In decades past, colic treatment was actually a misnomer. “Treatment” consisted of waiting out the colic while offering sedative-like drugs to dampen a horse’s misery. Either his body healed of its own accord, or he succumbed to death from overwhelming pain and shock. Veterinarians were reluctant to euthanize a horse with colic because one could never tell if he was going to make it or not. A serious colic crisis of an intestinal twist or unyielding impaction was a death sentence in those times.

While colic still remains a major killer of horses, today a surge in sophistication of medical, surgical, and anesthetic techniques gives horses a greater chance to survive colic than ever before. Facilities for equine abdominal surgery exist at university veterinary teaching hospitals and in many private clinics throughout the country.

In managing a colic crisis today, whether in the field or at a clinic, a veterinarian has a wealth of expertise from which educated decisions can be made. Although a specific diagnosis is only achieved in about one-quarter of all colic cases, information obtained from a thorough physical exam and diagnostic procedures can hasten a decision to apply aggressive medical intervention or to send a surgical candidate to the operating table. For horses requiring surgery, survival rates are directly related to the severity of the problem and the time span between the onset of colic and surgical correction.

To arrive at a timely diagnosis and medical management, a coordinated team effort must be rallied between an owner and a veterinarian, with a surgical staff on standby if needed