friends older colt with constant diarrhea

[Cathy_H]

A friends twoish year old colt has had almost constant diarrhea since being born.. I am not sure exactly what she has done or given but it has been several things.... Has anyone ever had a horse that got diarrhea a lot? It goes away & comes back. Any ideas on what to feed or NOT to feed, give etc? Associated with certain diseases?

 

[Ojai Minis]

Have they tried psyillium? Maybe he has sand in him. I had a mare that had diarrhea for a whole year. Wormed her, changed feed, everything. Finally my vet suggested trying some Metronitozole (sp) thinking she might have picked up a parasite from water. Sure enough, 1 week after starting her on it, she cleared up and has been fine ever since and that was over a year ago.

Bio Sponge works great for diarrhea also. Worth a try.

Liz V.

 

[hhpminis]

Is there any pain involved with this?

I too would go throught the list of causes such as worms, rich grass or hay, mare in heat, mare has dirty or bug bitten bag. These can be checked quickly and determined if it is the problem.

I also would not rule out ulcers.

Diarhea in a foal is always something that sends up a big red flag for me as they can get dehydated so quickly.

Try some Pepto to get the diarhea under control and call a vet for some professional advice. All we can do is give advice on things to ask a vet and some simple home remedies but without being there is is really hard for any of us to know, so I would definitely recommend the vet to her.

 

[hhpminis]

Did not notice the 2 YEAR old, thought it was 2 MONTHS sorry. All stays the same except the mares bag obviously.

 

[CKC]

yep, we have been dealing with this with our 5 year old mare since she was a few months old. The lady we bought her from told us that she had just started this before she was to be delivered to us. We were already committed to the sale so I couldn't back out.

That's why when I buy a horse now that's one of the questions I ask. Has this horse ever had a diarrhea or loose stool issue?

We have spent a lot of $ on her vet care to find that no one has been able to determine what is wrong with her. She has been treated by vets and sent to an equine hospital. She was ultrasounded, blood work, fecal checks. No sand, no gut problems. They said try psyllium(just to see if it could be that). We went in with a loose stool issue, but came out with a congenital heart defect. So don't really know if that's related. Told us she could have 2 weeks to 10 years to live. Well, that was 3 years ago.

So once a month for a week all of our horses get psyllium. Millie gets better, but it's still the same. We have been cleaning her tail since she came here. She has what I consider loose stool projecting from her. Not a lot comes out(not to be gross), but after days of this the tail gets to be a mess.

We have also, given her probios. That helped a little, but again it was in cooler weather. Nothing really helps when it's warm and she is drinking lots of water.

We have tried different feed, different hay. Nothing works. It still comes and goes. Her stools are now formed unlike when she was younger they were more like cow piles. That's why we were really worried, but now they are formed and she still has some liquid with it.

We have noticed with her that it's worse when it's warm out and she drinks a lot of water. She isn't nearly as bad in the winter. So it makes it hard to believe that it's all sand related. However, she does get better right after the psyllium is given.

My equine dentist came out not too long ago. I was telling him about her and he said oh, you have a farter. Well, I'm beginning to think that's the best and cheapest diagnosis yet.

If your friends get any helpful info. I would love to have it.

Kim

 

[Ojai Minis]

yep,  we have been dealing with this with our 5 year old mare since she was a few months old. The lady we bought her from told us that she had just started this before she was to be delivered to us. We were already committed to the sale so I couldn't back out. 
That's why when I buy a horse now that's one of the questions I ask. Has this horse ever had a diarrhea or loose stool issue? 

We have spent  a lot of $ on her vet care to find that no one has been able to determine what is wrong with her. She has been treated by vets and sent to an equine hospital. She was ultrasounded, blood work, fecal checks. No sand, no gut problems. They said try psyllium(just to see if it could be that).  We went in with a loose stool issue, but came out with a congenital heart defect.  So don't really know if that's related. Told us she could have 2 weeks to 10 years to live. Well, that was 3 years ago.

