Colic in horses: symptoms and what to do for first aid, treatment methods

Colic is a complex of diseases of varying severity, manifested in the abdomen, caused by various factors. In horses, the pathological process is often observed, usually mild, manifested by short-term flatulence, but there are also serious cases that threaten the death of the animal. To combat colic in horses, veterinarians use medical and surgical remedies.

Why do horses get colic?

Colic is one of the most common equine pathologies. Painful stretching of the walls of the digestive tract is provoked by many factors.

Intussusception

The term refers to the introduction of a certain part of the intestinal tract into the neighboring one. The length of the abnormal area ranges from 5 cm to 1 m. Provocateurs of pathology are spoiled food, cold water, inflammatory and spastic processes, flatulence.

A common cause of the pathological condition is a parasitic lesion of the horse's intestinal tract. Colic is caused by various pathogens:

• helminth Anoplocephala perfoliate (anoplocephalidosis) - the most common pathogen;
• nematode Parascaris equorum (parascariasis) - the cause of blockage of the small intestine and ileum;
• larvae of gadflies of the genus Gastrophilus (gastrofilosis) - provocateurs of inflammation of the gastric walls;
• nematode of the Strongylidae family (strongyloidiasis) - disrupts blood circulation in the intestine, resulting in inflammatory reactions, degenerative changes and damage to the walls of the organ.

Sand colic

Rare in horses, but chronic. Such colic occurs in animals that love to eat the earth. Painful sensations occur when a horse swallows a large amount of sand. An effective remedy in this case is liquid paraffin, which acts as a cleanser in the intestines.

Intestinal volvulus

Colic associated with volvulus occurs with parasitic damage, sudden hypothermia, physical overstrain of the animal, improper diet.

Sometimes the causes of the pathology are sudden movements of the body, falls, tumor formations and other factors due to which the pressure in the horse's abdominal cavity changes.

Thromboembolic colic

The main provocateur of pathology is strongylidae nematodes. They capture large mesenteric vessels, provoking the formation of blood clots in them. Less often, such colic occurs as a result of physical overexertion, such as participating in horse races.

Internal blockage

Clog the intestines, causing colic, can be twisted into a ball of helminths, coprolites, stuck foreign objects.

Stagnation of the colon

Colic occurs when a horse is forced to eat roughage with a low nutrient content for a long time. Such food clogs the colon. Also, stagnation occurs in the intestines due to insufficient intake of fluid and juicy food, low physical activity. In older horses, colic occurs when chewing food poorly with bad teeth.

Stagnation of the small intestine

The main reason is coprostasis - the accumulation and hardening of feces in the small intestine. Colic occurs when a horse regularly eats rough dry food, suffers from vegetative-vascular dystonia, or feeds irregularly, without following the regime.

Bloating

Colic occurs due to excess accumulation of gases inside the intestines. This happens when a horse eats food that begins to ferment in the digestive tract.

Acute gastric dilatation

Colic occurs when a horse's stomach becomes distended due to gas or excess food.

Main symptoms

The main symptom of a pathological condition in horses is pain, which, depending on the severity of the problem, can be mild or intense, long-term or short-term. Pain is:

• spastic, caused by increased tone of smooth intestinal muscles;
• distensional, associated with stretching of the intestinal walls due to the pressure of accumulated gases;
• mesenteric, provoked by a change in blood circulation in the vessels of the digestive tract.

Colic in horses is accompanied by different symptoms depending on the cause and intensity of the pathological process:

1. Weak manifestation - the horse does not want to eat food, worries, bends the neck to look at the belly, touch it with his lips, tries to reach the belly with his hind limbs, digs the bedding in the stall with his hooves. Such a list of symptoms is typical for blockage of the intestine.
2. Moderate manifestation - the animal rushes around the stall in anxiety, rolls on the bedding upside down, tries to bite or kick its own stomach. There is an increase in temperature and profuse sweating. The symptoms are characteristic of intestinal and stomach volvulus.
3. Intense manifestation - the horse is depressed, lethargic, often breathing. Tachycardia is noted, the body of the animal is cold to the touch, covered with sticky sweat. Such symptoms are accompanied by colic at a late stage, when the walls of the organs of the digestive tract are torn, tissue necrosis begins.

Diagnostic Methods

First, the veterinarian collects an anamnesis, finds out the following information from the owners of the horse:

• how long does the animal have pain and other symptoms;
• how colic manifests itself (their intensity and frequency);
• appearance of feces;
• when the horse had his last bowel movement;
• food used;
• has there been a recent change in diet;
• were preventive veterinary measures taken (vaccination, antiparasitic treatment);
• does the horse have chronic pathologies;
• is the mare pregnant when she last gave birth.

