Foal diarrhea from re-bred mare question

[kathyagnew]

I’ve searched around to see if this issue has been discussed, so please forgive me if I’ve missed it!

Last year my friend’s mare easily delivered a healthy colt and all was well until he developed chronic diarrhea around the time she was confirmed in foal again after being bred on her foal heat. All kinds of tests and vet threw everything in his arsenal at the kid, but it still took a long time to go away. (Don’t remember how long, but long enough that his coat became awfully dull and he looked like an early stage famine victim. Fortunately, he recovered and his now a huge, healthy yearling.

Same mare delivered a healthy filly this year and darn if it hasn’t happened again. Rebred on foal heat, confirmed in foal and – boom – filly has the squirts. She consulted with a different vet this time and so far bio-sponge hasn’t worked and we are crossing our fingers panacur will knock it out before the kid gets too bad.

All other foals on the farm last year and this have been fine - including the ones with rebred mamas.

Has anybody heard of perhaps milk becoming too rich due to hormonal or enzyme changes in pregnancy? We’re grasping at straws here, trying to keep her bum clean and find an answer before it does anything more than scald the poor muffin.

[JB]

The foal heat as a cause of foal scours is fairly well debunked. The biggest cause is intestinal threadworms passed from the mare via the milk, and the resulting diarrhea ends up happening coincidentally around the time of the foal heat. To that point - was the mare dewormed with something containing ivermectin or moxidectin within 12 hours post-foaling, or at least within a couple weeks pre-foaling?

Another cause of these symptoms is ulcers.

[kathyagnew]

Thanks for responding, JB. The mare was dewormed around foaling time - I don’t know the details. Ulcer was ultimately suspected with the colt last year, but that wasn’t it. What is odd is that all the mares had the same routine last year and this year and this mare is the only one whose foals have developed diarrhea both years. That’s why I was wondering if it could be some change in the milk due to pregnancy (as opposed to the “foal heat” scours.)

As I said - grasping at straws…

[JB]

It may be well worthwhile sending her milk in for testing. I know Progressive does it, and surely it’s done elsewhere I just don’t know where. Possible the hospitals like New Bolton/Cornell/UC-Davis?

[kathyagnew]

Ooooh. I’m going to look into that. Thank you!

[paintedpony]

I would give ivermectin both mare and foal. If diarrhea stops, you have your answer.