Colic is the leading welfare emergency and cause of death in horses; evidence-based management significantly reduces risk and improves welfare outcomes.
Colic encompasses a range of gastrointestinal conditions from mild discomfort to life-threatening surgical emergencies, and is the condition that most horse owners fear most. Many cases are preventable through management practices aligned with equine physiology: horses evolved to trickle-feed fibrous vegetation continuously and have sensitive gastrointestinal tracts poorly adapted to the intermittent high-concentrate feeding regimes of performance horse management. Evidence-based colic risk reduction — maintaining consistent forage availability, making dietary changes gradually, ensuring adequate water access particularly in winter, and maximising turnout time — represents welfare improvement through management alignment with physiology. Early recognition of pain signs and prompt veterinary contact when colic is suspected are equally important welfare measures.