Colic signs in horses vary widely in type and severity, ranging from lethargy to rolling and kicking at the belly. | Photo: iStock

Colic, or abdominal pain, comes in many forms, with a wide range of signs and ways to treat it. To provide some clarity for horse owners, Martha Mallicote, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, clinical associate professor in the University of Florida’s Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, reviewed this common condition during the university’s 2020 Healthy Horses Conference.

“The equine gastrointestinal tract is complicated, and those complications lead to some of the types of colic we see in horses,” Mallicote said