Symptoms of Colic

Symptoms of Colic

Colic is the most common disease among horses today and is the 1 natural killer of horses.

Colic can range from severe to life threatening in which case surgery may be needed to correct the problem.

Today with better nutritional knowledge and advanced de-worming products the cases of colic are most often milder than severe.

The causes are many and varied but here are a few:

• Overfeeding (feed room bingeing)
• Access to sandy paddocks
• Parasites
• Moldy hay or feed
• Non-consistent feeding times
• Fine hay & feed
• Changes in feed (make gradually)

Symptoms of colic:

• Restlessness
• Little or no stomach sounds
• Lack of appetite
• Lying down and getting up repeatedly
• Biting or kicking at the belly
• Depression
• Sweating
• Pawing the ground
• Stretching as if to urinate (but don't)
• Small or no droppings

A horse lives for food and loves nothing better than to eat and eat and eat!

If your horse goes off his feed or seems disinterested in food all together, something is wrong!

At the first signs of colic in your horse call your veterinarian immediately.

Don Thompson

Co-owner http://australasianhorsesales.com.au