Colic is a horse's belly-ache. But a belly-ache in a horse is life threatening. The first reason for this is because unlike humans, once food passes into the stomach of a horse they can not vomit or regurgitate it. If a human ate so much that the stomach could simply not hold or process the food (or if the food was contaminated) it would come back up. In the horse it continues to build acids and pressure causing severe damage.
The second reason has to do with the horse's anatomy and lack of reasoning ability. When you or I have a stomachache, we can reason that it is probably something we ate or the stomach flu. We generally take some medication and lie down to rest. The horse however, only knows that it is in pain. In their attempt to rid themselves of the pain, they will lie down and roll from side to side. Because of the way the intestines lie inside the horse, this violent rolling can result in one of the intestines being twisted. This makes any further passage of food and/or feces impossible and the horse will die without surgery.
Early symptoms of colic include tail-switching, pawing, looking back at and kicking at the abdomen. It progresses very quickly to sweating, lying down and getting up frequently, and rolling on the ground. If you notice these signs call a veterinarian immediately. While you are waiting for the vet, keep the horse on his feet. Usually this requires continuous walking because as soon as the horse stops he will want to lie down and roll.
There are many causes and types of colic. If the horse has consumed too much green grass the colic could be the result of an impaction in one of the intestines as it tries to process the grass. The carbohydrate load of the green grass can also change the bacterial balance in the intestines, leading to the release of lactic acid and endotoxins. This condition can also cause founder.
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