Old horses with 'the runs'

[BeastieSlave]

I’ve been putting off starting this thread and I’ve tried to do my homework…
My old blind mare Candi had has diarrhea for a couple months now. She’s losing weight and I’m losing hope. So far I’ve had her teeth floated (they looked great), wormed the heck out of her even though her fecals were fine, had her thyroid and kidney function tested along with a few other tests. So far, the vet hasn’t found anything unusual, but he’s running some more tests now.

Candi’s on pasture 24/7, eats TC Sr and as much hay as she cares to eat (which isn’t much). She used to get some whole oats with her Sr for a bit of variety, but when I noticed they were just passing through, I cut them out. Even though TC puts loads of probiotics in their Sr, I’ve been adding Probios to her feed for a while. Slippery Elm didn’t help. Some days her poop is more normal than others, but even then, she’ll finish a pile with liquid running down her legs. On bad days, she leaves little splatters that a cow wouldn’t claim. Her hind end, tail, and back legs are nasty and we’re both over the washing on cold days!

If you have stayed with me this long (THANKS!), please share your experiences with me. I think that for some reason, Candi isn’t digesting her feed properly. The grass and hay she eats seems to pass through her almost in tact. The TC Sr is beet pulp based and seems to be digested more easily. Based on what the vet finds/doesn’t find this time, I’m wondering if I should try to limit her grass & hay and up her Sr feed? I’ve got a call in to a vet friend who sort of specializes in equine nutrition, but I’d like to hear from COTH while I’m waiting for her…

[birdsong]

I once had a guy who had diarrhea and weight lose for several months. I went through 3 vets before an old country guy said “well that there horse just needs to be FED”.
Found out the BO was not giving him enough hay and the bacteria level in his gut had become out of balance.
The remedy turned out to be as simple as doubling his daily hay.

With what you have said in regards to the amt of hay yours eats and it not being chewed, there could be something to it.

Straight beet pulp is an excellent source of fiber. Did you say that you had fed that or just beet pulp in the regular feed.

[murphyluv]

wow you’ve done so many of the things I would suggest…!!
How much TC senior are you feeding? Are you feeding any beet pulp?
Does she have a lot of teeth left?
It’s great that you are feeding TC senior and are adding probiotics. However, there are some other digestive aids. Prebiotics in different forms may also help. Diamond V Yeast is one that comes to mind. Beet pulp is also good. You could also try Stomach Soother or make your own- papaya smoothie. http://www.stomachsoother.com/ Most people use it for ulcers, but it also has digestive enzymes and I’ve also heard good things from people who have used it for diarrea.

[jokersmama]

I know how you feel.
My old man 22 years young gets “the runs” every winter (been going on for 5 years now) when the grass dies down and he is eating mostly hay. Sounds identical to yours it looks barely chewed when it comes out the other end. I’ve had every test done the vet recommended. Verdict: He’s “as healthy as a horse”. (and his teeth are fine)
I started him on a gruel of soaked beet pulp, soaked alfalfa pellets, and rice bran just to make sure he is getting the nutrition he needs. His gruel looks already pre chewed :yes: Plus he gets free choice grass hay.

I also make sure he has free choice access to loose salt.

It hasn’t helped with “the squirts” but at least I know he is getting something from his food before he eliminates it.

I have had people suggest feeding psyllium the stuff they feed for sand colic but haven’t tried that yet, also many people recommend “bio-sponge” I haven’t tried that yet either, looks like I’ll be shopping too…:winkgrin:

[3_is_the_limit]

We had an 18 year old mare with the same problems. Always had the squirts. What finally helped was having one of her meals be alphalfa pellets only.

After a few days of that, her pooper was great. (The owner was originally hesitant to add the pellets because this mare was a mare of huge girth). Glad we did it.

[FatPalomino]

Ask your vet about Biosponge. I’ve seen some older horses live on it with very good results.
http://www.platinumperformance.com/animal/equine/products/productcategories/product.cfm?category_id=162

[Cloverbarley]

It’s really not that unusual for elderly horses to get the runs from time to time, sometimes more times than not. The only time to really worry is when the situation comes about like yours OP, whereby the horse starts to lose weight. Of course this may or may not be related to the runs, it could just be down to diet and the slowing down of the digestion system. Old horses cannot manage their feed intake like younger horses. Just do your best, sounds like you are, and many good suggestions given on this post.

[Elfe]

Three of my horses (young) had bad diarrhea this summer with no obvious reason.
We tried all of the above and also biosponge, probiotics, etc. This went on for about two months and we got pretty tired to have to wash butts every day !
This is what finally worked. I bought different hay. As I started thinking about it it dawned on me that the problem had started a few days after getting a new batch of hay. When I got some from a different supplier the problem stopped. It turns out the hay that I think created the problem was treated, the other one was not. I also added “Assure” to the diet for one week and that also seemed to help (it’s a combination of psyllium and probiotics).
Good luck, it’s a miserable problem to deal with !

[grinanride]

Hey Beastie - email your shipping addy - I have a quart of Stomach Soother I will send you
Risa
HappyTrailsTrailers
BalancedRideTrailers

[BeastieSlave]

Thanks for the suggestions and support everyone!

