6 Responses for "What Causes a Horse to Colic?"

1. Amy S December 31st, 2009 at 5:34 pm 1

   Dehydration
   Stress
   Change in Routine (Stress)
   Change in Diet
   Disease
   Sand Intake
   Twisted gut/Displacement (no external cause really)
   Gas (usually related to diet)
   Lack of proper nutrition

   to name a few

2. Horsejumper December 31st, 2009 at 5:58 pm 2

   There are so many different things that can cause colic, here are a few!

   Change in food
   Change in living place
   Poisonous Plants
   Moldy hay
   Accidentally eating its own feces
   Not enough water
   Too much water after work out
   Nothing at all
   Eats something its allergic to

3. Kaley December 31st, 2009 at 6:48 pm 3

   AmyS has quite a few listed.

   I know quite a few horses that colic when the weather changes, for some reason, usually if it drops more than 20 degrees in one day.

   I’ll also add worms, sand impaction (from eating dirt when grazing), and ulcers.

4. sinjin December 31st, 2009 at 6:59 pm 4

   All previous answers are correct;]

5. Joy December 31st, 2009 at 7:05 pm 5

   Colic is still the number one cause of death of horses today. It used to be that verminous colic (caused by worms and other parasites) was the primary type of colic, but now in many areas sand is the most commonly seen form of colic.
   My Welsh, Arabian Mare loves to get her nose in Sand, every chance she gets.
   Sand colic is the result of the building up of sand in the intestinal tract of the horse. There can be as much as 150 pounds of sand lying in the bottom of the horse’s belly.

   The pain from sand is caused primarily by two methods. The sand presses on the bottom of the intestine, preventing blood from entering the area (Just like when you press on your fingernail, the pinkness (blood) goes away). This causes the long term, low grade pain that can cause a horse to eat poorly without ever really acting colicky. You know how it feels to not get enough blood to an area if you have ever tied a rubber band around a finger for very long.
   Eventually the sand can build up to the point that it totally blocks a loop of intestine. At this point, the horse becomes very painful from the buildup of hay and water in front of the blockage. Once this pressure builds to a certain point, it either pushes out the sand blockage or pops the intestine like an overfilled balloon. The intestinal rupture is always fatal.
   Please follow this link to some very good issues on the number one cause of death in Horses.
   The one matter the Doctor may not had discuss is also overly stressed Horses. Although this link can show you so much more.
   And I would like to add.
   It is better to prevent Colic, by giving your Horse a nice Bran Mash once a week. I mix about 5 lbs of wheat or rice Bran bought at your feed store. Mix with hot water almost like soup, I add a little dried molasses, and feed it when it is still just a little hot. My horses love it! And it keeps them regular.
   There is so many factors that cause Colic.
   Please read this link, you will be happy that you did, and it’s very educational for the horse community.

6. gallop December 31st, 2009 at 7:23 pm 6

   First, bran mash does nothing to prevent colic, and can even cause it. Many studies have shown this over and over again.

   Colic refers to abdominal pain that originates in a tubular organ. When horses colic, it usually denotes pain originating in the intestinal tract. It can be from mechanical or paralytic obstruction to movement of bowel content, muscular spasms, or bloating and distention, or a combination of factors.

   Obstructions can be from blockages formed from bowel content that becomes lodged and is called impaction. For example, enteroliths, parasites, or concentrated balls of ingesta can form impactions. Sand colic has already been covered pretty thoroughly in another post, and it would be categorized as a type of obstruction.

   Anatomic obstructions can also occur when a portion of the bowel becomes telescoped or twisted, blocking the passageway. Intussusception and volvulus are examples of these types of obstructions. Tumors, adhesions, and other abnormal conditions can also produce these kinds of obstructions. Also, entrapments can occur, where a section of intestine becomes trapped between organs like the spleen and kidney, obstructing movement of content past the entrapment.

   Distentions that can produce abdominal pain can be from gas that bloats the stomach or gets trapped in a pocket of the intestine, or in a horse with ulcers just the stretching of the stomach during a meal can produce pain. Also, ingested toxins such as from moldy hay or overeating of lush pasture or grains can cause production of excessive gas, bloating, and pain, as well as possibly producing impactions.

   Peristalsis is the muscle movement needed to propell content through the tract, and if it shuts down, nothing moves. This is a paralytic obstruction, meaning the muscle function is paralyzed (hopefully temporarily).

   Spasmodic colic can occur for a variety of reasons anytime the muscles of the tract begin cramping from irritability. Infections, inflammations, chemical imbalances, toxicities and other causes may be involved.

   Anything that can cause any of these condtions to develop can cause a colic. Some colics are treatable without surgery, some are treatable with surgery, and some cannot be treated, such as when a ruptured stomach or bowel occurs. Sometimes it is too late to save a horse even with surgical treatment if endotoxins from the intestine have accumulated in the blood and produced irreversible toxemia. Since you never know for sure what the cause is when a horse begins to colic, it is always treated as a medical emergency.