WE ARE on colic watch after seeing seven horses with gasey colic over a three-day spell.

All had low grade abdominal pain - unsettled, pawing at the ground, looking at their flanks - and responded well to pain relief and anti-spasm treatment.

The common factor in all cases - which included our very own Bob - was that horses were out at night and in during the day, with the signs showing after being at grass overnight.

Perhaps, with the unseasonal warm weather, we have left it later than usual to start stabling at night?

Our horses have been in during the day to avoid the flies, but there's definitely more grass than usual for late September.

Perhaps the answer, as we approach autumn, with it getting dark by 7 pm, is to have them either out 24/7 or stabled at night instead of in during the day and out at night? None of the colic cases were out 24/7.

With the milder weather, the sugar content of grass can change overnight at this time of year. And, bear in mind, being out overnight - say from 6pm to 8am - is longer than being out from 8am to 6pm.