31/07/2026
Sharing this due to the huge number of colic cases we have taken over to Leahurst in the last few weeks, all but one needed surgery.
*** āCLASSICā COLIC SIGNS ***
Unfortunately many, many cases of colic are missed by horse owners at the very early stages. I received a lovely message from a follower last week to let me know that my colic advice posts had saved her horseās life; her horse refused to eat a carrot, and she instantly called the vet. The horse ended up in a referral hospital but is now home.
The most āclassicā sign of a horse with colic is a deceased or reduced appetite. Itās not rolling. The worst cases of colic I deal with, often requiring immediate euthanasia, are quiet horses, showing no interest in food. Obviously itās about knowing your horse, so before anyone āadvisesā me (šš) that not every horse that doesnāt want to eat has colic, yes, I am fully aware that horses can be fussy. If your horse always leaves half of his hard feed, then obviously youāre not going to call your vet out every day (Iām just covering all possible advice comments here!).
The best test to see if a lack of appetite could be colic, is to offer your horse his favourite treat. Some will still take it, and either eat it very slowly, or drop it. Again, you know your horse, and if they normally adore a carrot, and they suddenly wonāt eat one, that may well be very early colic.
Lip curling - this can often be the only sign of colic, so if you see your horse standing quietly and lip curling, offer them a carrot/treat as above.
Standing very quietly - if you havenāt seen your horse for a few hours and arrive to find him standing very quietly, always walk up to him and check all is ok. Some of the very worst colic cases I see are quiet horses.
Poo - just because your horse has passed droppings absolutely doesnāt mean he doesnāt have colic. In fact, passing frequent droppings in anything other than a resolving impaction colic, isnāt a good sign at all.
Getting up and down but not rolling - an absolutely classic sign of colic. Again, Iāve heard owners say that their horse was āonly getting up and down, and not rolling, so isnāt showing colic signsāā¦.No! That horse is showing absolutely classic colic signs, so thatās an immediate vet call!
Donāt mess around with colic. Even a colic treated within a few minutes of a horse showing any of the above signs, can be fatal.
And just a reminder that you should never force a horse with colic to walk, let alone lunge. Iāll do a future post on that!
Feel free to share the post, but not to copy my words and post as your own.
Mabel displaying very obvious colic signs back in March.
