Vet World Vol.17 May-2024 Article - 4
Research Article
Veterinary World, 17(5): 963-972
https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2024.963-972
Colic incidence, risk factors, and therapeutic management in a working horse population in Tuban, Indonesia
2. Animal Health Division, Indonesian Horse Veterinarian Association, Surabaya, Indonesia.
3. Department of Veterinary Surgery and Radiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
4. Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjajaran, Bandung, Indonesia.
5. Department of Animal Science, College of Natural Resources, Royal University of Bhutan, Lobesa, Punakha, Bhutan.
6. Department of Biology, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Eskişehir Osmangazi Üniversitesi, Eskişehir, Türkiye.
7. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Eskişehir Osmangazi Üniversitesi, Eskişehir, Türkiye.
Background and Aim: Colic is the primary problem affecting equestrian care worldwide. The primary cause of colic is digestive diseases; however, they can also affect organs from different systems in the abdominal region. In addition to a prior history of the disease and its treatment, risk factors may be assessed to determine the etiology of the disease in horses without or with a history of colic. This study aimed to present a summary of the incidence, risk factors, and medical procedures for colic in horses.
Materials and Methods: Based on owner reports, 223 horses in Tuban, Indonesia, suspected of having colic were investigated. During the investigation of clinical parameters, investigators went door-to-door with interested horse owners to gather information about potential risk factors related to equine colic. Information on horses diagnosed with colic was obtained from the medical records of treatment. A Chi-square test was used to investigate the potential association between the risk factors, medical protocol, and the outcome of colic in horses.
Results: Of the 187 cases, spasmodic colic was the most common (48.13%), but 17 (9.09%) had no definitive diagnosis. Poor body condition scores (χ2 = 58.73; p < 0.001), wheat bran feeding (χ2 = 26.79; p < 0.001), concentrate (χ2 = 10.66; p < 0.01), less access to water (χ2 = 128.24; p < 0.001), recurrence of colic (χ2 = 85.64; p < 0.001), no deworming program (χ2 = 54.76; p < 0.001), the presence of gastrointestinal parasites (χ2 = 56.79; p < 0.001), stressed physical activity (χ2 = 28.53; p < 0.001), and summer season (χ2 = 7.83; p < 0.01) were the risk factors for colic. We further reported that 185 (98.93%) patients who received the following medical interventions recovered: injection of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs was necessary, Vitamin B complex (χ2 = 39.98; p < 0.001), fluid therapy (χ2 = 92.99; p < 0.001), and gastric intubation (χ2 = 4.09; p < 0.05).
Conclusion: The importance of colic was demonstrated in 187 (83.86%) of the 223 horses investigated in Tuban, Indonesia, documented. In this study, recommendations for medical procedures when colic risk factors have been determined are presented.
Keywords: colic, domesticated animals, horse, risk factors, therapeutic management.
How to cite this article: Fikri F, Hendrawan D, Wicaksono AP, Purnomo A, Khairani S, Chhetri S, Purnama MTE, and Çalışkan H (2024) Colic incidence, risk factors, and therapeutic management in a working horse population in Tuban, Indonesia, Veterinary World, 17(5): 963-972.
Received: 2024-01-03 Accepted: 2024-04-12 Published online: 2024-05-04
Corresponding author: E-mail:
DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2024.963-972
Copyright: Fikri, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/ publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
