Horse Colic – 7 Telltale Signs of Colic in Horses

Horse colic can be a painful, stressful & unpleasant experience, and that’s not just for the horse! Fortunately though, if you can pick up on some of the telltale signs of colic early enough, in most cases you’ll be able to greatly reduce the amount of suffering it causes.Colic is basically another term for a severe abdominal pain from the intestine. It’s most commonly caused by a blockage of the intestine from things like food, sand or worms. There are quite a few other less common causes as well, but they all tend to present with the same symptoms.So how can you identify a case of horse colic?There are quite a few signs of colic in horses. The thing you must remember though, is that all horses are different – they have different pain tolerances and will often show different reactions to pain. Just because a horse doesn’t show all the signs listed below, it doesn’t mean they don’t have colic – it’s not uncommon for them to only show 1 or 2 symptoms.Not Eating – Some horses will go off their food.
Looking or Kicking at Their Belly – They’ll often look at the stomach & kick out at their stomach with their hind legs.
Lying Down or Rolling – Sometimes a horse will lie down & get up quite often, trying to get comfortable. Some horses may start rolling.
Lack of Fresh Manures – Depending where the blockage is, there may be no or reduced fresh feces in their yard or paddock.
Elevated Temperature – The horse may be warm to touch, or in more severe cases, they may be sweating profusely.
Raised Heart Rate.
General Discomfort – The horse might just not seem right. They might be pacing around more than usual, nipping at their flanks, stretching or pawing the ground.Usually a horse will show 2 or 3 of the signs above, but keep in mind there’s no one sign that a horse with colic will definitely show. Some people say that any horse with colic won’t eat – I’ve had a horse that was still eating!Another common misconception is that if the horse is still producing manure, that they’re OK – a friend of mine had a horse die from colic that was still producing manure. It all depends where the blockage is. If the blockage is higher up the small intestine, they can still get rid of the manure that’s below it.So if your horse is showing any signs that it may have colic, take action immediately! Don’t wait, or it could be too late.