Colic

If you’ve owned a horse, then chances are, you know about colic.
Colic is a term used to describe abdominal pain that can be caused by a wide variety of gastro-intestinal problems in horses, from the very minor to the life-threatening.
The symptoms of colic are many, but generally include one or more of the following: restlessness, elevated temperature, personality changes, snorting, nipping at the sides, laying down and not wanting to get up, and rolling in a thrashing manner. .
So, when you should call the vet?

Well, there is no easy answer to this question. The safe answer is, if you have any doubt about the seriousness of the illness, call the vet.

However, there are some cases where a minor colic (caused by a change in the weather, an irregular feeding schedule that leads to an upset stomach, etc.) will eventually resolve itself.
For example, when the weather turns cold each year, there is one horse I own that I know is going to colic on that first chilly night. She lies down and won’t get up for several hours. She looks listless, and occasionally bites at her sides. But she doesn’t thrash around in agony, and her temperature stays normal. Sometimes I will give her a little banamine (orally, not injected), sometimes I won’t, depending on how she looks.

With this kind of colic, my vet has told me to let the horse be. As long as she’s not thrashing around, but just lying there quietly and not trying to hurt herself, allow her to stay down on the ground. It is not necessary to force her up and walk her around (which was how I was taught to deal with all colics when I was a kid).

That all being said, if this is your horse’s first colic, you are new to the world of horses, your horse’s eyes are rolling back in his head, your horse gets up and down over and over, or when he’s down he’s thrashing around, you need to call your vet and get some professional advice.