I fed my Arab gelding around 5pm last night, and at 6pm the barn owner called and asked what he acted like when I was there.  oh oh.  I said he'd been agitated, bucking and running around the paddock, which he has been known to do many times in the past.  Anyway, she said he had not eaten all his grain, and had not eaten any hay and was down, flat out on his side and not moving.  I got in the car and sped back over; she had him up and walking but he was ready to go down any moment.  I got him in to the soft arena, turned to close the gate and down he went in some hay there.  He was flat out on his side, legs out, eyes closed, totally still.  I thought for sure he had eaten something poisonous and was dying.  I was so scared I could barely hold it together.  I stroked him and talked to him until the vet got there, telling him to please hang on. When the vet arrived we got him up and he examined him... his pulse was 36 and no temp - good news.  He stated Sam was quiet and calm.  Yes I said, that is a problem.  Sam is never quiet and calm!  Certainly not with a vet standing there holding a bucket with tubes, plungers, examination gloves, needles, etc.  He listened and said "no gut sounds".  The examination revealed no blockage that could be felt, normal stool but lots of gas.  (my boyfriend about passed out when he saw how they did the exam and noted vets don't get paid enough!)    The vet tried to get a tube down to his tummy, and in the chaos, Sam got his head up in an unnatural position and fainted.  He hit the side of the barn with a bang - I screamed thinking he'd broken his neck. Then he got up and stumbled and hit his leg, hobbling away - I then thought his leg was broken, but he was okay after a moment.  Finally got the tube in, pumped him full of warm water and malox? then led him around to see what would happen.  He seemed better.  We took the lead rope off and Sam shuffled away, wondering if that was a bad dream and if he'd been violated during that dream because his bottom was talkin'!  He began to trot, and let me tell you - the gas that came out of this horse would have lifted the space shuttle off the launch pad!  Big loud 30 second blasts that spooked him too.  Several of those.  Amazing.  I do not know what caused the suspected gas colic.  I stayed with him until 10pm then went back at 6ma.  He was fine and letting me know he had missed his dinner the night before!  I've never had a horse get colic like that.  He was so still, like he was meditating.  Today he is fine.  He has a scrape above his eye where he hit the side of the barn wall but other than that he seems okay.  I walked his entire pasture and could find nothing... no recent chew marks, only an area he had pawed some orange looking dirt.  Maybe he ingested some dirt that seemed interesting.  The vet said something must be in the air - he had 4 colics that day.  Wierd.

Glad he's okay.  Colic is so scary, especially the first time you experience it with YOUR horse. 

I used to have a QH gelding that seemd to colic at the drop of a hat, especially when we went camping.  Nothing scarier than waking up at 2 am in your tent (out in the boonies) hearing a horse rolling, hoping it's not yours, but looking out and seeing your horse in distress.  I tried to get my vet to check him for ulcers, but back in the mid 90's only TB's had shown that tendency.

I started feeding him alfafa and it seemed to cure the problem - now I've read that alfalfa is good for horses with ulcers.

Years later after I'd sold him, I saw that vet and he agreed that he'd probably had ulcers.

your horse may never colic again and you'll be lucky.  I think the most important thing is to know your horse:  their normal temp, what their poop looks like, amount they usually pass, personality, etc.

I'm glad your guy is ok. 

I've had horses for 30 yrs and had never had a colic case until this May.  3 of mine coliced within 10 days of each other, one ending up in surgery.    It's a scary feeling and will make you paranoid for quite a while.  I don't think I've ever been so obsessed with who's pooped and who hasn't and what it looks like.