Hay conundrum

[LovieBird]

I’m going to call my vet in the morning, but I’d like to hear some ideas about our situation.

I’m afraid orchard hay may be giving my horse diarrhea. Sometimes he’s totally fine, but other times, he’s a little loose. This morning it was nearly projectile. He has a normal temp and is acting totally normal otherwise.

Normally, I’d change his hay, since I read orchard can cause this in some horses. However, he is 19, so his teeth are starting to become worn. For this reason, I don’t think Timothy is an option since it is so stalky. He cannot have bermuda since he had colic surgery for an impaction caused by it.

Any suggestions? Keep the orchard and add some kind of supplement like bio sponge? Go for Timothy cubes?

[vxf111]

Hay pellets or chaff hay for the moment, until you get the issue straightened out?

[CHT]

Could it be a fungus or similar on the hay? What country are you in?

[ParadoxFarm]

I have this problem right now, too!! Well, I should say my horse does. :D. Is it second cutting orchard? My old horse is 25 and has never had an issue before, but he really does with my last batch of hay. I started him yesterday on some local mixed grass hay, so I will see if that helps. Also put him on SmartPak Smart Digest.

[LovieBird]

@CHT

Could it be a fungus or similar on the hay? What country are you in?

I have no idea! We are in the US- I get the Standlee compressed bales.

[LovieBird]

@ParadoxFarm

I have this problem right now, too!! Well, I should say my horse does. :D. Is it second cutting orchard? My old horse is 25 and has never had an issue before, but he really does with my last batch of hay. I started him yesterday on some local mixed grass hay, so I will see if that helps. Also put him on SmartPak Smart Digest.

Yes, it’s the Standlee compressed bales, which are the wonderful soft second cutting orchard that he can actually chew.

Unfortunately our local grass hay is coastal, since we are in the south 😭. Here it’s pretty much coastal or alfalfa, which definitely makes him loose (and makes his pee thick and mucus-y).

Thank you for the supplement suggestion- litt gives me a starting point!

[4horses]

What about perennial peanut hay? I feed Standlee alfalfa pellets and first cutting coastal hay to my old horse. She can only chew the first cutting . I was worried it would cause colic and tried to restrict her from having any. But she was stealing it from the others and then I decided, “well, she’s an old horse, and when I’m that age, i want to eat whatever I want.” She has had no runs and looks great weight wise. No colic issues, and no history of colic.

My neighbor had a great first cutting so i filled the barn with 70 bales and that should get her through the winter.

[Palm_Beach]

@LovieBird

Yes, it’s the Standlee compressed bales, which are the wonderful soft second cutting orchard that he can actually chew.

Unfortunately our local grass hay is coastal, since we are in the south 😭. Here it’s pretty much coastal or alfalfa, which definitely makes him loose (and makes his pee thick and mucus-y).

Thank you for the supplement suggestion- litt gives me a starting point!

Simply changing the hay can cause problems. Did you do it gradually over time? Sometimes they get upset even if you are very careful. I had one like that, and she was on Probios for a few weeks. Can you mix in what he was formerly eating?

[LovieBird]

@4horses

What about perennial peanut hay? I feed Standlee alfalfa pellets and first cutting coastal hay to my old horse. She can only chew the first cutting . I was worried it would cause colic and tried to restrict her from having any. But she was stealing it from the others and then I decided, “well, she’s an old horse, and when I’m that age, i want to eat whatever I want.” She has had no runs and looks great weight wise. No colic issues, and no history of colic.

My neighbor had a great first cutting so i filled the barn with 70 bales and that should get her through the winter.

The only way I’d be willing to feed Bermuda is if I had a forage analysis for each batch. My horse was fine on it for 15 years until he wasn’t. It was such a shock- I think I have a little ptsd from the whole ordeal. I literally have nightmares about him accidentally eating the wrong hay and getting sick again.

Plus, the surgeon told me to avoid feeding that type of hay if possible, so I’m trying my darndest, but man! It’s hard sometimes, but I’ll do whatever I can for him.

