Impaction colic

These intestinal blockages are more common in the coldest months, but you can take steps to reduce your horse’s risk.

These intestinal blockages are more common in the coldest months, but you can take steps to reduce your horse’s risk.

Winter is a fairly quiet time around many barns, especially in northern climates. The bustle of show season is past, and many riding and training schedules are less demanding. At the same time, equine diets tend to shift toward more hay, and making sure drinking water remains free of ice is a daily chore.

But all of these circumstances--frigid weather, icy water, reduced activity, a lack of pasture grazing ---come together to create a perfect storm that puts horses at a higher risk for one serious health problem: impaction colic.

Impaction colic occurs when a mass of some sort gets lodged in the intestinal tract and blocks the flow of ingesta. The mass can include foreign materials the horse has ingested, or it can be a concentration of dry, inadequately chewed or overly fibrous foods. Slowing of the movement of food through the gut can also contribute to blockages. Impaction colics most commonly occur at the pelvic flexure, where the large intestine narrows and makes a 180degree turn within the abdomen, but blockages can also occur in the cecum,

the small intestine and other parts of the gastrointestinal tract.

Like any other abdominal pain, impaction colic can produce a variety of signs, including sweating, pawing, rolling, loss of appetite and elevated heart rate. Lack of manure is a common indication of colic, but some horses with impactions pass small amounts of unusually dry waste.

Any signs of digestive upset warrant a call to the veterinarian. No matter the cause, the chances of a good outcome are much better when colic is addressed as early as possible. If an examination suggests that a horse has a simple impaction, the veterinarian will start treatment right away. This will likely include administering fluid via a nasogastric tube to loosen the blockage and allow your horse to pass manure normally. Banamine, a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug often used to treat colic pain, may also be administered. On the other hand, if an impaction seems to be severe or persists despite treatment, then intravenous fluids, a temporary move to a warmer environment or surgery may be required.

Most horses with impaction colic recover with treatment on the farm. Nonetheless, of course, it’s better to prevent the problem entirely. And, although impactions can occur at any time of year, you’ll want to be especially vigilant during the winter.

PREVENTIVE MEASURES

• Encourage your horse to drink lots of water. A horse needs to drink eight to 12 gallons of water a day to remain healthy. Good hydration is important year-round, but it is especially a concern when temperatures are cold enough

for a horse’s water to ice over. When it’s freezing out, you’ll want to visit your horse’s buckets or troughs at least twice a day to break and completely remove ice. Several types of heater are available to help keep the water at an optimal temperature---but you’ll still need to check buckets and troughs frequently to make sure the heaters are working properly. As you make your rounds, stick your ungloved fingers into each water bucket and trough to check the temperature. If you feel a tingling sensation, look for a short. The electricity running through the water may deter your horse from drinking.

Studies have shown that horses prefer to drink warmer water in cold weather. Consider keeping an electric teakettle at the barn so you can add hot water to your horse’s cold bucket, bringing it up to a more palatable temperature. Another way to encourage more drinking is to offer a bucket with dissolved electrolytes alongside a bucket of plain water. Hot mashes are also a time-honored way of getting more water into a horse during the winter months. You’ll find a number of recipes, but the simplest and safest approach is to make a warm slurry with your horse’s regular feed ration and serve it right away.

If you’re worried that your horse may be getting dehydrated, try a skin-pinch test: Grab a fold of skin on the point of his shoulder, pull it away from your horse and release it. If it takes longer than one or two seconds for the skin to return to normal, he may be getting dehydrated. A delay of six to 10 seconds warrants a call to the veterinarian.

• Feed plenty of quality forage. A steady diet of hay is good for a horse’s health for many reasons. Not only does it help keep his digestion running smoothly, burning forage for fuel in his gut helps to keep him warm in cold weather.

Make sure you’re feeding goodquality hay. If yours is too coarse and stemmy, your horse may have difficulty chewing and digesting it. Steaming hay may make it more digestible but if all of your remaining bales are of poorer quality, consider ordering a new shipment, switching to a complete feed or supplementing with hay cubes for the remainder of the winter.

If your horse tears through his hay ration then spends hours standing around bored, he might benefit from a slow feeder. These devices limit the amount of hay a horse can pull out in one bite. Not only will he be forced to spend more time eating, he will likely spend more time chewing the smaller bites he takes, and he won’t be able to swallow large mouthfuls of dry hay at once.

• Schedule regular dental exams. A horse whose teeth are not adequately grinding his feed will be swallowing larger particles than he can adequately digest. You may notice him “quidding” ---dropping partially chewed food from his mouth as he eats---and you’ll see larger pieces of hay in his manure.

During a dental exam your veterinarian may “float” your horse’s teeth ---rasping them to remove any sharp edges, points or other abnormalities that may interfere with normal chewing. He’ll also look for other signs of trouble. Scheduling exams once a year is adequate for the average adult horse who has always had a healthy mouth, but six-month intervals might be more appropriate for aging horses or those who’ve had troubles in the past.

• Provide exercise. A 2011 study from England showed that horses who spend most of their time in stalls have

If your horse tears through his hay ration then spends hours standing around bored, he might benefit from a slow feeder.