Would you buy a horse with a history of colic?

[Cindyg]

I have no idea how many, how severe, or how long ago. The ad simply says, "History of colic." Would that put you off? Is a history of colic an indication of a future with colic?

[mvp]

All things being equal? No. Or maybe not at all.

If the owner knows why or the circumstances that created it, you can assume the recurring colic are not "pilot error." Really bad pilot error is fine because you can correct for bad management.

If they don't know why, or can't give you a detailed history, assume your are buying a problem.

Finally, the reason not to buy this one at all is because you have many vet bills at best, or surgery at worst. I may be wrong, but it seems to me that this is a horse you would want to insure. But then how do you insure a horse with a known tendency to colic?

What made you like him/her so much to move beyond this part of the ad?

[Cindyg]

What made you like him/her so much to move beyond this part of the ad?

The owner died. The husband is trying to place the wife's horses. :(

[Rick Burten]

I'd pass.

[cloudyandcallie]

I'd talk to the vet who handled the colic, and who had treated the horse for however many years the woman owned the horse.
If the horse colicked once in say, 5 yrs, ok.
If he colicks every fall, I'd pass.

[sublimequine]

I think I'd ask for some details. It could be "Well gee whiz, we fed him 50 lbs of sweet feed one night and gosh durn it, he done got sick!" :lol:

[dalpal]

I have a horse who had colic surgery for flipped intestine and one other bad colic in her life.

Most colics can be managed.....I manage her diet like crazy, lots of turnout..

Now if there are adhensions due to colic...I would pass, but otherwise, it wouldn't deter me if I really liked the horse.

[BEARCAT]

NO

[RockinHorse]

I would not automatically pass on a horse with a history of colic but I would want more information to make the decison. I would want to speak to the horses owner and vet and find out, among other things:

Is it a frequent occurence?
How long ago was the last colic incident?
Has there been any pattern to the colics or suspected causes identified?

I would then decide if the colic was an issue for me or not.

[shawneeAcres]

I would definitely want to know more before proceeding. Having said that we have an AWESOME mare here that a student of mine purchased 7 years ago. She coliced about 2 months after they bought her. She then coliced a few times after that, never really bad, jsut a gas type thing. WE power pack wormed her, she is on a strict worming regimine. We changed her (on vets recommendation) to senior feed and no bermuda grass hay, jsut orchard grass. She still will once or twice a year have a MINOR colic, which always goes away with 10 cc banamine. I think twice in 7 years (maybe three times) the vet has had to come and tube and oil her, but resolved quickly after that. She is definitely prone to colic. However, it would not deter me from purchasing such a fabulous mare, she took her young rider from walk/trot and cross rails to 3'3" and won EVERYTHING there was to win. She has now been semi retired due to some ankle arthritis but still gives walk/trot lessons and jumps a little and the kids mom throws a western saddle on and goes trail riding, she is a one in a million horse and if the colic was her only issue I'd recommend they buy her in a minute if we had to do it all over again!

[Seven-up]

Also ask if the horse had surgery for it. Some horses never colic again after the surgery, but many are much more prone to it after that.

I might consider a horse that had colicked once or twice in a several-year period, but not one who habitually colics. And I probably wouldn't take a chance on one who had surgery unless it was a very isolated incident.

[SharonA]

My horse apparently had a history of minor, repeated gas colic associated with cribbing. But, the horse world being what it is, I chose to believe the theories that colic and cribbing aren't necessarily related, and I threw away the cribbing collar when we moved to a barn where the very fantastic owner isn't bothered by cribbing (naturally, the horse now cribs much less, since no one cares). No colic since I've owned the creature. The beast is on close to 24/7 turn-out with one or two other horses, unless the weather's really crappy. It's grass turn-out except for when the pasture is under two feet of snow, or right now when they're resting the pastures (and the horses are kept in generously sized dry paddocks).

Horse is very wonderful. Healthy, smart, giving, takes care of me, happy to see me and go to work, etc. And very beautiful, if I do say so myself. :-)

[BuddyRoo]

I realize that there are some horses with recurrent colic episodes of unknown origin....but that is usually (IME) because no one has bothered to examine the environment and/or do the diagnostics.

IME (and I'm not a vet nor do I play one on TV), frequent colic episodes are usually a result of poor feeding practices/transition to pasture practices, ulcers, or dehyrdation.

IE: Owner feeds 10lbs of feed every other day. Owner turns horse out on lush pasture after 6 months of dry lot. Owner forgets to give the horse fresh water. Or again, the ulcers. Which seem to be more common in some breeds than others.

I would ask more questions.

[goeslikestink]

I have no idea how many, how severe, or how long ago. The ad simply says, "History of colic." Would that put you off? Is a history of colic an indication of a future with colic?

there many reasons for a horse to have colic
but continous colic in a horse then somethings not quite right, coul be the horse has ulcers or worms or a decease or an illness not explained or cancer etc

could be hes not feed properly etc

you would have to have a word or get hold of his medical history somehow
if you interested but will tell you a colic horse is a high risk factor
might be he will be around for a month or a year or day depends on the horse and whats wrong if after decussing it with the owner that the horse turns out to be really unwell then the best thing you can say to him is have the horse put to sleep so its not suffering any more
he might not know enough and just selling them to get rid of them type thing

[Huntertwo]

Nope. Never. No way. Having bought a horse years ago with a history of colic, I would never again buy a horse that was susceptible to colic.:no:

Wayyyy to stressful, costly. Despite constant turnout - 24/7 unless inclement weather, he coliced every couple of months. Just waiting for that phone call from the barn made me jump every time the phone rang whether it be at work or home.