[LovieBird]

@Palm Beach

Simply changing the hay can cause problems. Did you do it gradually over time? Sometimes they get upset even if you are very careful. I had one like that, and she was on Probios for a few weeks. Can you mix in what he was formerly eating?

I gradually started him on the orchard during the summer. During the summer he isn’t on hay because the pasture is good, so I would feed him literally a handful of orchard at a time when he came in, gradually increasing.

I’m thinking some kind of probiotic may be in order. I’m honestly afraid to switch his hay at this point, because I don’t want to exacerbate what may or may not be going on.

[Palm_Beach]

Probios worked for my horse, but it took a few weeks for him to be back to normal.

[tabula_rashah]

Hind gut ulcers? You could try putting him on Succeed or doing a round of sucralfate and seeing if it cleared it up. I’ve pretty much fed orchard grass or orchard grass/alfalfa mix for as long as I’ve had horses and never seen it cause issues

[jawa]

In an older horse that may be transitioning to hay from grass, the issue may be the grinding surface of the existing teeth. They may be able to still grind hay, but not enough to create enough short stem fiber for the gut. The lack of the SSF may irritate the gut causing excess fluid to leave the gut. Try adding 1-2 lbs a day of a pelleted hay to your horse’s regular ration.

[PNWjumper]

I would say that even stemmier timothy is better than soft orchard grass if the soft orchard grass is causing diarrhea. I had 3 mares this last year get terrible diarrhea from a batch of orchard grass. My other 5 had no issues with it at all and it took me a couple of months to figure out what was causing it because of that. The hay, for the record, was pretty and soft and nice looking/smelling in all other ways.

I switched the mares to mediocre timothy and they all immediately began putting weight back on (they didn’t get “skinny” but definitely were no longer “blooming”) and gained quite a bit more energy.

Another thought - I agree with those who have suggested pelleted feed. Maybe a senior feed (or more senior feed) would help with the issue a bit if teeth are an issue. I do notice that my older horses get a little wetter manure-wise when it’s time for me to up the amount of senior feed they’re getting a bit.

[carman_liz]

@LovieBird

I have no idea! We are in the US- I get the Standlee compressed bales.

Standlee should make other types of hay. You could also put him on their timothy pellets for now, they soak down super fast. Is he on any grain or a senior feed? Triple crown senior or Nutrena senior, you can get nutrena at tractor supple with the standlee, are both great senior feeds that soak down into a mash quickly as well but have a decent fiber content. The pellets or a chopped hay, triple crown chopped forage is my go to. Everything at tractor supply is stemmy and dusty. Triple crowns chopped forage is clean and you could soak that as well. I know all that water seems counter productive but that type of diet along with a probios type supplement will keep him hydrated and get his flora back in order as well good luck!!!

[clanter]

is this horse stabled with others? just wondering if any other have displayed the same

[LovieBird]

@tabula rashah

Hind gut ulcers? You could try putting him on Succeed or doing a round of sucralfate and seeing if it cleared it up. I’ve pretty much fed orchard grass or orchard grass/alfalfa mix for as long as I’ve had horses and never seen it cause issues

I haven’t thought of that! Something to definitely consider.

[LovieBird]

Thank you for all of the helpful suggestions! I hadn’t considered hind gut ulcers or adding hay pellets.

He’s on Purina Equine Senior Active currently.

I tried feeding him Timothy last winter and he simply didn’t eat it ☹. I’ve had my eye on the Triple Crown chopped forage for awhile- the closest dealer is a few hours away, BUT our local feed store is going to start carrying TC. The things I would do to have consistent access to Triple Crown…

[LovieBird]

@clanter

is this horse stabled with others? just wondering if any other have displayed the same

He lives out with 2 others- one is a 7 y/o tb and the other is a 29 y/o tb. The younger tb looks to be ok. The older one, it’s harder to tell because her butt will be dirty (due to her personal area confirmation) but her poop will be normal.

[LovieBird]

Update: Vet gave us biosponge to try and said pro/prebiotics wouldn’t hurt to try.

What kind of pre/probiotic does everyone like? I saw SmartDigest had pretty good feedback, but there are so many to choose from!