Could Horse Breed Predict Colic Risk?

Researchers have determined that that some gastrointestinal lesions are more common in certain types of horses.
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Could Horse Breed Predict Colic Risk?
Some gastrointestinal lesions are more common in certain types of horses. | Photo: iStock
A horse is a horse (of course, of course), except when it comes to their risk of different colic types, researchers have learned.

“Clinical impression suggests that some gastrointestinal lesions are more common in certain types of horses,” said Bettina Dunkel, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, ECEIM, ACVECC, FHEA, MRCVS, a lecturer in equine medicine at the Royal Veterinary College, in the United Kingdom.

Recently, she and colleagues undertook a research project to explore the connection between breed and gastrointestinal lesions. They reviewed the medical records of 575 horses diagnosed with a variety of gastrointestinal lesions. Horses included in the study were classified as Miniature-type (standing less than 11 hands), pony (taller than 11 hands, but shorter than 14.2 hands), Arabian, light-breed (largely Thoroughbreds and Warmbloods), or draft-type.

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Katie Navarra has worked as a freelance writer since 2001. A lifelong horse lover, she owns and enjoys competing a dun Quarter Horse mare.

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