They were always resolvable at the stable until the big one struck and we ended up at Tuft's. I finally sold him to a friend who knew of his history, because honestly the stress was too much.

[lolalola]

Is this one of Tiny's horses? There were a few on her list with colic history. Larry seemed like he was being very thorough - he even listed the horses getting mud fever, which is very common and seasonal.

[ljc]

I'd pass as quickly as possible. I have a boarder here (retired hunter; owner lives in NY) who used to colic regularly while showing. The first three years I had him, he colicked on a semi-regular basis. To date (knock on wood) he's never had surgery ... but the fact that he colics so easily gives me heart palpations. And while I constantly remind myself that the majority of colics are not a big deal, I treat every single case as if it COULD be one.

Run for the hills. LIfe is short.

[LouLove]

Nope. Way too stressful. I lost my mare to colic.

Cribbing....perhaps.
Arthritis...if it's manageable.
Colic...this one is life or death...no matter how much you manage them.

LL

[BSFKimbees]

I have to agree with the "NO" crowd... It could end up breaking your heart, and your wallet, in the end.

I too lost a gelding to colic and it was perhaps the most heartbreaking ordeal I have ever been through with a horse.

[TrueColours]

Well - in ALL fairness - you need to see if you can get the whole picture of what life has been like for that horse ...

Case in point

I had a horse for 3+ years who never had so much as a hiccup. He was turned out on a regular basis, for as long as weather would allow each day and he was happy and settled each and every day

Horse gets sold. Within a period of 3+ years he has colic so badly - twice that I know about but it might be more - that he cannot be managed at home and is taken to the Horse Hospital. He is on VERY limited turnout in his new situation and I guess that is now taking its toll on him, sadly

So - do you look at him as a horse that is "prone" to colic??? Or do you say that his history of colic is 100% the fault of poor management and if someone with half a brain owned him he would be just fine as he always was before they got him???

[dalpal]

Well - in ALL fairness - you need to see if you can get the whole picture of what life has been like for that horse ...

Case in point

I had a horse for 3+ years who never had so much as a hiccup. He was turned out on a regular basis, for as long as weather would allow each day and he was happy and settled each and every day

Horse gets sold. Within a period of 3+ years he has colic so badly - twice that I know about but it might be more - that he cannot be managed at home and is taken to the Horse Hospital. He is on VERY limited turnout in his new situation and I guess that is now taking its toll on him, sadly

So - do you look at him as a horse that is "prone" to colic??? Or do you say that his history of colic is 100% the fault of poor management and if someone with half a brain owned him he would be just fine as he always was before they got him???

EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!! I have a horse who has had two colics in 8 years...but, both colics were severe and we had displacement...one took her in to surgery...three years later, she colicked again...this time I said NO to surgery and she did come through fine. In this mare's case, I am pretty sure it is due to a specific type of feed. She colicked in 2004 on that feed and was off of it until 2008 when I moved to a new barn...and she colicked again.

My friend has a horse who has MANY mild colics....he will colic in weather changes, shows, heat, you name it....none of them have ever been anything other than have the vet out to oil and banimine. If she notices him acting punky, she whips out the ulcergard and gives him a full tube...alot of time this alone will stop the colic.

This horse is a fantastic upper level dressage horse who is now close to 20 years of age...if I had the money would I buy him....Yep, I would. It would be worth the education to me to take the risk.

[GallopHer]

I have to say that I would pass, unless the horse is so exceptional it is worth the risk. It is currently a buyer's market so I would think you could find a comparable horse without a history of colic. However, kudos to the seller for being honest about the health of this horse.

[Bluehorsesjp]

What a difficult question.
At least the guy is being honest. I would get a history on the horse and find out exactly what/when and how it colics. Has it had surgery? And if so for what.
Personally I would probably buy a horse that had had surgery from a displacement because I have had good luck with those , but I would buy a horse that had had a resection.
Another thing to think about and I just mention this because I have 2 friends who have had horses with such bad parasite damage that they both died of colic. One horse coliced every time the weather changed. His parasite damage was in the blood vessel that fed the large intestine. He was an OTTB, so who knows what type of care he got as he went through the lower end tracks.
The other horse was imported from Holland. His stomach ruptured which they found when they put him on the table for surgery. You would never think he had parasite damage. He was well taken care of, but.....
Get more information. If they horse was fantastic and a good price I personally would probably take the chance. But then I like to gamble.

[Queen Latisha]

If it were me, I would run the other way.:D

[2ndyrgal]

mentions it, then it would be quite sufficient to put me off. In fact, any horse that had a "history" of colic (as in more than one isolated incident) would make it a no sale for me.