What five-letter word causes horsemen the most distress? The mention of this word can turn a normal day into a nightmare. It can change a qualified veterinarian in to a bewildered practitioner, a calm horse into an animal thrashing around in uncontrollable pain.

The word is “colic” and it conjures up an all-too-familiar image. The symptoms have been etched into the minds of horsemen throughout history along with the warning, “Be on the lookout for horses to colic.”

Sometime around 395 B.C., the renowned Athenian Xenophon pointed out in his treatise, “The Art of Horsemanship,” that it is imperative to keep a close eye on horses. He said that their feeding habits must be watched over closely so that any change leading to colic might be detected. Xenophon firmly believed that if you were going to increase the odds of successfully treating colic, you must catch it early.

“All distempers in the early stage are more easily cured than when they have become chronic and have been wrongly treated,” he wrote.

More than 2000 years later, this is still the best advice. Colonel Floyd Sager, one of the country's most prominent equine veterinarians for over 60 years, believed hat colic should be suspected whenever a horse shows the slightest sign of “being off.”

These two men, separated by thousands of years, express the opinion of horsemen everywhere. Learn to recognize the early signs of colic. Treat the horse immediately!

Experience teaches all horse owners to take a closer look when someone remarks, “that horse is a little off,” “He just doesn’t look right,” or “He is not acting right.” When this happens, questions begin to fly: Did the horse eat normally at his last feeding? Did he clean up? When did the horse last drink? Does anyone know the last time the horse defecated? Was the manure normal, or was it dry, hard or wet? Does the horse have an increased heart rate? Is his breathing faster than normal? Can sweat be found under the mane or behind the ears?

Positive answers to these questions paint the picture of a horse in the beginning stages of intestinal distress. He is restless. His breathing and heart rate are faster than normal for no apparent reason. The horse may be off feed, refusing water, picking at his hay but not showing any genuine interest in eating. The consistency of his manure may be different or the manure may be nonexistent. Sweating may be present, but during the early stages of colic the horse’s temperature may be well within normal ranges.

Uless something is done soon, the horse may move into the classical symptoms of colic: Pawing the ground, getting up and down, trying to roll over, biting at his sides, kicking at his belly, or staring at his flank. At this point, even the most novice horse person becomes aware that something is wrong.

Treatment is now a must because colic can be as deadly as a .38-caliber bullet between the ears. It might be hard to imagine a stomach-ache killing someone but the structure of the horse’s digestive tract can certainly predispose this to happen.

Unlike many animals, the horse does not have the ability to regurgitate or burp. Whatever goes down, stays down until it leaves the tract at the other end. Gas trapped in the stomach and intestines can build up so much pressure that it can cause the walls of the digestive tract to split or rupture. This allows the contents of the stomach or intestines to flowing into the body cavity. Death is imminent.

Colic is the word used to describe the behavior of a horse that is in pain caused by a variety of internal conditions. This is one of the things that make colic so difficult to treat. We don’t always know what is causing the pain.

Although most of the symptoms of colic are extremely similar regardless of the problem, the kind of pain the horse is experiencing may give the veterinarian a clue. Does the horse seem to be uncomfortable all the time (acute), or does he have periods when the pain becomes more intense (intermittent)?

The most painful and most deadly colic is caused by an obstruction of the lower tract. This may be the result of either an impaction or, God forbid, a blockage caused by twisting of a gut. With the grace of God and a good veterinarian, an impaction can sometimes be moved. The twisted gut, however, is fatal unless surgery or a miracle saves the horse.

In spite of the skill of your veterinarian, the “tricks” in his bag for the treatment of colic are limited. Passing a stomach tube may release gas off the stomach — if that is the problem. Mineral oil may push through the digestive contents causing discomfort — if that is the problem. Rectal palpation may indicate an impaction that several enemas may break up. Drugs may quiet the horse and ease his pain until the condition passes. Qr, in spite of everything, colic may take its toll and even an autopsy will not reveal the cause of the pain.

The best treatment for colic is to prevent it. Understand the things that can cause a horse digestive upset and don’t let them happen.

Getting into the feed barrel and gorging on high energy grains is likely to shock the digestive system triggering colic. Changing too quickly to a new diet may also cause gastric distress. Eating moldy feeds or hay is likely to produce gas colic.

Also watch out for environmental conditions which predispose horses to colic. Horses grazing on sandy soils are prone to sandy colic. The first killing frost may change toxic plants into delicious tidbits which are still toxic and cause digestive upset. Frozen or cold water may cause some horses to back out of the water bucket causing dehydration and colic

However, the culprits that are blamed for almost 90 percent of all colics are worms, the parasites that live in and around the digestive tract of the horse. There they do irrevocable damage, causing blood clots that produce portions of dead gut and blocked arteries that are no longer capable of supporting living tissue.

Therefore the single most important thing you can do to prevent colic is to de-worm your horses every 6 to 8 weeks of age starting at about 2 ½ months of age and remember the advise of Xenophon and Colonel Sager: Treat colic as soon as you suspect it!