After collecting an anamnesis, the veterinarian examines the animal. Usually, after this procedure, it is already possible to establish, if not accurate, then a preliminary diagnosis.For example, if a horse shifts from foot to foot, the veterinarian suspects intestinal volvulus. If the body of the animal is sticky with sweat, then there is a high probability of rupture of the gastric or intestinal wall. Horses are not given analgesics when they are diagnosed, otherwise the symptomatic picture will be blurred.

Next, the doctor listens to bowel sounds. To do this, selects the area of the body between the last rib and the sternum. If the intestines are he althy, then noise rolls are heard with a frequency of 2-3 minutes. There are no noises when the intestines are blocked. Probing is used to make an accurate diagnosis. The probe is slowly dipped into the stomach through the esophagus. Using a probe, a sample of the contents of the organ is taken for analysis on the composition and level of acidity.

The normal volume of gastric juice in a horse is 500 ml, with blockage of the stomach, the content of the liquid mass increases to several liters.

Rectal examination is carried out in order to identify the anatomical and physiological state of the abdominal organs.The procedure is carried out with extreme caution so that the intestines do not tear. For this reason, you can not do the procedure during severe bloating, as well as foals.

Pathological changes seen on rectal examination:

• exit of liquid feces - a sign of blockage of the cecum;
• dark feces - intestinal bleeding resulting from ulceration or rupture;
• outflow of mucous masses - weakening of intestinal peristalsis, slagging of the colon;
• excessive accumulation of gases in the thin section is a sign of intestinal obstruction;
• increase in the tone of ligament tissues, thickening of the intestinal walls - blockage of the blind area of the intestine;
• narrowing of the lumen of the small intestine is a sign of spasms;
• seal in the right area under the lower back - invagination of the iliac region in the blind.

If a rectal examination is not possible, then the ultrasound method is used. With its help, excessive accumulation of gases and liquid substances, changes in the walls of the digestive tract, blockage and intussusception of areas, volvulus are detected.

Also, in some cases, the following diagnostic methods are used:

• puncture to take the internal liquid contents from the abdominal cavity (the analysis reveals a rupture of the intestinal wall and infectious inflammation);
• laparoscopy;
• gastroscopy to detect inflammatory processes in different parts of the digestive tract;
• radiography.

Treatment rules

The horse is treated, taking into account the nature and course of a particular disease, with a therapeutic or surgical method.

Therapeutic

Therapeutic methods (medicines, injections) are used for:

• excess gas formation;
• stomach fullness;
• ulceration of the gastric walls;
• inflammatory process;
• obstructive bowel obstruction (blockage with helminths, foreign bodies).

First aid involves pain relief with analgesics and antispasmodics, intravenous administration of serum from toxins, glucocorticoids, electrolytes. The contents of the stomach are removed with a tube.

After an accurate diagnosis, a specific treatment is applied:

• laxatives and enemas for intestinal slagging;
• antibiotics for infectious inflammation;
• anthelmintics for parasitic lesions;
• cholinesterase inhibitors and peristalsis stimulants (Cerucal, Neostigmine) for spasms.

When twisting the intestinal loops, it is absolutely impossible to use the above remedies, otherwise the walls may break.

Surgical

A horse has to be operated on if:

• colic does not go away after the introduction of analgesics;
• diagnosis confirmed obstruction, edema, swelling or intussusception;
• small intestine is palpable, which should not be normal;
• analysis of the gastric fluid removed by the probe showed an alkaline environment;
• puncture revealed an opaque bloody substance in the abdominal cavity.

Whether the outcome of surgery will be successful depends on the timely detection of symptoms. So, with strangulation intestinal obstruction, accompanied by pinching of the mesentery, the necrotic process begins after 2-3 hours.

Horse surgery is performed mainly by medial laparotomy with the introduction of saline into the abdominal cavity to prevent rupture of the intestinal walls. After the operation, the horse is kept in the stall under round-the-clock supervision, it is regularly injected with electrolytes, temperature and heart rate are measured, and antibiotics are prescribed.

Preventive measures

Horse colic can be prevented by following the guidelines below:

1. Purchase quality food without traces of fungal and bacterial infection.
2. Do not feed hot or cold food to the animal. The same goes for drinking. Food should be at room temperature.
3. Eat 60% rough, 25% concentrated, 15% succulent.
4. Make sure your horse has access to clean drinking water at all times.
5. Do not feed the animal after exercise. Rest time before eating should be at least 30 minutes.
6. Do not keep a horse inactive for more than 12 hours.
7. Use sedatives if the horse is going to be stressed, such as a long journey.
8. Regularly carry out preventive anthelmintic measures.

The above recommendations should be followed without fail, since colic in horses is a frequent and often serious phenomenon. Competent care and proper nutrition are the keys to the he alth of the animal.

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