Sand colic is a preventable cause of significant pain and mortality in horses kept on sandy soils. Understanding risk factors and prevention protects horses from unnecessary suffering.
Sand colic causes significant preventable suffering in horses kept on sandy soils — a common situation in many parts of the United States, Australia, and other regions with sandy substrates. The insidious nature of sand accumulation means horses can ingest substantial quantities over months before clinical signs appear. When impaction occurs, the resulting pain can be severe and prolonged. Prevention is straightforward but requires consistent management: feeding from elevated surfaces, providing adequate forage to reduce time spent searching bare ground, and using psyllium supplementation according to evidence-based protocols. The welfare case for prevention is strong because sand colic causes serious suffering that is largely avoidable with appropriate husbandry.