Feeding before surgery may improve recovery in horses

CURRENT BRIEF VERSION: Feeding horses before elective surgery, rather than fasting them, appears to improve postoperative gut function without increasing anesthesia-related complications. In a Colorado State University study highlighted by equine media and later discussed on the AVMA’s Veterinary Vertex podcast, horses allowed continuous access to hay until about one hour before anesthesia passed manure sooner and produced more of it after surgery than fasted horses. In the fed group, postoperative colic was not reported, while four of 30 fasted horses developed colic in coverage summarizing the study. Podcast discussion of the work framed it as a direct test of a long-standing equine anesthesia routine that had persisted more from habit than strong evidence. (paulickreport.com)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this is less about a small husbandry tweak and more about perioperative risk management and welfare. Post-anesthetic colic is a meaningful complication in horses, and earlier manure passage is a practical sign that gastrointestinal motility is returning. That matters for patient monitoring, case management, and client communication with the pet parent. The broader literature also points in the same direction: a 2016 retrospective study found a 2.5% incidence of post-anesthetic colic in non-fasted adult horses undergoing elective, non-abdominal procedures, lower than rates reported in earlier fasted populations, and a 2024 retrospective study found fasting was independently associated with higher odds of post-anesthetic colic. The Veterinary Vertex discussion also placed the issue in the wider context of equine anesthesia risk, noting that horses still carry a meaningful perioperative mortality rate under general anesthesia, making practical steps that may improve recovery especially relevant. At the same time, experts note there are exceptions, especially for some laparoscopic procedures where intestinal distension can affect the surgical field. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)

What to watch: Expect more hospitals to revisit pre-anesthetic feeding protocols for non-abdominal equine procedures, but likely with procedure-specific exceptions and a continued push for prospective, controlled data. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)