Stabled Horses More Likely to Develop Colic, Study Says

It has been said the horse has a digestive system designed by a committee. Colic, a generic term for several problems of the digestive system, is one of the leading killers of horses around the world. Unfortunately, many things can trigger a colic attack, including spending long periods of time in a stall, notes a study by the University of Nottingham School of Veterinary Medicine and Science.

Modern horses such as racehorses are often stabled 23 out of every 24 hours during their training. One such thoroughbred was the ill-fated superstar Ruffian, considered so valuable that she was not allowed any time in a pasture for fear of her getting injured. But constant stabling seems to be doing more harm than good because the horse's intestines cannot function properly.

Study Specifics

Sixteen horses divided into two groups. One group was stabled and received light exercise from 60 to 90 minutes per day. They were also fed the modern horse's usual diet of hay and grain. The second group lived in a pasture 24 hours per day and lived on grass and hay. They were not exercised. Both groups had access to fresh water. After two weeks, the groups were switched.

For two days in each study period, the horses' large intestines were given two ultrasound scans per day to see how well they could move food through the body through a series of gentle contractions. This motion is called "gut motility." Blockages of the intestines can halt digestion, stop the contractions and cause colic. The stabled horses, despite exercise, had noticeably reduced gut motility.

Study Recommendations

It is only in the last couple hundred years that horses have been stabled. Until then, they evolved to constantly be on the move. They also evolved to eat a little bit at a time, instead of on a feeding schedule convenient for people. There has been enough time for horse bodies to catch up with the drastic changes in their lifestyles.

The study recommended that horses get as much turn-out time as it is possible to give them. Pastures should always have a source of water and shade or a three-sided shelter for horses to stay in during inclement weather. Since pastures can be quickly overgrazed, pasture rotation management would have to be practiced. However, the study did not discuss rotation management or how to do it if many horses need to use the same small pastures.

Like with all medical studies, more studies were recommended. This particular study did not measure how the types of specific issues in a modern horse's life such as amount of exercise received or the effects of certain feeds could affect gut motility, for example.

References

University of Kentucky College of Agriculture. "Colic in Horses." http://www.uky.edu/Ag/AnimalSciences/pubs/asc128.pdf

The Horse. "Are Stabled Horses at Increased Risk for Developing Colic?" Casie Bazay, BS, NBCAAM. September 27, 2011. http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=18882

Horsetalk.co.nz. "Reduced gut action found in stabled horses." September 29, 2011. http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/2011/09/229.shtml

"Ruffian: Burning from the Start." Jane Schwartz. Ballantine Books; 1991.