Why do horses tend to get colic more when the weather is cloudy?

Narrabri-based scientist Dr Bec Thistlethwaite is contributing a fortnightly column to the Gunnedah Times on the science in our daily lives. Readers are invited to send their science questions in to Dr Bec via [email protected]

Why do horses tend to get colic more when the weather is cloudy?

When the weather gets all moody and the clouds roll in, your horse might start feeling under the weather too.

Imagine your horse feeling a bit like you do when you get a stomach ache – that’s colic.

But why does this happen more when the weather changes?

Just as people might groan about achy joints or headaches with changing weather, horses aren’t immune to these quirks either!

The research says that when there’s a drop in barometric pressure, horses are more prone to colic.

So, when those low-pressure systems – like sneaky cold fronts often paired with cloudy days – swing through, colic episodes tend to follow within about 12 hours.

A recent study found that for every drop in barometric pressure, the chances of colic increase by 2.5 times.

Barometric pressure is like the weight of the air pressing down on everything around us.

When it’s high, the weather tends to be clear and calm.

When it’s low, it can bring cloudy skies and sometimes stormy weather.

When the clouds come over, we might think it best to keep our horses stabled out of the weather where they will tend to move around less which in turn causes a decrease in gut movement.

When the air pressure changes, it can affect how a horse’s body works in small but important ways.

For instance, it might make their blood thicker and lower their blood sugar levels.

Cooler temperatures can make blood vessels tighten, raising blood pressure.

There is evidence to say that these changes, although small, might be part of why colic happens more often when the weather shifts.

So, next time you see the weather forecast predicting a storm or a big change in the weather, remember that your horse might feel it too.

After all, understanding how nature affects our animal friends is just one more fascinating part of the science all around us.