10 Things to Know About Gas Colic
Earlier this week, McCoy was showing signs of gas colic. The symptoms were subtle (mainly excessive yawning), but I’ve developed a fairly good ‘colic radar’, and fortunately, we were able to resolve the issue before things got too bad. After a short acupressure session and a walk (and a big drink of water), she passed a good amount of gas she went back to eating her hay.
Over the years, I’ve had horses experience gas colic on occasion, and what I’ve learned to associate it with is a change in forage. The last few incidents have occurred when I was attempting to switch my horses to a different pasture. I do this gradually, allowing them into the new pasture for a short period of time and slowly increasing that time, but our grass is different this year–we’ve had a very wet summer by most standards and very lush grass. Evidently, I need to be even more careful as I make these changes.
Chances are, many of you have dealt with gas colic as well (whether you recognized it as that or not). Here are 10 things to know about this condition:
1.) Gas colic one of the most common reasons for horses to show signs of abdominal pain, but fortunately, has a very good prognosis for survival.
2.) If the horse’s flank region is distended or swollen in appearance, the gas is likely trapped in the cecum or large colon. If the flanks are not distended, the gas is probably located in the small intestine.
3.) Complications from gas colic can occur if the distended bowl becomes displaced or twists upon itself. Though many owners worry that rolling will cause horses with gas colic to ‘twist’ a bowel, the likelihood of this happening isn’t too great.
4.) There is strong evidence linking gas colic with a change in feed (which certainly includes forage, as has often been the case with my horses.)
5.) Parasite infection has also been linked with gas colic, so fecal egg counts are always a good idea if your horse is showing signs of being gassy. (plan to do my FEC’s again this weekend!)
6.) Both stress and inadequate forage have also been linked with this condition.
7.) Walking your horse and allowing him to lie down (if he wants) can be beneficial with this type of colic.
8.) Make sure your horse always has access to water. Dehydration can also lead to gas buildup.
9.) Be aware that one symptom of gas colic is stretching out like they need to urinate. The first time I (knowingly) experienced gas colic with a horse, this was the only symptom she showed.
10.) Don’t hesitate to get your vet involved. Even though it’s often the least serious type of colic, it can lead to greater problems (such as bowel displacement or a ‘twist’) in some instances.
Ta-ta,
Casie
Sources and Further Reading
Gas Colic-Kentucky Performance Products
Why being farty is good for horses–and helps avoid gas colic
Hi! I'm Casie, a freelance writer specializing in horse health. I'm certified in equine acupressure and have a great interest in equine nutrition and barefoot hoof care. The Naturally Healthy Horse encompasses all of these things, and I would love to have you follow along!
I can only remember once having a colic incident with a horse I owned.
It was my middle aged QH gelding a few years ago after a faecal egg count suggested I do a different regime to get encysted worms.
After the second dose a week went by, then my gelding coliced late one afternoon. I watched, walked & massaged him for 2hrs then decided to call the vet. I forgot about the worming as a possible cause. In anycase he had colic.
Vet did all the usual things, none of which seemed to work. We talked about putting him to sleep.
I sat with my horse all night in the front yard of my house & had to keep dragging him out of a hedge he kept blundering up into. It was planted on a bit of a raised garden bed.
Then it occurred to me he must be seeking comfort in the change of angle of his body with his front feet up on the dirt mound. So I walked him (it took 30mins) to an old fruit tree mound some meters from where he had been standing.
Once he saw it he walked faster & placed his front feet on top. The orchard is on a slope & once he had his brain in gear he slowly moved his hind end around the mound so he was facing uphill from the most downhill side. This afforded him the steepest angle for his body & gut I suppose.
After 20-30mins he began passing wind, lots of wind! He passed wind for hours!
Within an hour of starting to pass wind he began eating grass on the mound.
I knew he would be ok once he was eating again. To my thinking it was all a bit counter intuitive because you might think his hind end had to be higher so the gas could escape but perhaps it depends on which part of the gut the gas is trapped in.
However I still believe the colic was caused initially by the encysted larvae hatching enmass. There is no other reasonable explanation because nothing else had changed in his diet & living situation.
Anyway if I am ever involved in a colic case again I will try my best to give the horse the ability to stand its front end on some sort of raised platform or dirt mound. Maybe it might work, maybe not. That’s how it seems to be with colic. Sometimes some things work & other times not.
Wow–what a story! Sounds like he knew what he needed to do. Laying down can actually help move the gas along too, from what I’ve read.