Conditions affecting a variety of body systems can appear similar to colic, often because the horse is painful somewhere. | Photo: iStock

Is it abdominal pain or something else?

Discover your horse restless, pawing, and lying down repeatedly in his stall, and you might immediately think, “He’s colicking.”

Nine times out of 10, you’re probably right. But it’s important to understand that many, many other conditions besides colic can cause coliclike signs. And as with colic, delayed treatment or misdiagnosis can have serious consequences.

“For many of these conditions, if you were to inadvertently take a horse to (exploratory colic) surgery, you might very well might make the animal worse, not to mention spend a lot of money unnecessarily,” says Barbara Dallap Schaer, VMD, Dipl. ACVS, ACVECC, associate professor of emergency medicine and critical care at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, in Kennett Square