How does colic affect horses

Impactions can be induced by coarse feed stuff, dehydration or accumulation of foreign material like sand. Figure 5. Large intestine. Impaction colics are commonly located in the cecum and large intestine. Gas colic — all colics are associated with some gas build up. Gas can accumulate in the stomach as well as the intestines.

As gas builds up, the gut distends, causing abdominal pain. Excessive gas can be produced by bacteria in the gut after ingestion of large amounts of grain or moldy feeds. A nasogastric stomach tube inserted by a veterinarian is used to relieve the pressure of the gas and fluid accumulation in the stomach. Spasmodic colic - defined as painful contractions of the smooth muscle in the intestines. Spasmodic colic has been compared to indigestion in people and is usually easily treated by a veterinarian.

Over excitement can trigger spasmodic colic. Enteritis — inflammation of the intestine possibly due to bacteria, grain overload or tainted feed. Horses with enteritis may also have diarrhea. Enteritis is often hard to diagnose and may present itself similar to displacement or impaction colics.

Treatment To give the proper treatment for colic, it is important to determine the cause, so that it can be corrected. The severity of the signs of colic is not necessarily indicative of the severity of the colic, and sometimes it is difficult to determine the exact cause and therefore the correct treatment.

For these reasons make sure to have a veterinarian evaluate your horse as soon as possible. Many cases of colic can be treated successfully with medication, while others involving severe impactions or twists may require immediate surgery. While you are waiting for your veterinarian, you should:. It is this unfortunate design which predisposes the horse to different types of colic. However, some types of colic are more serious then others. Gas colic occurs when there is excessive build up of gas within the intestines of the horse.

These horses can often have a lot of flatulence. Spasmodic colic is the result of intestinal cramps or spasms. This type of colic can also have intestinal hyper motility. These occur where partially digested feed, typically roughage, builds up in the large intestine of the horse and stops moving, resulting in a blockage or impaction. With impaction colic, the horse is not passing dung. Sand colic occurs in horses living in sandy areas, or horses fed from sandy ground. Fine particle sand builds up in the large intestines resulting in colic.

A twisted gut occurs where a portion of the intestine twists on itself intestinal torsion or where a portion of intestine inverts into itself intussusception. Displacements occur when an area of the intestine moves from its normal location in the abdominal cavity to somewhere else, naturally this is not a common type of colic.

When the displacements cannot freely move back to its original location, it becomes an entrapment. Displacements and entrapments are very serious because this change in location stretches the blood supply to the area of intestine and can result it being compressed or squashed.

Strangulation colic is very uncommon, but very serious. Strangulation colic occurs when the blood supply to an area of intestines is cut off strangulated. Cutting off the blood supply, results in rapid death of the intestine wall, a serious life threatening situation. It is important to realise however, that the vast majority of colics never have their exact causation determined. Illustration by Dr. Gheorghe Constantinescu. The diameter of the dorsal colon is largest either at its diaphragmatic flexure or in the right dorsal colon.

There are no sacculations in either the left or right portion of the dorsal colon. The right dorsal colon is closely attached to the right ventral colon by a short intercolic fold and to the body wall by a tough, common mesenteric attachment with the base of the cecum. In contrast, neither the left ventral nor left dorsal colons are attached directly to the body wall, allowing these portions of the colon to become displaced or twisted.

The transverse colon is located cranial to the cranial mesenteric artery. Finally, the ingesta enters the sacculated descending colon, which is 10—12 ft 3—3. The celiac and cranial mesenteric arteries branches of the abdominal aorta supply blood to the GI tract. The celiac artery supplies arterial blood to the stomach, pancreas, liver, spleen, and the first portion of the duodenum.

The cranial mesenteric artery supplies arterial blood to the remaining portion of the duodenum; to all of the jejunum, ileum, cecum, large colon, and transverse colon; and to the first portion of the descending colon. Because the large colon is attached to the body wall only in the region near the cranial mesenteric artery, the blood supplying all portions of the colon must traverse the entire length of the colon.

The pelvic flexure receives its blood supply from two branches of the cranial mesenteric artery; one branch supplies the right and left dorsal colons before reaching the pelvic flexure, and the other branch supplies the right and left ventral colons before reaching the pelvic flexure. Thus, volvulus of the large colon near the junction of the colon and cecum may impede the flow of blood to the entire left colon.

