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December 2017 THE HORSE TheHorse.com
When to Refer a Colic Case
If your horse colicked today, what would you
do? In many cases the time spent deciding wheth-
er to transport the horse to an equine hospital for
specialized care can mean the difference between
life and death. For this reason, it's important for
veterinarians and owners to be able to make quick
decisions about when to refer colicking horses.
Jarred Williams, MS, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVS-
LA, ACVECC, clinical assistant professor of Large
Animal Emergency Medicine at the University of
Georgia's College of Veterinary Medicine, shared
his protocol for referring colic cases. The two
decision-makers for referral, he said, are the type
of abdominal lesion and the owner's opinion.
"The vet's job is to identify the lesion as quickly
as (he or she) can and educate the owner," he said.
Situations in which referral is simply not an
option include when the owner has financial
limitations, lacks access to a trailer or has a horse
that refuses to load, or has personal opinions that
preclude surgery.
Otherwise, Williams said, the veterinarian
should proceed immediately with a colic workup
to determine what section of the gastrointestinal
(GI) tract is involved—the small intestine, large
intestine, or other—and the type of case—a stran-
gulating or nonstrangulating obstruction (SO or
NSO) or an inflammatory colic.
He reviewed the types of lesions veterinarians
might find and whether they typically warrant
referral.
THE HORSE STAFF
I
t was all colic, all the time for five full days this past summer. In July the Ameri-
can Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Foundation hosted its Focus
on Colic meeting and the 12th International Equine Colic Research Sympo-
sium in Lexington, Kentucky. The Focus session offered a general overview of
colic types, diagnostics, and treatment, while the Symposium showcased the latest
equine gastrointestinal studies. The latter event occurs every three years and rotates
between Europe and the United States. What follows are some of our take-homes
from attending the events. For full coverage, see TheHorse.com/AAEPColic2017.
Highlights from the AAEP's
back-to-back colic colloquiums
An Ever-Evolving Condition
Colic:
COURTESY
DR.
TINA
HOLBERG
PIHL