Colic after swimming exercise in racehorses: an investigation of incidence, management, surgical findings and outcome.

The research investigates instances of colic in racehorses following swimming exercises, looking into its occurrence, management, surgical findings, and outcomes.

Incidence of Swimming-related Colic

• In a study period of 3 years, the researchers found the occurrence of colic following swimming exercise in the racehorse population to be 0.08%.
• Out of 167,977 swimming sessions, 136 cases of colic were reported.

Management of Colic Cases

• The majority of the horses’ colic resolved through medical intervention, i.e., in 129 out of the 136 cases.
• Colic resolved on its own, without any medical intervention, in 2 horses.
• In 5 horses, surgical intervention was required to treat the colic.

Surgical Findings

• In a separate subset of 21 horses studied for operational exploration, various findings were observed.
• Non-strangulating displacements were found in 7 horses, strangulating displacements in another 7, while 1 horse showed a mix of both these conditions.
• Five horses showed noticeable gaseous intestinal distension, and no abnormalities were found in 1 horse.
• All surgeries were opted for due to poor response to analgesic treatment.

Diagnostics

• Rectal palpation or abdominal ultrasound was carried out on 16 out of the 21 operative cases. Abnormalities were detected in 14 of these.

Survival and Post-operative Performance

• Nearly all surgical cases, i.e., 20 horses or 95.2%, survived the surgery and were successfully discharged.
• Of these 20 horses, 18 or 90% went on to participate in races post their operation.

Ultimately, the research indicates colic instances following swimming exercises in racehorses to be generally less frequent and manageable primarily through medical means. Surgical intervention was found to be effective with high survival and post-operative performance rates.