If you have a horse that is colicky right now see, Colic First Aid.

Here is the scenario: You have just come in to feed your horse, Trigger, but he looks a little quiet, maybe not, but he plays around in his tub and decides he is not interested in what is usually the focus of his life, his feed. Or perhaps he seems a bit agitated, walking the stall, looking at his sides, or pawing the ground but still no interest in food. Some horses seem to get relief by parking out like a Saddlebred or like some horses do when urinating. If the pain is worse, he may lay down and roll gently onto his side and then back up again. If the pain is very bad, he will roll and kick violently... These are all signs of colic.

Colic is not a disease but a symptom of a number of different diseases all which cause abdominal (belly) pain. Colic is one of the most common symptoms of disease seen in horses and can vary from a mild self-limiting problem to a severe life threatening disease that requires surgery to correct. It is important to note that early in the course of the disease it can be difficult to differentiate the two. With the advent of better deworming products and improved knowledge of nutrition most colics now-a-days are the milder medical type. But there are still a significant number of colics that require surgery to correct. This article deals with the differential diagnosis of colic and an overview of treatments available. Links are then provided to more specific colic causing diseases and their treatment.

Large studies in the late 1990's done in the US indicate:

• Around 4% of horses experience colic every year.
• Mortality rates are around 11%.
• Surgery was performed on about 1%.
• Estimated costs of colic in horses every year is $115,000,000 in the United States every year.