Colicky Foals: Diagnostics and Decision-Making

Foals’ size and fragility present veterinarians with unique diagnostic and treatment challenges in the face of colic.
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Colicky Foals: Diagnostics and Decision-Making
Foals' size and fragility present veterinarians with unique diagnostic and treatment challenges in the face of colic. | Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt/The Horse
Foals’ size and fragility present unique diagnostic and treatment challenges in the face of colic. Clinical signs and diagnostic techniques might differ from those of the typical colic case.

At the American Association of Equine Practitioners’ Focus on Colic, held July 16-18, 2017, in Lexington, Kentucky, Samuel Hurcombe, BSc, BVMS (Hons), MS, Dipl. ACVIM, ACVECC, reviewed with attendees how to address these young patients.

The No. 1 cause of colic in neonates is meconium (the foal’s first manure) impaction, he said. Other types of colic veterinarians commonly report in foals include hernias, enteritis/colitis, uroabdomen (urine in the abdomen), gastric ulcerative disease, small intestine volvulus (twist), intestinal adhesions, and congenital abnormalities. Less commonly do they see large colon disease such as displacements or volvulus, he said

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Alexandra Beckstett, a native of Houston, Texas, is a lifelong horse owner who has shown successfully on the national hunter/jumper circuit and dabbled in hunter breeding. After graduating from Duke University, she joined Blood-Horse Publications as assistant editor of its book division, Eclipse Press, before joining The Horse. She was the managing editor of The Horse for nearly 14 years and is now editorial director of EquiManagement and My New Horse, sister publications of The Horse.

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