The major branches of the cranial mesenteric artery can be damaged by the migrating forms of Strongylus vulgaris Veterinary. There are several natural openings or spaces within the abdominal cavity that can be important in conditions causing colic.

The inguinal canal provides an opening through which intestine might pass and become trapped. Although inguinal hernias are common in young foals, they rarely cause clinical problems; the situation is considerably different in stallions. Similarly, if the ventral abdominal wall fails to form properly around the umbilicus, an opening remains and the potential exists for intestinal problems to develop secondary to an umbilical hernia.

The epiploic foramen, a natural opening between the portal vein, the caudal vena cava, and the caudate lobe of the liver, can be the site of intestinal incarcerations.

Finally, there is a natural space between the dorsal aspect of the spleen and the left kidney. This space is bounded by the renosplenic ligament, a strong band of tissue that connects the dorsomedial aspect of the spleen with the fibrous capsule of the left kidney.

Normograde peristalsis in the left ventral colon moves ingesta toward the left dorsal colon, and the muscles in the wall of the left dorsal colon contract to move the ingesta toward the diaphragmatic flexure.

There is evidence, however, that the muscles in the left ventral colon contract in a retrograde fashion, from the pelvic flexure region toward the sternal flexure.

Furthermore, these contractions appear to originate from a pacemaker region in the pelvic flexure. It has been hypothesized that this pacemaker senses either the size or the consistency of the feed particles in the ingesta and then initiates the appropriate motility pattern.

If the ingesta has been digested sufficiently, it is moved in a normograde direction; if additional digestion is necessary, the ingesta is moved in a retrograde direction to retain it in the ventral colon.

This theory has been proposed to help account for the common clinical occurrence of obstruction at or near the pelvic flexure. Numerous clinical signs are associated with colic. The most common include pawing repeatedly with a front foot, looking back at the flank region, curling the upper lip and arching the neck, repeatedly raising a rear leg or kicking at the abdomen, lying down, rolling from side to side, sweating, stretching out as if to urinate, straining to defecate, distention of the abdomen, loss of appetite, depression, and decreased number of bowel movements.

It is uncommon for a horse with colic to exhibit all of these signs. Although they are reliable indicators of abdominal pain, the particular signs do not indicate which portion of the GI tract is involved or whether surgery will be needed. A diagnosis can be made and appropriate treatment begun only after thoroughly examining the horse, considering the history of any previous problems or treatments, determining which part of the intestinal tract is involved, and identifying the cause of the particular episode of colic.

In most instances, colic develops for one of four reasons: 1 The wall of the intestine is stretched excessively by either gas, fluid, or ingesta. This stimulates the stretch-sensitive nerve endings located within the intestinal wall, and pain impulses are transmitted to the brain. Under such circumstances, proinflammatory mediators in the wall of the intestine decrease the threshold for painful stimuli. The list of possible conditions that cause colic is long, and it is reasonable first to determine the most likely type of disease and begin appropriate treatments and then to make a more specific diagnosis, if possible.

The history of the present colic episode and previous episodes, if any, must be considered to determine whether the horse has had repeated or similar problems or whether this episode is an isolated event. The duration of the present episode, the rate of deterioration of the horse's cardiovascular status, the severity of pain, whether feces have been passed, and the response to any treatments are important pieces of information. The physical examination should include assessment of the cardiopulmonary and GI systems.

The oral mucous membranes should be evaluated for color, moistness, and capillary refill time. The mucous membranes may become cyanotic or pale in horses with acute cardiovascular compromise and eventually hyperemic or muddy as peripheral vasodilation develops later in shock.

The membranes become dry as the horse becomes dehydrated. The heart rate increases due to pain, hemoconcentration, and hypotension; therefore, higher heart rates have been associated with more severe intestinal problems strangulating obstruction. However, it is important to note that not all conditions requiring surgery are accompanied by a high heart rate.

An important aspect of the physical examination is the response to passing a nasogastric tube. Because horses can neither regurgitate nor vomit, adynamic ileus, obstructions involving the small intestine, or distention of the stomach with gas or fluid may result in gastric rupture. If fluid reflux occurs, the volume and color of the fluid should be noted.

In healthy horses, it is common to retrieve The abdomen and thorax should be auscultated and the abdomen percussed. The abdomen should be auscultated over several areas cecum on the right, small intestine high on the left, colon lower on both the right and left. Intestinal sounds associated with episodes of pain may indicate an intraluminal obstruction eg, impaction, enterolith.