So once a month for a week all of our horses get psyllium.  Millie gets better, but it's still the same. We have been cleaning her tail since she came here.  She has what I  consider loose stool projecting from her. Not a lot comes out(not to be gross), but after days of this the tail gets to be a mess.

We have also, given her probios. That helped a little, but again it was in cooler weather. Nothing really helps when it's warm and she is drinking lots of water.

We have tried different feed, different hay.  Nothing works. It still comes and goes.  Her stools are now formed unlike when she was younger they were more like cow piles. That's why we were really worried, but now they are formed and she still has some liquid with it.

We have noticed with her that it's worse when it's warm out and she drinks a lot of water.  She isn't nearly as bad in the winter. So it makes it hard to believe that it's all sand related.  However,  she does get better right after the psyllium is given.

My equine dentist came out not too long ago. I was telling him about her and he said oh, you have a farter. Well, I'm beginning to think that's the best and cheapest diagnosis yet.

If your friends get any helpful info. I would love to have it.

Kim

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I'm wondering if the psyllium helps absorb some of the water so it helps form solid stool.

Kim, did you ever try Metronidizole(sp) ? It might be worth the try. It's also called Flagyl (sp).

Liz V.

 

[lil hoofbeats]

im not sure if this is related to this topic, but this year has been a horrible year for us, it seems that most of our babies have come down with some kind of virus that causes diahrea. they seem to get it about 36 hours old, all of our babies have gotten it, except for a few, born at the first of the year. the last mare that foaled, we hosed down her stall with disinfectant, and has just finished washing her down wtih antibacterial soap, (her udder area, and legs, where the baby would put its mouth) she foaled in the front yard that has not had horses on it, and we carried the foal, and walked the mare to her disinfected stall. The foal still got it. We have had to give plasma, and use a central line to keep them hydrated till they get over it. Its been tough, and we have really stopped looking forward to any more foals. THe vet says its viral, they have not run a fever, and they have all continued to nurse well.

 

[CKC]

Thanks Liz. I will have to try that. Any recommendations on where to get it?

I will check out my Valley Vet catalog here in a second to see if it's in there.

Thanks again,

Kim

 

[Ojai Minis]

Thanks Liz. I will have to try that. Any recommendations on where to get it?
I will check out my Valley Vet catalog here in a second to see if it's in there.

Thanks again,

Kim

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Kim,

You need a prescription for it. Ask your vet. And I don't remember the dose. Seems it was 500mg 2 x a day.

Liz V.

 

[user 488]

There is a parasite(amoeba type thing) that foals as well as adult horses can get that will cause constant diarrhea. Your vet can take a swab, look under the mircroscope and see them. Most of the time a vet will prescribe Metronidazole or Flagyl....along with Metamucil. Should clear the problem up in a short amount of time. It is normally caused from too many animals in too small of space.

I had a foal with this problem that came in from a farm that was over populated and the Flagyl cleared it right up. Don't know if this is what your horse has but since no one has mentioned it I thought I would throw it out there.

Carol

Sorry Liz................edited to say I just reread and saw that you posted about trying Flagyl.

 

[Triggy&Blue&Daisy Too]

Most of the time a vet will prescribe Metronidazole or Flagyl

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Trig had diarrhea as a weanling to yealing. Tried all the usual methods like probios sandclear etc but it didn't quit until the vet treated with flagyl. Went away within a few days and we haven't had any problems since.

 

 

 

 

[whitney]

Do a sand test, put manure in a bucket with water swish let set for an hour pour off the liquid fill again with water swish wait an hour pour off liquid. Do this until there is no manure left just sand if you get more than a pinch you have a sand problem.

When I tested my mare she had had the runs off and on for 2 months. The sand test came up with a tablespoon of sand.

Uckele has the best psyllium product its 100% psyllium. I tried the walmart stuff I had to treat her with it twice a day for a month to get all the sand out of her. I later found out it has more sugar in it than psyllium.