lunge or free lunge for colic struck horses

Question
hello sir, may i know why to lunge or free lunge a horse for 10 to 20 min if it is suffering from colic?

Answer
Hi Rohit,

Thank you for your question.  There are 3 different kinds of colic.  Horses who are suffering from impaction colic or gas colic may benefit from walking, the motion of the horse may help liberate gas in the case of gas colic and improve gut motility (and perhaps loosen an impaction) in horses suffering an impaction. I would hesitate to suggest forcing such a horse to do anything more than walk...and would say that hand walking the horse is better than free lunging.  For some horses a 20 minute walk may be enough to help alleviate the symptoms of colic where others may need to be walked for longer...it all really depends on the degree of severity of the colic.  Horses with a torsion colic will find moving incredibly painful and these horses are probably best allowed to rest.  

Thanks, Corlena