Can Horses Race After Colic Surgery?

Colic surgery is expensive, requires a long period of recuperation, and carries a significant level of risk. Not all horses live through the surgery, and a moderate number require another surgery within a few days of the original procedure. However, in some cases of colic, surgery is the only treatment that can give an affected horse any chance of survival.

Fortunately, many horses that undergo colic surgery recover well and are able to return to their previous level of performance after a period of convalescence. A study conducted by researchers from the New Bolton Center at the University of Pennsylvania reviewed the records of 59 horses in race training that had colic surgery when they were between the ages of two and five years old. The performance records of these horses were compared to those of 90 control horses that were similar in athletic grade.

Of the horses in the colic surgery group, better than 75% returned to racing after surgery, and the number of starts and amount of race earnings were not statistically different between these horses and those in the nonsurgical group. Results from this study suggest that horses undergoing colic surgery can often return to the same level of training and performance as before the surgery.