# constipated foal



## frostedpineminis (Apr 12, 2011)

Hi I have a little colt born about 24 hours ago, he passed his meconium and has ate, drank and urinated. Now today he is constipated it seems as he is straining with nothing every once in a while wants to bite his belly and is stomping his back feet, I gave hime 15cc of warm soapy water about a half hour ago and nothing came, any suggestions!!!


----------



## Kelsey - Vandy's Farm (Apr 12, 2011)

frostedpineminis said:


> Hi I have a little colt born about 24 hours ago, he passed his meconium and has ate, drank and urinated. Now today he is constipated it seems as he is straining with nothing every once in a while wants to bite his belly and is stomping his back feet, I gave hime 15cc of warm soapy water about a half hour ago and nothing came, any suggestions!!!


It's fairly common. Go to Rite Aid or Target...Walmart, etc. Get an enema. Stick it up there....and you should get results very quickly hahaha


----------



## frostedpineminis (Apr 12, 2011)

everything is closed right now!! I was wondering if I could syringe more warm soapy water and if so how much?


----------



## Sandy B (Apr 12, 2011)

Sometimes you have to glove up and lubricate and help get the "sticky balls" out. I have not had to do it to a mini yet, but have had to do it on my quarter horse foals. In the past few years I have had two foals that even with enemas they get a bit packed. After scooping the hard poo out they feel much better, but you may even have to do it a couple more times(over the course of a half a day) until you see the mustard yellow foal poo. But definitely get the enema in him first- probably for a mini 1/2 of the enema bottle will be plenty.


----------



## supaspot (Apr 12, 2011)

soapy water is ok to use once or twice but if you need to keep doing it Id recommend mixing the warm water with liquid parafin or vegetable oil , it works better than soapy water


----------



## Nathan Luszcz (Apr 12, 2011)

No 24hr Walmarts?


----------



## Jill (Apr 12, 2011)

I don't think 15cc of water will help (not enough fluid). Do you have the enema bottle from before? If so, you could reuse that if there's no place to get a fresh one. Good luck!


----------



## chandab (Apr 12, 2011)

Nathan Luszcz said:


> No 24hr Walmarts?


I don't know about the OP, but my closest Walmart is 150 miles one-way, so not everyone has a "local" Walmart.


----------



## cretahillsgal (Apr 12, 2011)

15 cc is not near enough. As soon as you can you need to get an enema and start applying it.

Soemtimes it takes more than just the one enema too. Just watch and is you still see him straining later give him another one.


----------



## wildoak (Apr 12, 2011)

Pretty commone with colts, but I agree I would get something more in him as soon as you can...can morph into a more serious problem pretty quickly with new babies. If you can't resolve it with another enema you might want to call your vet - foals can just go downhill so fast. Let us know how he does.





Jan


----------



## Jill (Apr 12, 2011)

Just checking in and hoping he's doing good!!!

This year, we've given additional enemas to two of our fillies. I wasn't totally sure they were straining, but I didn't think it was a situation that it would hurt to give another enema so that's what we did. With those stall cameras, it's hard to not be "hyper aware" of every little thing they do, and I am a gifted worrier.

Hoping your guy has pooped and is doing well.


----------



## frostedpineminis (Apr 12, 2011)

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of the replies... I couldnt get an enema last night as there is nothing around that is open, but I got one this morning and he pooped about 2 minutes after. he is running around his momma and kicking up his back legs and as happy as a clown!! I just love this forum and its never ending stream of knowledge no matter what the time or question!!! The enema is now in my foaling kit and will always be there. I learn so much from all of you and I greatly appreciate it!!! talk to you soon Nicki


----------



## HGFarm (Apr 12, 2011)

YEAH!!!!! Horse owners are always thrilled to see poop!! Glad he is doing well!


----------



## Dee (Apr 13, 2011)

What kind of enema do you use? I'm scared I would give one that was too much...I need one to give to a foal right after birth. I'm in Canada so is there a certain brand anyone recommends that we might have here? Are there doses?

Thanks!


----------



## disneyhorse (Apr 13, 2011)

Dee... get a child size one for the mini foals. The brand really doesn't matter, it's not a complicated thing so any generic will work too. Use the whole thing, no need to worry about dosing.

Andrea


----------



## drmatthewtaylor (Apr 13, 2011)

I encourage giving 3 enemas @ about 12, 24 and 36 hours old. WHETHER THEY PASS MECONIUM EASILY OR NOT. Sorry, just wanted to be sure everyone heard me. I have NEVER treated an impaction in a foal receiving enemas, while foals that do get impacted cannot always be fixed by just a regular enema.

Be sure the enema is sodium phosphate or water (not oil). Child size is fine, but I usually use 1/2 an adult. After the first enema I have #2 be just warm water +/- a drop of soap in the enema bottle already used.

No need to lube the end of the enema bottle, they come prelubed.

Dr Taylor


----------



## SampleMM (Apr 13, 2011)

drmatthewtaylor said:


> I encourage giving 3 enemas @ about 12, 24 and 36 hours old. WHETHER THEY PASS MECONIUM EASILY OR NOT. Sorry, just wanted to be sure everyone heard me. I have NEVER treated an impaction in a foal receiving enemas, while foals that do get impacted cannot always be fixed by just a regular enema.
> 
> Be sure the enema is sodium phosphate or water (not oil). Child size is fine, but I usually use 1/2 an adult. After the first enema I have #2 be just warm water +/- a drop of soap in the enema bottle already used.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the tip Dr. Taylor. I usually give one but if three is best than I shall change my procedure.


----------



## frostedpineminis (Apr 13, 2011)

I used a fleet enema for children bought at extra foods in alberta here and I think that is what most stores in alberta carry. I used the whole bottle and I believe that there was 65cc in the bottle. it worked in about 2 minutes and i was so relieved.


----------



## Jill (Apr 13, 2011)

I'm so happy to read that he is doing well, and I also really appreciate Dr. Taylor's input. I'm going to make this our routine going forward. We always give one at first, and watch to see if they should have another. Now, I'm going to plan to do as he says and do three as a part of our normal "new baby" routine.


----------



## MountainMeadows (Apr 13, 2011)

Thanks Dr Taylor - that is my protocol here at our farm. I will say tho, that it is getting harder and harder to find enemas that DON'T have mineral oil -- what brand do you use>

Stacy


----------



## drmatthewtaylor (Apr 14, 2011)

MountainMeadows said:


> Thanks Dr Taylor - that is my protocol here at our farm. I will say tho, that it is getting harder and harder to find enemas that DON'T have mineral oil -- what brand do you use>
> 
> Stacy


I happen to use Fleet mostly, but I avoided that trade name as I do believe they make an oil enema also, I also use a generic whenever available.

As for dose, I do usually use 1/2 of a full sized enema, but really can't overdose an enema, it'll just leak out. You can give too many enemas and lead to electrolyte imbalances, but pretty uncommon.

Pharmacists are business people too and they'll order whatever you want, just ask.

Dr Taylor


----------

