Colic Case Studies

Maddie Buxton
22 March 2018
Comp 2 4th Hour
Exemplification
Colic Out of nine hundred and twenty thousand cases of colic each year, sixty four thousand horses will die from colic related problems. Colic is a common disorder of the equine digestive system. The word colic means “abdominal pain”. In horses, it is used to describe severe abdominal pain which usually includes pawing, rolling and sometimes inability to defecate. There are different types of colic. These types vary on the cause of condition. There are also different amounts of severity. Often times many horses will have minor abdominal pain that will resolve with one round of medication, but in severe cases surgery is required and is extremely severe conditions death may occur. For these few reasons colic should be treated as an emergency if a case occurs. If a horse appears to be colicing, contact a vet immediately. There are many different ways to treat colic, but this illness can vary from horse to horse so the treatment options are all different on a case-by-case basis.

Some of these symptoms are; anxiety or depression, pawing at the ground, looking at the flank, rolling or wanting to lie down, lack of appetite, abnormally high pulse, or frequent attempts to urinate. One type of colic is spasmodic colic otherwise known as gas colic. Symptoms include; sweating, sporadic gut pain, loud gut sounds, overly restless and anxious, and frequent attempts to roll. The second type of colic is impaction colic. These symptoms are more severe. No fecal production, chronic pain in abdomen, dark mucous membranes, reluctant to eat, extended periods of lying down, impacted colon, and drop in temperature are symptoms of this type of