Colic In Horses

Colic in Horses Colic in its truest definition means abdominal pain. Overtime, the term has evolved to describe a condition rather than clinical signs. Colic includes all forms of gastrointestinal conditions that cause pain as well as other conditions that do not involve the gastrointestinal tract. Colic is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in horses. According to a survey in 1986, from the Morris Animal Foundation, colic is the number one health concern and a leading cause of premature deaths in horses. Annually, 10-11% of horses suffer from colic, and 11% of cases are fatal [1,2]. In 1983, the equine insurance industry paid over $16 million in claims, directly related to gastrointestinal problems in horses. In 2001, the cost rose to over $115,300,000 and keeps rising ([13]. Therefore, to increase the quality of life for horses, it is vital to

By purposefully overloading a horse with starch, lactate production increases and hindgut pH, fiber digestion, and VFA production decrease, leading to potential life-threatening conditions like colic [6, 15]. The concept of starch overload induced colic is based off the first reliable starch induced method by Garner (1978). According to a previous study, colic can be induced by a starch bolus dose of 17.6g/kg/body weight of 85% starch and 15% wood cellulose flour, which can be prepared gruel and administered directly to the stomach via stomach tube [6]. Changes to the microbiota have been noted to occur within the first 24-36 hours, post induction [16]. After induction, samples can be collected from the cecum or feces and analyzed using next generation sequencing to identify bacteria present. Blood work, vitals, and a multitude of parameters including VFAs, lactate levels, and glucose can be collected to give a complete picture as to what is happening metabolically in a horse during a bout of