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Background: The aim of the study was to investigate urine matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-2 and -9) activity, alkaline phosphatase/creatinine (U-AP/Cr) and gamma-glutamyl-transpeptidase/ creatinine (U-GGT/Cr) ratios, glucose concentration, and urine protein/creatinine (U-Prot/Cr) ratio and to compare data with plasma MMP-2 and -9 activity, cystatin-C and creatinine concentrations in colic horses and healthy controls. Horses with surgical colic (n = 5) were compared to healthy stallions (n = 7) that came for castration. Blood and urine samples were collected. MMP gelatinolytic activity was measured by zymography. Results: We found out that horses with colic had significantly higher urinary MMP-9 complex and proMMP-9 activities than horses in the control group. Colic horses also had higher plasma MMP-2 activity than the control horses. Serum creatinine, although within reference range, was significantly higher in the colic horses than in the control group. There was no significant increase in urinary alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase or total proteins in the colic horses compared to the control group. A human cystatin-C test (Dako Cytomation latex immunoassay® based on turbidimetry) did not cross react with equine cystatin-C. Conclusion: The results indicate that plasma MMP-2 may play a role in the pathogenesis of equine colic and urinary MMP-9 in equine kidney damage. Background Usually the detection of kidney damage can be made at a relatively late stage by measuring serum creatinine and urea concentrations because at the time of abnormal values 75% of nephrons are already damaged [1]. However, depending on the cause and extend of damage, kidney has ability to recover [2-5]. There is a need for tests that can measure the early stages of kidney damage when there is still a chance to prevent further damage. In the studies made with laboratory animals the release of endotoxins can affect kidney function [6,7]. In severe equine colic the release of endotoxins is presumed to happen, but to our Published: 23 January 2007 Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 2007, 49:4 doi:10.1186/1751-0147-49-4 Received: 30 March 2006 Accepted: 23 January 2007 This article is available from: http://www.actavetscand.com/content/49/1/4 © 2007 Arosalo et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.