DETERMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BAROMETRIC PRESSURE CHANGES AND THE INCIDENCE OF EQUINE COLIC
Date
2018-05
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Colic is a universal term for abdominal pain and is the top equine emergency seen today with a fatality of almost 7%. The cause of colic could be anything from diet to disease or stress, but nothing in horses has been studied and documented. Other mammals, like cows and rats, have been shown to have an increased response to pain and have onset of parturition within twelve hours when a low pressure system surrounds the animal. Sets of data from the New Bolton Center’s Field Service database along with data from the National Weather Service from 2005 through 2016 were combined to statistically look for connections between the two datasets to support anecdotal hypotheses found throughout the equine industry. Results of the study showed that (when age and breed type are normalized) there is a positive relationship (odds ratio of 0.39) between the barometric pressure change within 12 hours of the incidence of colic. For every unit of decrease in barometric pressure, the odds of colic increase by about 2.5 times. Pressure difference within 12 hours of the event shows significance to the incidence of colic (P value of 0.01) and indicates that there is a difference between incidence of colic and other diagnoses when considering barometric pressure differences. The horse’s age and geographical location are also significantly associated with the incidence of colic. This study provides evidence that changes in barometric pressure could be a contributing factor for colic, enabling horse owners and veterinarians to intervene earlier for colic-prone, senior or stressed horses.
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Keywords
Preveterinary Medicine, Animal Biosciences, barometric pressure, equine colic