How do you tell if a horse has colic?

Answer 1

Call your veterinarian to notify him/her of the problem and request an emergency call for assistance. Get a halter and lead rope or lunge line on your horse and start walking - you want to keep your horse moving for two reasons. First, you want to keep your horse from rolling, which can turn a simple impaction colic into a life-threatening strangulation colic. Second, walking helps to gently massage the intestines and may help to relieve the colic.

Answer 2

Call the vet. If your horse has colic, the miniute you find out you better get on the phone. Ways to prevent colic are:

Don't let your horse eat bad hay, rotten apples ect. They cannot vomit, so this can give them colic.

Dont let your horse lay down in his or her saddle. This can also cause colic. If they wont get up, take off the saddle, but dont bother with the girth, it could hurt them to pull it out from under them. Try to bribe them with a carrot, or apple, or peppermint. If they still wont get up, call the vet or ask someone more exspirianced to see if they are colicing. They might be lazy. It happens.

Its actually not very likely a horse will get colic while riding.

Usually they get it while out in pature

The signs of colic are

groaning

the horse does not want to stand

and is rolling

It is imparitive you get them on their feet and walk them

the rolling can cause them to injure thamselves internally

so its best to try and help them even if they don't want to cooperate

tempt them with a treat but do not let them eat it. have someone call your vet immediately

colic is a painful stomach ache caused by an overproduction of gas and the horse is having trouble expelling it by walking them you may get them to pass some of it out of their systems

the tratments vets usually administer is sticking a slicked tube down their throat so the pressure on the stomach walls is relieved

once your horse is treated give them about 2 weeks rest before riding and keep a close eye on t hem because it is possible they may have a relapse though not very common

Answer 3

symptoms of serious colic:

groaning

rolling

shallow breath

sweating

swelling of the abdomen

mild colic:

lethargy

loss of appetite

fewer droppings

stomach ache

common visual signs:

• lying down more than usual

• getting up and lying down repeatedly

• standing stretched out

• standing frequently as if to urinate

• turning the head towards the flank

• repeatedly curling the upper lip

• pawing at the ground

• kicking at the abdomen area

• excessive rolling

  stretching

  Physical signs of colic your horse may show:

  Horses with colic have a faster heart rate and higher body temperature than normal.

  The horse will sweat, become restless, paw the ground, try to roll, get up and down several times, bite at its sides, kick at its belly, show a change in its manure, or fail to defecate.

  The pain may be caused by several intestinal problems such as ...

  • impacted or plugged intestine

  • sand in the cecum

  • increased activity of the intestine

  • inflammation of the intestinal membrane lining

  • blockage of blood supply to the intestine

  • or a stretched digestive tract due to gas or undigested feed.

Answer 4

Call a veterinarian. Impaction colic is serious and needs to be treated by a professional. As you wait for the vet to arrive take all food and water out of the stall and keep the horse calm and quiet. If they try to lay down and roll you can walk them on a lead until the vet arrives.

Answer 5

There are many different types of Colic. An easy way to relate is a stomach bug, however, horses cannot simply throw up whatever is bothering them, they just feel the pain.

A typical case of colic is sand colic. The horse will be off its food, very quiet, and hang its head very low. He/She will have no gut sounds. As it gets worse, the horse will start to roll and kick its stomach. This is dangerous, as a horses body can twist and get stuck. This is the biggest way of death. Or, no one finds the horse, and the stomach will just get worse and worse. The best thing to do is get someone to run to call the vet, while (preferably the owner or the person the horse most trusts) halters the horse and gets him to stand. The most important thing with a colicky horse, is to keep them moving! Tug on the halter and maybe push on their side to get them up. In very severe cases, it might take two people to push the horse up onto its feet. Once he/she is up, its important they don't go down again. Keep walking even for hours. Often when a vet comes they will drench the horse. Drenching is a tube that goes down their nasal tube and into the stomach. It doesn't hurt, but it will clean all the sand out of their tummy. They will often poo a lot afterwards. That is a great sign. Listen for gut sounds and feed hay or chaff.

Their are other types of colic, like gas colic for instance. But with all the different types, its still most important to keep them moving. Gas colic can be harder to get rid of however, and it is important to keep on top of it!

To prevent it, you can feed them many different things. Molassas can help, especially Sweet Bulk (buy it at stockfeeds). You can try sunflower seeds or oil, which will also make their coats shiny! :) I wish you the best of luck with a colicky horse, as it is scary and draining, but stick by your four legged friend :)

Answer 6

If it is really bad then you have to call the vet, but just try to keep them up and have them walk a bit

Answer 7

it will lay down and wont want to get up.... i dont know what eles so if you think it might be ask the vet what to look for

Answer 8

Since horses cannot throw up, the horse must be taken to medical care, and quick, or else the colic can be deadly (terminal).

Answer 9

If you mean on Howrse, you need to use the antispasmodic medicine to cure it.