Colic in Horses

Recognizing colic — and responding to it.

Most colic is medical: gas, spasms, an impaction of feed material, or a displacement that settles with treatment. A smaller share is surgical — and those are the cases where the first hour counts most. Here is how to read your horse, and what to do while help is coming.

Signs of colic

Quiet signs come first: Many horses start subtle — off feed, dull, lying down more than usual, or passing less manure than normal. A horse that skips a meal is a horse to watch closely, not to write off.
Pawing, rolling, getting up and down: The classic picture. Occasional pawing happens; repeated pawing, frequent rolling, or a horse that simply can’t settle is a horse in pain.
Looking at the flank: Turning to stare or nip at the belly, stretching out as if to urinate without producing urine, sweating without work — all point at abdominal pain. Stretching is often mistaken for a urinary problem; it’s far more often colic.
Numbers that talk: If you can take them safely: a resting heart rate over 44–48, gums that are dry or tacky or dark instead of pink and moist, and gut sounds that have gone quiet all raise the stakes.

The first hour — what to do

Call early: Call us at the first signs, not after hours of watching. Early treatment is simpler treatment — and a phone call costs nothing. We’ll help you judge what you’re seeing.
Remove feed: Take hay and grain away; a hurting gut shouldn’t be asked to keep working. Water is fine unless we tell you otherwise.
Walk — don’t exhaust: Hand-walking can settle a mild gas colic and keeps a painful horse from injuring itself rolling. Walk in intervals. A horse still painful after 20–30 minutes of walking needs the veterinarian, not more miles.
Hold the medications: Don’t give Banamine or any other drug before the exam unless we direct it. Pain relief is part of treatment — but given too early, it can mask the signs that tell us how serious the case is, including whether it’s surgical.
Don’t tube, don’t drench: Never pass a stomach tube or pour oil or home remedies into a colicking horse. Done wrong, it can put fluid in the lungs and turn a treatable case into a fatal one.

Red flags — this is an emergency

Violent or uncontrollable pain: A horse that throws itself down or can’t be kept from injuring itself is not a watch-and-wait case.
Pain that keeps coming back: Colic that eases, then returns — especially repeatedly — suggests something mechanical that won’t fix itself.
No manure, no gut sounds: A silent belly with nothing passing is a gut that has stopped moving.
Heart rate high, gums wrong: A pulse that stays up, or gums turning dark red, purple, or dry, point to a compromised circulation — and a serious lesion.
A swelling belly: Visible abdominal distension means gas is building behind an obstruction. The clock is running.

Colic signsFirst-hour stepsEquine emergenciesFarm callsHospital care

Serving horse owners across northeastern Oklahoma — Coweta, Broken Arrow, Wagoner, Tulsa, Bixby, Jenks, Owasso, Claremore, Muskogee — and welcoming haul-in clients from Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas.

When to call us.

If you’re asking yourself whether it’s bad enough to call, it’s bad enough to call.

Colic is the most common emergency in equine practice, and the cases that go well are the ones treated early. At Oak Grove, a colic workup starts with a physical exam and a pain assessment, then moves to whatever the horse needs — rectal palpation, a stomach tube, bloodwork, and ultrasound — at the hospital in Coweta or at your barn on an equine farm call. If a horse needs colic surgery, we’ll tell you straight and get you pointed toward surgical referral without wasting the window. Every colic call is backed by our full equine care program. Call (918) 486-8387 — nights and weekends included; the number reaches us.