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Preventing Colic in Horses
Dr. Jeff Peterman
A native of Gulfport and a 1993 graduate of Mississippi State University Veterinarian School, Dr. Jeff Peterman cuts a wide path among vets handling large animal practices in the State of Mississippi. Dr. Peterman has satisfied customers in some eight south Mississippi counties. His office is in Gulfport on Highway 53, and he works with Dr. Ryan Byrd and Dr. Chris Rainey. Dr. Peterman can be reached at 228-831-9123.
Well, it's winter time down here in south Mississippi, that means it's colic season. For the equine veterinarian, colic season is a good source of income and a good source of indigestion. I say this because colics usually get detected early in the morning about my breakfast time, or holidays about going to Grandma's time.
I'm a lifelong horse owner and enthusiast. I ride often and team rope. Horse have been a part of me from the get go. My first memory of colic was with my Mother's mare. She was the first and last horse my Mother ever claimed for her own. I was about 7 years old when the mare coliced. We did what everyone else used to do and walked her for what seemed like forever. We did get a vet out at some point, I don't remember when. Finally, the mare died sometime the next day.
I've seen colic from all angles. As an owner, friend, student, and doctor. I guess the most frequent question I get asked is, "Why did my horse colic?". It was a good question when I was 7, and it still is now. If I remember correctly, the answer then was something like, well, the horse rolled and twisted her gut. That seemed logical then but doesn't hold water now. So, what is the answer or answers?
Let's first look at how horses were designed. My weedeater runs on a gas and oil mixture. It won't run on gas or oil only. Why? It was designed to run on a gas and oil mixture. Horses were designed by GOD, to eat small amounts of grass as they traveled or a large area. Their stomachs are small compared to their size. They can't hold a lot of food at once.
How are most horses fed? Most are fed some form of concentrate, bag feed, one to two times daily. A lot are stalled a good portion of the day. A concentrate, by definition, has a lot of nutrition in a small amount. A horse has to use different bacteria to digest grass as opposed to concentrates. Feeding concentrates and the digestion of, can become an explosive event. Any type of change in concentrate can really throw the horse's digestive system in an uproar. Gas and acid are sometimes produced during digestion of concentrates. When gas is produced it can cause an intestine to float out of it's normal position. When this happens, it sometimes gets kinked, resulting in a "twisted gut". This causes extreme pain due to distention of the intestina in the twist. These colics are often life threating. Fortunately, they are uncommon.
Other more treatable colics are much more common. The three most common colics I see are cramps (mild gas), impactions, and sand colics. What causes these? Cramps are usually changes in diet, like fresh hay or new grass. The other thing I see with these is change in routine. You may feed a stalled horse later than normal.
Impaction colics (the most common I see) are simply a reduction in water intake or an increase of water used up. The horse simply does not take in enough water to keep his system moving properly. In the summer, he may sweat and not replace enough water. In the winter, he usually doesn't drink enough because the water is cold. Also, a lot of people leave horses up during bad weather. Remember, horses are designed to move. This aids their digestion.
The last is sand colics. Down here, we are blessed with plenty of sand. Horses accumulate sand over time. This is accomplished by pulling short grass up roots, sand and all. Also, by picking dropped feed out of the sand. The one different thing about sand colics, is that they usually have diarrhea.
All this leads to the next most asked question. "What can I do to prevent my horse from colicing?". It usually is very simple but often hard to do. Remember, horses were designed to eat small amounts of grass often throughout the day while moving around. Anything we can do to work with how the horse is designed will benefit the horse and therefore reduce colics.
Horses need grass. If that's not available, they need good quality hay. They need access to hay or grass a good portion of the day. Horses need exercise. And I don't mean 30 minutes on a walker or lunge line. Horses need fresh water.
Anything you can do to improve these areas of management will significantly lower your colic severties and frequencies. I said it was simple, not easy.
Thank you for your time and GOD bless.
Jeff Peterman, DVM