Colic in a horse is a pretty scary thing to witness. The first time I saw a horse experiencing severe colic was when we had taken our horse to the vet for a different health issue. As the vet was treating our horse, this colicky mare was brought in. The owners tried to keep her up and walking until the vet could attend to her and boy did she look like she was hurting and miserable. I felt so bad for her. I later heard that her colic was due to impaction and that she made it through and was doing fine. I think that my heart skips a little beat whenever I go out to the pasture and see a horse enjoying a little nap in the sunshine, or scratching a back itch with a roll in the grass. Laying down and rolling can also be signs of colic along with pawing, restlessness and stretching. We have been very lucky (knock on wood) with our horses. We have experienced some unusual things, but so far, no serious bouts with colic.
Colic is a serious health issue and the leading cause of death in horses. That’s not too surprising considering the long, complex digestive system of the horse. The horses digestive system is divided into two parts: the foregut which consists of the stomach and small intestines, and the hindgut which consists of the cecum and colon (or large intestines). The foregut uses enzymes to break down food, while the hindgut uses microorganisms to break down food.
The stomach of a horse can hold about 2 to 3 gallons of food and liquid at one time. In relation to the body size of a horse, that is small. It makes sense as I watch my horses’ eating habits, they eat a little bit all day long! The stomach is where the food is mixed with water, acids and enzymes which help to break down the food and aide in digestion. Food only stays in the stomach a short time, 3 to 4 hours on average, and then moves into the small intestines which can be up to 70 feet long! Think of all the twists and turns that baby makes! The small intestines are where a good deal of the food’s nutrients are absorbed into the horses body. The food continues on it’s path to the hindgut where a fermenting process takes place. Good bugs, or microorganisms, further break down the complex carbohydrates into useful end products which generate energy, calories, vitamins and amino acids. These microbial are kind of food specific. That is why when you change feeds, it is important to introduce the new feed over a 7 to 14 day period, in order to give these living microorganisms a chance to adapt to the new stuff. The hindgut is approximately 28 feet in length, making the entire digestive tract of a horse almost 100 feet long if stretched out end to end. For comparison, a human’s digestive tract is about 30 feet long.
The mouth of a horse is kind of interesting. Their lips are quite tactile, perceptible to touch and as such, they use their lips to pick and choose what they want to eat and what seems tasty, and leave the rest behind. A female horse has 36 teeth and a male has 40. The incisors are what you see in the front of the horse’s mouth and they are used to grasp and tear food. Then there is an empty space called a bit bar, and then the cheek teeth, or premolars and molars. The cheek teeth are fitted tightly together and form a kind of chewing surface, perfect for the grinding motion a horse uses to eat their food. The upper jaw is wider than the lower jaw and unlike people who chew their food with an up and down motion, horses use a sweeping side to side and somewhat circular motion to masticate or chew their food. For that reason, it is more difficult for a horse to chew and digest things like corn and oats and sometimes even pellets and cubes, which require more of an up and down motion to break up . Horses by nature, were built to be grazers.
Colic is a general term for abdominal pain. Colic can be idiopathic, meaning it has no root cause, or it can be non-idiopathic, meaning that a specific cause can be determined. Colic can include gas buildup in the hindgut, impacted food in the hindgut, twisted or strangulated intestines, gastric rupture or parasites. Depending on the cause of the colic, it can often be treated with vet assistance, pharmaceuticals or surgery. Though, as Ben Franklin said, “an ounce prevention is worth a pound of cure”.
Some of the causes of colic are low quality hay, too much grain, not enough water, changes in feed or feeding management and changes in lifestyle and exercise. Any abrupt changes should be avoided. A horse’s diet in the wild consists of grasses, leaves, bark and water. They don’t have a lot of feed supplements and processed grains available in the wild. In captivity, with the different hay options available in various areas, it becomes necessary to supplement a horse’s feed with grains, pro-biotics and such in an effort to maintain overall general health and proper gut health. It’s important to do your homework, talk to local hay farmers to see what types of hay are available and local horse owners to see what works for them. The experience of others can be valuable!
Our horses each get a flake of hay, which is a grass/alfalfa mix, in the morning and at night. They are turned out to pasture after breakfast and return to their corral for dinner, giving the goats a chance to pasture. They always have plenty of fresh water available, both in their corral and in the pasture. The do get an occasional cut up carrot or apple, but they do not get a regular diet of processed sweet feeds, grains or treats. Understanding the eating process and digestive system of the horse has helped to make me a more competent horse owner, as I strive to make better choices in regards to the feeding of my animals. Knowledge is the key!
Resources…and good reading material:
http:// https://aaep.org/horsehealth/understanding-your-horses-teeth https://www.smartpakequine.com/content/horse-digestion
https://www.hygain.com.au/horses-digestive-system/
http://Www.Stall13.com
https://www.succeed-equine.com/education/gi-health-care/health-risks/colic-in-horses/