Showing posts with label cold weather colic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cold weather colic. Show all posts

Monday, 11 February 2013

Colic in Horses - recognising key signs

At TicTac we know that an integral part of Horse care involves keeping a close eye on your horse or pony's health and well-being; something that can be helped by learning common signs of ill health and noticeable symptoms of common ailments that can affect domestic horses.

One particularly important condition to look out for that can be quite common in horses is Colic. However, with a combination of swift action, preparedness and knowledge, further trouble can be prevented.

Colic in horses is defined as abdominal pain, but it is a clinical sign rather than a diagnosis. The term 'colic' can in fact encompass all forms of gastrointestinal conditions which cause pain as well as other causes of abdominal pain not involving the gastrointestinal tract. However, it is a wise idea to alert your local vet if you are concerned about any kind of pain or discomfort in your horse.

As mentioned above, the most common forms of colic are gastrointestinal in nature and are most often related to colonic disturbance. There are a variety of different forms of colic, some of which can prove fatal without surgical intervention.

The incidence of colic in the general horse population has been estimated between 10 and 11 percent on an annual basis. It is important that any person who owns or works with horses be able to recognize the signs of colic and determine whether or not a veterinarian should be called.

Clinical signs include: 


  • Pawing and/or scraping
  • Stretching
  • Frequent attempts to urinate
  • Flank watching: turning of the head to watch the stomach and/or hind quarters
  • Biting/nipping the stomach
  • Pacing
  • Repeated flehmen response
  • Repeated lying down and rising
  • Rolling
  • Groaning
  • Bruxism
  • Excess salivation
  • Loss of appetite
  • Decreased fecal output
  • Increased pulse rate
  • Dark mucous membranes


For more information, or if you are concerned about unusual behaviour in your horse or ill health always be sure to contact your local vet. 

Sunday, 18 November 2012

Cold Weather Colic

Cold Weather Colic can be a real stress for horse owners over the Christmas period and winter in general. 

There are several reasons why horses tend to colic more when the weather changes, but in winter, three main culprits are:
Lack of routine exercise: With darker skies at night and the sun rising later in the morning, combined with colder temperatures, and often wetter cold days, horses get less turn out and less riding time, spending more time in the stall. Regular exercise and movements helps to keep both horse and human digestive systems functioning properly. If you have ever been laid up sick and cannot move around, you know that your digestive system has a tendency to not work as well as when you move. The same thing happens to horses.  Even if you can only turn your horse out for a few hours or hand walk around the barn, it is better than no exercise at all.
Cold water and iced over water: horses will drink up to ten gallons a day on a regular basis, but in winter, they may drink fewer than three due to cold. Adding a salt block in the stall will encourage drinking or if possible, you can purchase a water de-icer that will keep the water at a comfortable temperature or perhaps even bring hot water from home to mix in with the cold to help encourage your horse to drink more often. Water helps to aid proper digestion which will help prevent conditions like colic. 
Lack of pasture: This problem is two-fold, first, in that there is little green grass which helps to absorb moisture into the gut and adds wet fiber to help move food along the digestive tract, secondly, horses that are kept on wooded pasture land will tend to eat tree bark, leaves and tree nuts when no other food source is around. Keeping hay in the pasture with plenty of water which is not too cold, will help keep a horse healthy and happy, though beware of getting a large round roll from a dealer you have not gotten hay from before, as many horses have colicked on new hay, especially finer hays like Alicia which tend to cause more impact collics than courser hays like coastal bermuda.
Bottom line - to prevent colic in horses during cold winter months, provide them with a convenient source of clean, ice free water, plenty of turn out, regular routine, soft music in the stall to prevent stress from being cooped up during foul weather days and be careful about feeding too much hay from different sources without giving the horse a chance to switch over gradually.
As always, if in doubt, don't hesitate to contact your vet.