Colic caused by change in weather?

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gabbypinkjessica

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Hi all,
Does anyone know if colic and weather changes are linked?
I've recently (2 months ago) moved my two mares from Wales to France and we have had a bit of a heat wave until today here.
They live out 24/7 in a medium sized field with a mixture of rough and green grass, nettles etc, but nothing that I recognise as poisonous.
Jess is a 20 year old Irish cob, good doer, pretty tough, one colic in the past after being wormed, which was mild, and was over by the time the vet arrived.
She coped well with the move and has been gently hacking out for the last month or so.
I was at the yard this afternoon, horses were fine, but YO called me this evening to say Jess looked a bit colicky.
When I got there she was sweaty, had been rolling and looking at her flanks, breathing heavily etc but no temperature, no signs of dehydration.
The YO told me that mild colic is common here when the weather changes, particularly when a low pressure front arrives, and lo and behold, a storm started (real thunder and lightning job!) as we were talking.
I've never heard of this, does anyone know about it?
I suppose in wet west Wales we don't get such sudden pressure drops so maybe this is common knowledge but has passed me by.
Anyway, she had an antispasmodic, and now seems much better but I'm a bit worried. If this is the cause, and she is a bit sensitive, what can I do to make sure it doesn't happen again?
Anyone got any info?
 
Hi,
I have never heard about weather related colic. I recently moved to France too with my horse and despite of the heat wave and the thunderstorms he is perfectly fine. Maybe the change of grazing/feed brought tuis about?
I hope your horse will be fine :) xx
 
changes in weather certainly can upset the guts of susceptable horses - I've got one. Sudden wet and cold is the worst.

Don't know what it's been like where you are but this spring has been unusual here in SW UK - vets have been seeing many horses with all sorts of odd colics and the like, and not the 'usual suspects' either.

Your vets and YO would be best placed to advise you on what to do - the measures we've put in place here may not be applicable in your climate.
 
sudden temp changes can definitely do it and I expect sudden changes from dry-wet can do it as well. Is it much hotter and/or muggier there than it would be here? as I expect she's still acclimatising. I am in a similar boat in reverse-just had one come over from Portugal.
 
Just about to reply that where I live in France, the locals do say the same thing, which I had never heard of in the uk.
Then i read your story, and so am not surprised.
Agree with all you say re temperatures,and storms, There are storm alerts to the south of us at the moment.
I have heard that it can take a year for a horse to acclimatise, certainly my new horse from the uk has had a lot of different experices in the first few months of being here, some adapt better than others at first.
At least your YO sounds very helpful. Good luck.
 
Thanks all,
Yes I feel very lucky to have this YO, it took months of searching to find a yard with all year 24/7 turnout plus someone competent!
I'm sure she is still acclimatising so we will see how it goes (much better today!).
The vet suggested feeding some product (an antacid? I'll have to look it up) when the weather gets like that so I'll track it down and add to her feeds.
 
Was the antacid called Phosplugel, you can buy it at any chemist?
Let me know what it is when you find out.
 
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