Understanding winter colic

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You are here: Home / Articles / Horse care

Ruth Bishop

4 January, 2005

The arrival of winter is associated with an increase in the number of colic cases seen by vets. This can be due to owners offering extra hard feed in response to the drop in grass quality, rather than supplementing the diet with extra hay.

In one study it was estimated that at least 50% of colic cases were related to diet management. Another study linked an increased risk of colic to moving away from a natural feeding pattern.

Non-feed causes of colic include parasite activity, which contributes to lowered gut motility and an increased risk of an impaction. Likewise, poor teeth care can be a contributing factor, although a dental check-up is part of most horses' annual routine.

In older horses, colic due to a strangulating lipoma is not uncommon — these fatty tumours in effect wrap themselves around the gut. Stress-prone horses can also be susceptible, for instance, on long journeys or after a particularly intense exercise bout.

Feed-related colic is often difficult to dissociate from changes in management. Research estimated that more than 40% of colic cases were related to management changes. The most likely management cause of the condition is a sudden change in diet. This can be due to increasing the hard feed, either in preparation for increased exercise, or if the horse has suddenly lost weight.

Alternatively, the change may be unseen, when the quality of forage changes. Feeding excess cereal or excessive intake of rich grass will affect the hindgut balance and increase the risk of colic.

Conversely, in horses turned out on sparse or wet pasture, sand colic can be at risk, especially on land that has been overgrazed or poached, where there might be significant intake of soil as the horse forages.

Horses that eat their bedding are at increased risk of colic, as are poor drinkers or those who don't drink as a result of a change in the water. This might occur when travelling or through poor stable hygiene.

Reducing the risk

Water: a clean supply should always be available
Keep your worming program up to date and pick up droppings from the field at least every two days
Change to another kind of bedding if the horse eats too much straw
Maintain fibre intake, if not through forage then via hard feed
Watch out for sudden starts or stops in grass growth
Make other dietary changes gradually over a period of 2-3 weeks
Always increase the horse's work rate before stepping up the feed
Feed as frequently as possible and in a routine
Move away from starch-based to fibre- and oil-based compounds to supplement
forage
Use opened haylage bales within four days of opening, or less when the weather
is warm