Understanding Colic In Equines: Expert Insights From The Racing Industry
Biological Mechanisms, Clinical Assessment, And Treatment Strategies For Athletic Horses
Colic represents one of the most critical emergency conditions in equine medicine, encompassing any manifestation of abdominal pain in horses. This multifaceted syndrome affects athletic horses with particular severity, demanding a comprehensive understanding of their pathophysiology, clinical presentation, and treatment protocols. Drawing from extensive veterinary experience in high-performance racing environments, this examination explores the complex nature of equine colic and its management challenges.
Pathophysiology And Classification Of Equine Colic
Dr Sachin Sonawane brings extensive expertise to equine medicine, having graduated from Bombay Veterinary College and completed his residency in Surgery and Radiology. His career began in 2009, progressing to deputy chief veterinary hospital in-charge before joining M-7 Stable in the UAE in 2016. M-7 Stable operates as a professional endurance racing facility, housing athletic horses that compete at various levels of the sport. The stable's focus on maintaining peak equine fitness and performance provides Dr Sonawane with extensive experience in managing high-value performance horses.
"Out there, I had Thoroughbred racing horses; out here, I have endurance horses. So, it's a little bit different in the sense that racing is different. Again, I'm working with racing horses, which are athletic horses, and they're required to be kept at the top of fitness to be better athletes," Dr Sonawane explains.
Abdominal pain in horses manifests through various underlying mechanisms, each requiring specific diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. "Colic means any sort of abdominal pain in horses. It not only applies to horses, but we can use that term even in humans," Dr Sonawane defines the clinical scope that encompasses this complex syndrome.
Displacement colic occurs when anatomical structures shift from their normal positions, particularly affecting the large colon. Small intestinal complications present as volvulus and can create potentially life-threatening obstructions. This is where "the intestine twists in variable degrees. It could be one knot, which is 360° to two knots or just a partial twisting."
Impaction colic develops when feed material or foreign substances become lodged within the intestinal tract. The most challenging presentation involves epiploic foramen entrapment, a rare but severe condition. "This is very rarely occurring colic which I want to mention because I have seen one during my practice. These colics are very painful first of all and very difficult to diagnose because small intestine passes through this space (natural opening)."
Stress-Related Colic Development In Athletic Horses
High-performance environments create unique physiological stressors that predispose horses to colic episodes. Stress-induced gastrointestinal dysfunction follows predictable pathways. "What happens is with stress, the bodily functions disrupt, the gastrointestinal functions disrupt. So, what that in turn will cause is with increased stress, horses can get gastric ulcers," Dr Sonawane explains.
Appetite suppression represents a critical component of stress-related colic development. "Again, horses, when they get stressed, go off feed and water. When horses leave feed, the gastric motility will get disturbed because you need food in the tract to have nice motility for a healthy gut," Dr Sonawane continues.
Dehydration emerges as a primary risk factor in athletic horses. "Less water consumption will cause dehydration, which in turn can cause impaction colic because impaction colics are normally caused because of dehydration and less water intake by the horse," Dr Sonawane explains.
Dietary management serves as the cornerstone of prevention. "Feeding schedule is very important, especially in cases of racing horses because they are athletic horses. So, they need to get the desired amount of balanced feed at the right time and in the right intervals throughout the day," Dr Sonawane emphasises. Proper nutrition must include adequate fibre. "A lot of fibers play a very important role in the healthy gastrointestinal tract. So, if you maintain that well, there are chances of getting reduced amount of colic," he adds.
Regional Environmental Challenges: Sand Impaction In Desert Climates
Desert environments present unique colic risks, particularly sand impaction. "Out here, many times, the horses are kept in sand paddocks. There is a likelihood of horses, when they are living on the sand, picking up sand inadvertently while eating or sometimes because of less grass offered to them," Dr Sonawane explains.
Sand accumulation patterns follow gravitational principles within the equine digestive system. "Over a period of time, sand buildup happens mostly in the large colon, and that too in the large ventral colon, because it is sitting downside, and with gravity, the sand is coming down from the dorsal colon to the ventral colon and accumulating there," Dr Sonawane describes.
