As an equine veterinarian who has treated over 1,000 horses, here’s everything you need to know about chronic colic in horses, from the first signs of colic in horses that most owners miss, to when horse colic surgery is actually necessary, and what horse colic treatment options actually work long term. Horse colic is the number one killer of horses. But what is colic in horses exactly, and why do some horses keep getting colic? I cover the most common horse colic symptoms, how to know your horse has colic before it becomes an emergency, and the honest answers your horse vet doesn’t always have time to give you. This guide helps you understand your horse’s health and make smarter decisions before, during, and after a colic episode.

Short Summary:

Summary by AI:

Equine colic can become life-threatening when it happens repeatedly (chronic colic), and it usually signals an underlying problem—not random bad luck.

Most cases are linked to diet and management, especially:

• Too much grain or improper feed
• Lack of movement (stall confinement)
• Poor feeding patterns (not enough continuous forage)

Horses are built to move constantly and eat small amounts of fibrous forage, which keeps their digestive system functioning properly.

Early warning signs include:

• Reduced appetite
• Subtle behavior changes
• Changes in manure (dry, small, or reduced output)

If a horse stops eating or producing manure, it’s an emergency—call a vet immediately.

The speaker emphasizes:

• Fix diet first (focus on consistent hay/forage)
• Increase movement (track systems, turnout)
• Consider underlying issues like liver function if problems persist

She also promotes a specific method (TBT) as a way to identify and fix deeper root causes.

Transcription:

Renee Tucker, DVM (00:00:00.05)
Horse chronic colic is more dangerous than it looks. When the episodes keep happening, there’s an underlying cause. Horses can be one step away from a life threatening emergency. After 30 years as an equine vet, I’m breaking down how to spot chronic colic early. Fix the root cause and get your horse happy and healthy again.

Renee Tucker, DVM (00:00:18.24)
What is horse chronic colic? Every horse can colic randomly due to sudden feed changes, temperature swings and barometric pressure shifts. That’s okay and manageable. But chronic colic is different. It’s when your horse has colicked enough times and fairly regularly that you’re scared to go out of town.

Renee Tucker, DVM (00:00:38.26)
You’re always alert and you’re always watching. Why is it so serious? Because colic is the number one killer of horses. Think of it like a baby colicking. The intestines hurt, there’s gas, constipation, blockage.

Renee Tucker, DVM (00:00:51.23)
But in horses, the stakes are catastrophic. Their intestines can rupture and they can die from it. Having chronic colic is a terrifying way to live, both for the horse and the owner. And in most cases, it’s completely preventable. Here are the real causes.

Renee Tucker, DVM (00:01:07.04)
Nutrition. 80% of chronic colic comes down to diet and management. Not bad luck, not a mystery illness. The most common dietary mistakes I see are feeding grain. Because horses are not designed to process concentrated feeds, feeding hay types that are wrong for the horse’s gut.

Renee Tucker, DVM (00:01:25.14)
Rye, alfalfa and clover are the biggest offenders. You can learn more about the feeds that make horses sick in this video then the management Stall confinement is one of the most unnatural things we do to horses and one of the most damaging to digestive health. Why? Because horses are designed to move continuously, up to 20 miles a day in the wild. And as they go, they eat continuously.

Renee Tucker, DVM (00:01:50.07)
Movement with continuous small amounts of food is what keeps the gut working. A horse standing in a stall for 22 hours a day is a horse whose digestive system is being chronically compromised. Also, sticking a horse out on 20 acres of lush green pasture is not the answer either. They’ll barely move. And green pasture is not good for horses.

Renee Tucker, DVM (00:02:11.01)
They need hay or tall, fibrous dry grasses and movement. The single best stress management tool I know is a track system with free choice hay. It puts horses back in their natural state, moving, eating and living with the herd. Liver issues what most owners and some vets overlook. The liver plays a critical role in digestion.

Renee Tucker, DVM (00:02:33.29)
In about 20% of chronic colic cases, diet and management corrections are not enough because the liver is compromised and not supporting the digestive function Properly. Here’s some signs the liver may be involved Persistent colic despite diet management changes Dull coat, low energy and poor weight maintenance so when a horse keeps colicking after you’ve cleaned the diet and improved the environment, the liver is where you should look next. It’s the missing piece in a significant number of chronic colic cases that owners have been struggling with for years. I learned the real causes of colic in horses. After more than 30 years working with thousands of horses, I made a video with the most important learnings I had as a vet.

Renee Tucker, DVM (00:03:17.08)
Watch it after this Signs and Symptoms Horses rarely go from fine to emergency overnight. There are almost always some subtle signs being missed. Not eating with the usual enthusiasm Disinterest in food even briefly Slightly quieter or more withdrawn than normal and less manure than usual or manure that looks different. Normal horse manure should be roughly small fists sized balls with no visible hay stems. If you’re seeing hard, dry golf ball sized fecal balls, that’s a sign the horse is not digesting properly and the gut is under stress.

Renee Tucker, DVM (00:03:53.05)
Yours’s manure is one of the most reliable daily health indicators. If you look at it more often, it can tell you things your horse can’t. There’s one rule that overrides everything else. If your horse stops eating or stops producing manure, call your vet immediately. Do not wait.

Renee Tucker, DVM (00:04:09.09)
By the way, this video is part of a series where I share the root causes and definitive treatments for common horse issues. Subscribe because the next one is about back pain in horses. Recommended Treatments Fix the diet first what horses are actually designed to eat is 24,7 access to a lot of different grass hay species. They can be mixed together or you can feed different species separately. No rye, no alfalfa, no clover.

Renee Tucker, DVM (00:04:34.15)
That’s the foundation. I’ve seen horses that colic three times a month become completely colic free with nothing more than die correction. So before anybody talks about medication or surgery, the first conversation needs to be about nutrition. Now the track system. One of the most significant management changes an owner can make is to allow horses to move freely, eat continuously and live with other horses.

Renee Tucker, DVM (00:04:58.23)
It mimics their natural environment and dramatically reduces colic risk. Liver support is the next step. The liver’s role in digestion is significant when it’s not functioning optimally. Even a perfect diet can’t fully compensate TBT. Liver Revival was developed specifically to address this gap, supporting liver functions as part of a whole horse approach to digestive health.

Renee Tucker, DVM (00:05:20.29)
Link is in the description how to Cure It Forever Every treatment we’ve talked about so far addresses a piece of the puzzle. There can be a layer underneath all of it that almost nobody in the horse world sees. And and it’s the reason some horses keep calking even when owners are doing everything right. These problems are specific to the individual horse. For example, sometimes there’s actually a problem with the intestines function.

Renee Tucker, DVM (00:05:45.27)
Tbt. The Tucker biokinetic technique can help that. Or perhaps the liver itself is fine, but the blood flow to and from the liver is not. TBT can help with that. Or the amount of water getting to the intestines is not enough, so you get these rock hard fecal balls.

Renee Tucker, DVM (00:06:03.10)
TBT can help with that. TBT can find the root cause of any problem and fix it. After 30 years of treating horses, I kept seeing chronically colicking horses not being helped because the root causes are not being addressed or even being recognized. And that’s why I created TBT. Everything I’ve learned over 30 years is built into one program.

Renee Tucker, DVM (00:06:24.04)
So whenever you’re ready. The link is in the description. Thanks and I’ll see you next time.

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