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Do changes in weather increase the frequency of colic in horses? Some owners and veterinarians think so, while others are skeptical. 

Several researchers have attempted to find a correlation between weather and incidence of colic, though evidence is not conclusive.

Thirty-year-old reports from Europe suggested weather changes were associated with the highest rate of colic, specifically changes to cold and damp conditions or to warm and wet during advancing weather fronts.

Certainly, cold weather has been linked to increased impaction colic because lower temperatures often reduce water consumption.

On the flip side, in a Virginia-Maryland study performed more recently, weather did not appear to be related to colic. When events were investigated by looking at a 14-day window preceding colic episodes, low humidity and snow marginally increased colic risk.

In a study in Virginia, seven cases of colic occurred during a heavy snowstorm over a three-day period. This was unusual as there were only 104 cases of colic in approximately 1,000 horses monitored for a full year. What became apparent from records kept by farms was the change in management due to the snowstorm. Horses were kept in stalls, rather than being turned out, and the diet was not altered, even though horses had no turnout or exercise. The increase in colic episodes in this study was most likely not directly related to the weather, but rather due to management changes caused by weather.

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