First Aid for Colic in Horses
  by Robert N. Oglesby DVM

While your horse is colicky, try to have him walked while work through this assessment / treatment / referral paradigm.

Colic is the term used for those symptoms seen when a horse experiences pain from the abdomen (belly). Colic is not a diagnosis, it is a set of symptoms seen in a number of diseases. Many of these diseases are mild and transient but some are life threatening and without early diagnosis and proper therapy will end in death.

So should every colic be seen by a vet? This depends on many factors but often colics in well managed horses are mild transient events that do not have a obvious cause, even following a thorough exam. Simple symptomatic treatment will cure such problems but here are some important points you should consider before attempting to treat a colic without professional help:

• If there is a disease that compromises the integrity of the bowel wall, early referral for surgery greatly improves the horses chance of recovery.
• The lack of a thorough physical by a experienced examiner makes the outcome a little less certain as some problems might be missed.
• Such an exam may yield a diagnosis that results in better management to reduce the incidence of colic in the future.
• The quickest way to relieve the pain of a medical colic is often a dose of Banamine.

This article describes the key diagnostic signs for colic, grading their severity, and a step by step approach to deciding when to call the veterinarian, what to do until the vet arrives and first aid for colic for horses and equines.

You have just read the introduction to one of our nearly 800 articles on horse care, diseases, and training. It includes a description of the contents of the unabridged version. As a guest you can access this article two different ways: either purchase the article or become a member and take advantage of all the benefits Horseadvice.com has to offer. Check out our Membership Drive Discount below but hurry. This is for a limited time!