COLIC
Can you prevent colic?
The moon is new, good for you. 
The moon is bright, colic tonight! 
Old wives' tale 
As seen in "The Horse" magazine, April 1995 
By Rahel M. Klopheke with Dr. Noah Cohen
Colic. The very word makes you shudder. It seems to happen at any time and place and to any horse. As common as colic is, it remains misconstrued and lacks singular explanation. Thousands of dollars have been invested in colic studies, yet it still can affect even the healthiest horses.
Taber's Medical Dictionary defines colic as a spasm of any soft or hollow organ, such as the abdomen, that is accompanied by pain (F.A. Davis Co. I989). The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) classifies colic in horses into three groups: intestinal dysfunction's; intestinal accidents; and enteritis or ulceration's (see information box above).
Colic appears to be preceded by many complicated factors and is a major cause of disease and death. Your hands are tied as you watch colic spontaneously attack the horses you have so diligently tried to keep healthy.
But are you truly helpless? Can you do something to prevent colic from affecting your horses?
According to a colic study by Dr. Noah Cohen from Texas A & M University, there are preventive measures you can take to avoid the occurrence of colic. This unique study went beyond the laboratory and into private practices throughout Texas to determine whether management factors influence the onset of colic.
"Studies at veterinary hospitals represent only a small, selected subset of the general equine population," Dr. Cohen comments. "We conducted a study to investigate the cases of equine colic treated of actual, practicing veterinarians."
Researchers wanted to identify factors related to medical history, husbandry and health management that might induce the chance of colic in a horse. They evaluated a variety of situations, including logistics of farm environment, stabling conditions, feed management, health and dental care, and recent transport or change in diet and activity. Eighty-two veterinarians provided data from 821 horses with colic for specific management factors for a 15-month period.
The participating veterinarians were asked to record various data from colic cases. Colic was defined as a horse giving signs of intra-abdominal pain. They were then asked to record the same data for a non-colic case (such as a laceration or lameness treatment) that immediately followed the call to the colic case. The latter data were used as "controls" to the colic results to obviate any seasonal bias in choosing the comparison population.
The results are unequivocal. Horses with a history of colic are six times more likely to develop colic again. Horses with previous abdominal surgery are five times more likely to develop colic. However, these antecedents are nonalterable risk factors.
Three management factors are found to influence colic onset. Change in diet seems to significantly increase the illness. Horses that had a change in stabling conditions two weeks prior to the time of examination also have a higher probability of colicking. In addition, a change in activity tends to induce the chance of colic onset.
"A recent change in diet is the most important management factor that predisposes horses to developing colic," Dr. Cohen notes.
"In fact, having a recent change in diet appears to double the risk of colic. However, because the study was so extensive, we were unable to examine detailed dietary practices that predispose horses to colic," he says. "We are seeking funding for these studies that will provide specific, practical suggestions for horse owners."
So if you avoid changing your horse's feed, you'll never have a colicky horse-right? No.
Though not found to be associated with colic, sound management factors such as deworming, dentistry and vaccination are practices that should always be integrated by every horse owner.
"We believe that preventive medicine is essential for decreasing the burden of disease in horses," Dr. Cohen adds. "Good, consistent management has important health and economic consequences."
CLASSIFYING COLIC
There are a myriad of causes, but most colics fall under these three groups:
· Intestinal dysfunction-This is the most common category and simply means the horse's bowels are not working properly. It includes such conditions as gas distention, impaction, spasms and paralysis.
· Intestinal accident-These occur less frequently and include displacements, torsion's and hernias, whereby sections of the intestine become trapped or pinched in body cavities. These almost always require emergency surgery.
· Enteritis or ulceration-These are colics related to inflammations, infections and lesions within the digestive tract. They can be caused by numerous factors, including stress, disease, salmonellosis and parasites.
Dr. Noah Cohen is an assistant professor of equine medicine and Texas A & M University's College of Veterinary Medicine. He earned his VMD from the University of Pennsylvania and MPH and Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Cohen spent two years in private equine practice in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is certified by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in the discipline of large animal medicine. - Article courtesy of AAEP.
HORSES PREFER HOT WATER
When it is cold, do you like a cup of hot coffee, tea or chocolate? Well, your horse may appreciate hot water to drink also.It is reported that horses drink less water when it is cold, especially as the water temperature approaches freezing. There has not been research to confirm or disprove this until recently.
The University of Pennsylvania studied the effects of providing hot tap water or near-freezing ambient (cold) drinking water to ponies in cold weather. Their study indicates that ponies definitely preferred drinking heated or hot tap water compared to cold water. Ponies drank 41 percent more heated than cold water. When offered hot or cold tap water, ponies drank 38 percent more hot tap water. In the two trials, ponies consumed 40 percent more hot or heated water than when it was near freezing. Cold water was about 34 degrees F, while hot tap water was 115 to 120 degrees F.
Most drinks (70 percent) were within three hours after feeding and watering. It can be assumed that the number of drinks correlated highly with amount of water drank. So, 70 percent of water consumption occurs within three hours after feeding and watering. Hot water cooled to approximately 70 ° F three hours after the ponies were watered. The researchers reported that providing hot tap water twice daily was more convenient than using an electrical heater in a water bucket, which required an electrical connection.
Freezing weather may not normally last long in your area. But, when it occurs, you need to consider providing your horse hot water from the tap rather than cold tap water. This will encourage them to drink more water during freezing periods. It has been stated that decreased water consumption, along with eating coarser hay, results in more cases of impaction colic in cold weather. Since horses will drink more hot water, this management practice should reduce the incidents of wintertime impaction colic.
Horses should not be without water even in cold weather. So, check water buckets three hours after the last watering to insure your horses have water. Water remaining in the bucket will probably be near freezing. So, it is important to empty and refill water buckets at least twice daily. If your barn or stable has only cold water, you may have to carry hot tap water to the barn. This will probably only be for a few days a year.
If this sounds like a lot of trouble, remember that providing hot water should reduce the risk of impaction colic, and an avoidance of a veterinary bill. If you live in an area with cold winters, consider getting hot water in your barn.
by: Dr. Frederick Harper, Extension Horse Specialist, University of Tennessee