Gas sounds may indicate ileus or distention of a viscus. Fluid sounds may indicate impending diarrhea associated with colitis. A complete lack of sounds is usually associated with adynamic ileus or ischemia. Percussion helps identify a grossly distended segment of intestine cecum on right, colon on left that may need to be trocarized.

The respiratory rate may be increased due to fever, pain, acidosis, or an underlying respiratory problem. Diaphragmatic hernia is also a possible cause of colic. The most definitive part of the examination is the rectal examination.

The veterinarian should develop a consistent method of palpating for the following: aorta, cranial mesenteric artery, cecal base and ventral cecal band, bladder, peritoneal surface, inguinal rings in stallions and geldings or the ovaries and uterus in mares, pelvic flexure, spleen, and left kidney. The intestine should be palpated for size, consistency of contents gas, fluid, or impacted ingesta , distention, edematous walls, and pain on palpation.

In healthy horses, the small intestine cannot be palpated; with small-intestinal obstruction, strangulating obstruction, or enteritis, the distended duodenum can be palpated dorsal to the base of the cecum on the right side of the abdomen, and distended loops of jejunum can be identified in the middle of the abdomen.

A sample of peritoneal fluid obtained via paracentesis performed aseptically on midline often reflects the degree of intestinal damage. The color, cell count and differential, and total protein concentration should be evaluated.

Normal peritoneal fluid is clear to yellow, contains The age of the horse is important, because a number of age-related conditions cause colic.

The more common of these include the following: in foals—atresia coli, meconium retention, uroperitoneum, and gastroduodenal ulcers; in yearlings—ascarid impaction; in the young—small-intestinal intussusception, nonstrangulating infarction, and foreign body obstruction; in the middle-aged—cecal impaction, enteroliths, and large-colon volvulus; and in the aged—pedunculated lipoma and mesocolic rupture.

Ultrasonographic evaluation of the abdomen may help differentiate between diseases that can be treated medically and those that require surgery. The technique also can be applied transrectally to clarify findings noted on rectal palpation. In foals, echoes from the large colon and small intestine are commonly identified from the ventral abdominal wall, whereas only large-colon echoes are usually seen in adult horses.

The large colon can be identified by its sacculated appearance. The duodenum can be identified in the tenth intercostal space and traced around the caudal aspect of the right kidney. The jejunum is rarely identified during transabdominal ultrasonographic examination of normal adult horses, whereas the thick-walled ileum can be identified by transrectal examination.

As a horse owner, you can reduce the chances of digestive upset by following a few easy steps. Here are six feeding tips to reduce digestive upset:. DO monitor the incision site daily if your horse required surgery. DO discuss postoperative complications and home-care instructions with your vet before going home with your postop horse, urges Weatherly. DO maintain a consistent feeding protocol and introduce feed changes gradually.

When switching to a new food source, try to do so gradually over at least 10 days. DO feed frequently. DO forgo grain over forage. In fact, high-grain diets are linked to increased incidence of colic as well as founder, obesity, and other disorders.

DO encourage drinking to reduce risk of impaction colic. Provide access to warm water in the winter and cool water in the summer. DO provide regular exercise. This includes regular turnout, as well. DO maintain an approved parasite control routine.

Research suggests strategic parasite control is optimal; owners should contact their vets to design a program based on fecal egg counts and pasture management.

Nonstrategic rotational deworming causes parasite resistance to anthelmintic parasite-killing drugs and is no longer recommended. DO take steps to reduce ingestion of sand. Keep hay off sandy surfaces by placing rations in a manger, cut-down garbage can or rain barrel ensuring there are no sharp edges , or on a cement pad or rubber mat swept clean of sand. If your horse likes to pull his hay out of the container and eat it off the ground, lay mats around the container.

DO check stool samples of horses prone to sand colic. Tap the bag and the sand will settle out in the lower corner. If you get a negative, repeat the test three or four times over a three-day period to make sure. Keep your horse off sandy areas until the problem clears. DO consider gastric ulcer prevention methods for highly stressed horses or performance horses, per veterinary instructions, says Keenan.

DO consider getting major medical not just surgical insurance to cover the costs of advanced medical and surgical care for your horse. It is not as expensive as you might think and can save you the stress of wondering where to come up with a large sum of money to save your horse. Multiple smaller meals are generally better for the digestive tract than one or two large meals. No doubt about it, colic surgery is expensive.