When to Call the Vet for Colic — Don't Wait and See

Colic is the term for abdominal pain in horses, and it covers everything from a mild gas bubble that resolves on its own to a twisted intestine that needs emergency surgery. The hard part is that early signs often look the same no matter how serious the underlying cause is.

Watch for repeated pawing, looking at or biting the flank, lying down and getting up repeatedly, rolling, reduced or absent manure production, and a horse that won't touch feed. Any one of these on its own can be minor. Several together, or symptoms that keep escalating over 20-30 minutes, are reason to call.

While you wait for us, remove feed, keep the horse walking if it's safe to do so, and do not give any medication unless we've talked it through on the phone — pain relievers can mask how serious the case is and change what we find on exam.

We keep on-call hours seven days a week for exactly this reason. If something feels off with your horse, it costs you nothing to call and describe what you're seeing. Waiting to see if it passes is the one decision that can turn a manageable colic into an emergency.