Hypothetically What Happens If/When Your Horse Colics

Horses have the smallest size stomach for any wild or domestic animal. Due to this fact, a horse is meant to slowly eat or graze for eighteen to twenty hours a day. Horses are meant to walk several miles in a day to aid in digestion of forage consumed. Domesticated animals are usually confined to smaller spaces and fed rations twice daily which can be difficult on the animals digestive system.

If I see a horse laying down for more than a short time, twenty to thirty minutes at most, the animal might be experiencing digestive discomfort, also known as colic. It is important to get the horse up on their feet and walking around right away. If a horse cannot walk due to pain, another way to help release the pressure on the digestive system is to load the horse in a trailer and drive slowly for a few miles. The motion of the trailer and the vibration of the road will help to gently massage the intestines and internal organs of the horse, making it less painful to tolerate the colic.

Horses that are experiencing colic should not be fed any grain, hay or substance at this time. If they are able to drink water that would be positive. Often during colic the elimination system of a horse will be tense and not able to pass manure. At any given time a horse has five individual bowel movements in the digestive tract. It is imperative that the animal be able to continue passing manure. The gentle massage of a trailer ride will often cause the horse to relieve some of the manure. This will also help with the pain caused by colic.

Constant reevaluation of the horses condition during colic is critical. If no improvement is seen after a short time of walking or trailering, calling a Veterinarian is the next step.  If the horse is already in the trailer it will be faster to make the trip to a clinic or large animal facility for further testing  and evaluation.