H.O.P.E.

A horse may exhibit any of the following symptoms. It is important to recognize the difference between a symptom of colic, and natural horse behavior. For example, horses enjoy rolling around - it is a natural behavior for them. It is imperative that you can tell the difference between when a horse is rolling because they are in pain, or when they are rolling to simply scratch their back.

A list of symptoms generally associated with colic

1. The horse is reluctant (anorexia) or refuses to eat;


2. The horse may look at their sides, or turn and nip at their sides;


3. The horse may kick at their abdomen with their back legs, paw with their forelegs, or stomp their feet;


4. The horse appears to be stretching out abnormally when defecating or is straining to pass a bowel movement;


5. The horse lies down and begins rolling and thrashing violently and does not shake after;


6. The horse is excessively sweaty after light exercise;


7. The horse shows excessive lip curling (Flehmen response);


8. The horse has cool extremities (e.g lips might feel cool to the touch on inside of the mouth);


9. Lack of bowel movements, as evidenced by the small number of manure piles (however, bowel movement is evident in some more severe cases);


10. Along with these other symptoms the horse’s pulse (greater than 52 beats per minute) and respiratory rate may increase

(NOTE: the horse’s temperature usually shouldn’t increase with colic. If a horse is experiencing abdominal pain and also has a fever, seek a veterinarian’s help immediately, as this is often an indication of an infection and may also be an indication of peritonitis).