excess grain
Prevention
- Select quality hay
- Don't over-feed grain
- Regular deworming
- Avoid sudden dietary changes
- Decrase roughage to broodmares 2-3 weeks prior to foaling
Treatment
Immediate veterinarian attention
Attempt definitive diagnosis
Treatment depends on diagnosis: a) impaction - oil, water, IV fluids, reduce pain; b)
gas - releive pain, trocarize to relieve gas; c) large and small bowel displacement -
surgery - history and drugs given are important; d) bloodworm colic - varies; e) spasmodic
- relieve pain, anti-spasmodic drugs. Early proper treatment may prevent displacements.
Common Questions
- Walking
- Drugs
- Bran
- Treatment by owner or trainer
Colic other than GI tract
- Urinary tract
- Ovarian
- Peritonitis
- Tumors
- Abcesses
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