YOUR HORSE’S CARE COLIC | SPOTTING IT & TREATING IT
COLIC IS A catch-all term for abdominal pain in horses — a symptom rather than a diagnosis — so its causes range widely, but there are three main forms…
■ Gas colic, caused by a build up of gas in the intestine.
■ Spasmodic colic, which is characterised by painful contractions of the smooth muscle in the intestines, similar to indigestion in humans.
■ Impaction colic, which isablockage of the colon caused by food or growths.
What is common in all three types of colic is the need to act quickly to save the horse.
