I know Legs is feeling colicky when she curls her lip up repeatedly. Never fails, that’s her sign. Oh sure, she’ll swish her tail, maybe kick at the belly, but she might just be going after a fly…once she curls that lip, I’m on it. Sometimes I can stave off a full-blown attack with a shot of Banamine, some electrolytes to help encourage her to drink (fresh water is a  [ Read More ]

  Two weeks before Christmas, on December 9th, I received a call from my (at the time) barn owner. They had said my newly-adopted 6 year old Appendix QH mare, SoCo hadn’t eaten her dinner or breakfast and was acting funny. My mom and I jumped in the truck, Banamine in hand, and rushed to the barn. Twenty agonizing minutes later I arrived to find my mare in the pasture,  [ Read More ]

Beau was 19 when he had to undergo a five and a half hour colic surgery for an impacted large intestine and bypass of the cecum. The vets gave him a 50% chance for survival, so we were scared and anxious waiting for the vets to finish. Beau didn’t have a history of colic, this episode was out of the blue, making the experience even more nerve wracking. Surgery went  [ Read More ]

Author: Caroline McCormick Last week was the one year anniversary of our nightmare with colic. Patience had been having episodes since she was three months old, and they always seemed sudden and for no apparent reason. On June 12, 2011, two hours after being fed, I noticed Patience showing classic signs of colic; pawing, kicking at her belly, and in her case, loose bowel movements and lots of bowel sounds.  [ Read More ]

Author: Debra Nicol Bobby colicked 4 years ago. Unfortunately, his colic was so severe that he needed emergency surgery and had 2 meters of his small intestine removed. It was very touch and go with him, and at the time I was pregnant with my daughter. I found myself seven months pregnant, lying in the mud, waiting for the vet to arrive, willing Bobby to survive. We’ve been through so  [ Read More ]

Author: Vicki Winwood Pea seems to colic on a frequent basis and it causes me a lot of grief! Just last week she had compaction colic because of the cold weather we’ve been having. Since she was cold, she wasn’t drinking enough water. When you combine that with dry grass and limited feed value and a chaff mix that I was feeding her to supplement her diet, you’ve got a  [ Read More ]

by Jenn from Green Slobber on My Shirt. Thanks Jenn for allowing us to re-post your story, thoughts and questions here! Be sure to stop by the Green Slobber on my Shirt blog and follow Jenn’s adventures with her thoroughbred Gabe. Sometimes it seems that no matter what precautions you take, how hard you work to keep your horses’ living space as safe as possible or the efforts you make  [ Read More ]

Author: Elizabeth Glover On the 19th of February (Yes I can remember the exact date even now), my poor horse Toddy, who was 11 at the time, began to colic. Thankfully Toddy was living at home so we were able to notice signs very early and got the vet out on that Friday evening. The vet said it was only minor, but if no improvements were shown by 6am the  [ Read More ]

Author: Lisa Spurrier At the age of two, my Tennessee Walking Horse, Shock, colicked. I couldn’t believe my eyes as I went into the barn for lights out and found him down and up against the side of the stall in a very unnatural position. I thought he was dead. I screamed his name and threw open the door. He got up, but I could tell he was in trouble.  [ Read More ]

Author: Jill Collins Rusty’s story goes back three years when he was 18 years old. Having always been a healthy horse with what I would consider a ‘strong belly’, Rusty had never exhibited any clinical signs of colic in all the years I had owned him to that point. One day, I got a call from the barn and was told Rusty looked uncomfortable and was not interested in eating.  [ Read More ]