Colic

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Colic
Greene, Lewis Associates

• Ashley R. Berthelot, DVM

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Colic acute abdominal pain
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FACTColic is the most frequent emergency
encountered in equine practice.
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Why?What caused my horse to colic?
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The complex and very large equine digestive
tract
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• Average of 80-100 feet of
  intestines from the stomach to the
  descending colon
• Food and fluid capacity of 140-170 quarts

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Common causes of Colic

• Changes in feed
• Changes in weather
• Poor quality feed or hay
• Lack of water
• Inadequate fiber intake

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• and the list goes on and on . . .

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Major types of Colic

• Impaction
• Gas colic
• Parasites
• Displacement
• Torsion
• Enteritis/colitis
• Intussception
• Obstruction

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• Impaction when the intestine becomes blocked by
  a firm mass of
• intestinal contents.

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• Displacement a portion of the intestine has
  moved to an abnormal position in the abdomen.

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Displacement
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• Gas colic gas build up in the intestine, most
  commonly in the large intestine and/or cecum.

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• Colic caused by parasites very heavy
  infestation can subsequently cause a blockage,
  intestinal motility disturbances, arteritis,
  thromboembolism, and peritonitis

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• Torsion (Twisted Gut")
• a piece of the intestine twists.

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Torsion
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• Enteritis/Colitis
• inflammation of the small (enteritis) or large
  (colitis) intestines.

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Enteritis/Colitis
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• Intussusception prolapse of one part of the
  intestine into the lumen of an adjacent part
  (telescoping)

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(No Transcript)
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• Obstruction enterolith, fecalith, or foreign
  body.

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Enteroliths
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Signs of Colic

• Off feed
• Restlessness
• Standing stretched out
• Posturing to urinate
• Looking at their belly
• Lying down and getting up repeatedly
• Curling the upper lip
• Pawing
• Sweating
• Kicking at the abdomen
• Rolling

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If you suspect colic

• Call your veterinarian.
• Remove all grain and hay.
• Offer plenty of clean, cool water.
• Note frequency and consistency of any feces
  passed.
• Hand-walk
• Do not administer any medications
• Wait for further instructions from your
  veterinarian.

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What to Expect if your Veterinarian comes out

• Physical exam
• Analgesics (pain relief) such as flunixin
  meglumine (Banamine)

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• Passage of nasogastric tube into the stomach
• Administration of mineral oil.
• Rectal exam
• Other procedures
• and/or diagnostics
• may be needed

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Prevention

• It is not possible to prevent all colics but the
  incidence can be reduced through proper
  management, including
• Good parasite control (deworming) program
• Providing a horse with plenty of fiber
• Increasing feeding frequency
• Constant access to fresh water