Diagnostic approaches for sand impaction utilise specific imaging techniques. "When you diagnose sand impaction, it can be diagnosed with X-rays also because sand is a radiopaque material. So, when you take an X-ray, you will see sand lined up in the large colon inside the abdomen," Dr Sonawane explains.
Treatment protocols require specialised approaches. Psyllium husk serves as the preferred therapeutic agent. "What you have to do for sand is you can give paraffin oil, but it is better to give psyllium husk. Psyllium husk is basically a very hygroscopic material with surfactant action that will stick the sand to its outer surfaces and try to move it slowly," Dr Sonawane details.
Preventive strategies become essential in sand-prone environments. "There are a lot of products readily available out here, Sandex, Gut pellets of psyllium husk, give them one week yes, one week no, just to remove the sand buildup slowly," Dr Sonawane recommends.
Clinical Diagnosis And Surgical Decision-Making
Systematic clinical evaluation forms the foundation of effective colic management. "When I see the horse, I would like to have a clinical examination of the horse, the dehydration, the membranes. I would like to know the history of the horse, how much pain he is in, what he had eaten before, has there been any change in the feed," Dr Sonawane outlines.
Cardiovascular assessment provides critical prognostic information. "Normal heart rate for the horse is 36; that's average. Top performers can have a heart rate as low as 24. For horses, we consider 36 a good average heart rate. So, anything above 60 tells you that the horse is in high grade pain," Dr Sonawane explains.
Rectal examination remains fundamental to diagnosis. "I do a rectal examination, which I feel is a very important tool or examination which gives us a good idea as to what's happening with the horse," Dr. Sonawane emphasises.
Advanced diagnostic imaging enhances precision through ultrasonography. "You do your ultrasounds to check for small intestinal loops, if at all you find them, how motile they are, how big they are, whether they are completely non-motile," Dr Sonawane explains.
Peritoneal fluid analysis provides definitive prognostic information. "Normal peritoneal fluid of the horse is clear to pale yellow in colour. If you get it yellowish, it means that the horse is slowly worsening," Dr Sonawane describes. Progressive deterioration shows as "reddish-brownish" fluid indicating "very high protein levels and haemorrhage in the abdomen," he continues.
Surgical timing becomes critical for optimal outcomes. "The longer you take to open the horse, the prognosis of the surgery is bad, survival chances are less, chances of postoperative complications increase more," he warns.
Clinical Recognition And Treatment Approaches
Early symptom recognition relies on behavioural observation. "Basically, for horsemen, people who are close to the horses on a daily basis, if anything looks not normal for that particular horse, it is a red flag," Dr Sonawane advises.
Acute pain behaviours include characteristic presentations. "When horses are in pain, they paw with the front legs in the bedding. They try to look towards the sides where they are feeling more pain, maybe on the right or on the left," Dr Sonawane describes. Severe cases may show "violent pain reactions by rolling over on the ground or on the bedding because the pain is too much for them to bear," he notes.
Subtle presentations require particular vigilance. "Some of the horses show silent symptoms. Some of the horses just stop eating and stay quietly without exhibiting any symptoms," Dr Sonawane cautions.
Treatment philosophy emphasises persistence. "You need perseverance. You need to keep following with whatever is thrown at you, with whatever is available to you to do," Dr Sonawane reflects from clinical experience.
Surgical intervention demands technical expertise. "There was a volvulus of the small intestine. The moment you open the abdomen, you see a lot of gas filled small intestines like a big lotus-like structure," Dr Sonawane describes details from a memorable case. The complexity requires careful balance, as "you have to do it nicely by taking optimal time because you cannot lose time during the surgery " he explains.
Successful outcomes demonstrate expert care rewards. "But he won his first race after colic surgery, and I was so happy and even the trainer was so happy," Dr Sonawane recalls a case with satisfaction.
Prevention remains paramount across all colic types. "As far as any type of colic is concerned, prevention is the best treatment. So, you have to have proper dietary management followed by rigorous follow-up as to what the horses are doing," Dr Sonawane concludes.
Through a comprehensive understanding of colic pathophysiology, environmental risk factors, and systematic diagnostic approaches, veterinary professionals can optimise outcomes for these magnificent athletes whilst maintaining their competitive performance and long-term welfare. The expertise gained through years of clinical practice underscores the critical importance of combining theoretical knowledge with practical application in managing this complex condition.