More info: Candi was switched over from TC Complete to Sr feed in summer '08 when she started to look a bit ‘aged’. It helped right away. She gets about 9 pounds a day, divided into two meals. She’s not a big horse - right at 15hh, built like a slight TB (she’s 3/4 TB). She’s 23 now, and 100% blind. She’s been totally blind for about 4 years and is an amazing horse. Candi has her own private paddock where she eats and spends her evenings. She usually spends her days in a larger pasture with a friend or two. Both the pasture and paddock have good grass - we haven’t had our first frost yet. I offer coastal bermuda hay in the evenings and she mostly just spreads it around.

My vet and I talked about biosponge and he didn’t feel that it was warrented since we can’t find anything ‘bad’ to absorb. We talked about antibiotics and rejected them for the same reason and we worried about doing more harm by killing off the good guys in her gut.
I don’t add beet pulp to her feed because TC Sr’s main ingredient is beet pulp. It’s one of the things I love about it!
Candi has all her teeth and they look good. She doesn’t quid, and what comes out is definitely well chewed. It just doesn’t look well digested.

Does anybody have thoughts on yogurt?

[ChocoMare]

Yogurt – certainly will not hurt to try. I’ve used it successfully in the past as a preventive whenever a horse was on antibiotics of any kind and never had the diarrhea.

I just went with plain organic vanilla mixed in soaked plain beet pulp. It was happily consumed, with much lip smacking and slobber.

[mhtokay]

Some friends had an older grey mare who was like that for a long time. The vet just said she couldn’t absorb her nutrients, but couldn’t come up with a reason or a cure. They tried a lot of stuff. She was mid 20s, I think, when they finally put her down. She was hardly more than a walking skeleton, even though she ate a fair amount. I’m wondering if she had tumors, since she was grey.

[Sentry_Chick]

When I had my old guy, he had the runs for years and I tried everything under the sun. I could get some things to work for a week or so but the runs would come back each and every time. He had tooth loss so he would just chew up his hay and grass into a ball and spit it out. He was fed soaked beet pulp, alfalfa cubes and safe choice. He was on probiotics and supplements for arthirtis. It was not until Hay Stretcher was suggested to me that I got him cured. It stopped his diarrhea within days and he never got it back. All I did was add 1 small coffee can of HS to his other feed. He put his weight back on and was in the best shape he had ever been in years.

[jse]

Try giving her Probiotics. That has helped me personally and my horses in the past!

[Pocket_Pony]

We recently got a new batch of hay and Paddy has the runs, too. I’m trying probiotics, but it has only been a few days with only a small difference. I will likely go buy different hay this weekend.

Here’s a tip that’s helped me with the butt cleanings. I clean his butt cheeks daily and have been applying Vaseline to them afterward - really helps with the clean-up the following day - it wipes up easier and the squirts run over the Vaseline vs. sticking to the coat and drying.

[Watermark_Farm]

Try her on 100% pelleted feed. Replace her hay with hay pellets, moistened or in a mash if she’ll eat it that way. Do this gradually over a week or so. I’ve had a couple of seniors with the same issue and this has helped. Eventually, they’ve gone back to some hay, but most nutrition was met with a pellet mash.

[UNCeventer]

FCA feed in Maryland- who feeds it?

I went into the local feed store and was talking to the woman at the counter. She mentioned that they had a feed from Maryland in a plain brown bag called FCA- Farmers Cooperative Assoc. in MD.

I am interested in their 10/10 pellet, but do not know much about their grain nor much about FCA.

Anyone feed this grain? can you tell me more about them?

[Maril]

Wow, I am not alone.

Have a 20 year old Perch/TBX, same good hay from same supplier for 10 years, gets beet pulp, Senior and pellet mix, eats hay fine, good teeth, have tried different probiotics, Sand Clear, etc., to no effect. Wormed for everything followed by probiotics. He is fat and round, and acts fine, we’re just all tired of washing that butt (he’s white) and putting diaper rash ointment on him. Hate to ask, but what is Bio Sponge and Hay Stretcher, and where do you get it?? Thanks.

[LLDM]

Try MSM. Sometimes with older horses the lining of their gut just gets irritated - which makes it less efficient and starts a cycle they just can’t seem to break. MSM can reduce the inflammation enough to get things back on track. It’s easy to feed, cheap and has the added bonus of helping those old joints a bit too. And even can help some skin irritation in the summer a bit.

If this works for any of you, please pass it along. It was a godsend for my very old guy when we finally got him sorted out.

SCFarm

[chicamuxen1]

It’s a chewing issue. When a horse can’t chew it’s grass and hay sufficiently then the coarse fiber causes diarrhea. The solution is no hay, feed a soaked senior feed, usually can feed as much as they desire. Even unsoaked it usually breaks down well enough internally. This gets to be hard as they often need to live seperately so they get their own feed and can access it at all times. You may still be able to leave her on tender new grass but at this time of year most grass is coarse and will cause the diarrhea also. I went thru this with one old pony who had lost a lot of teeth and also one young TB who fractured his jar. He ate soaked alfalfa pellets for months before he was able to chew hay well enough to get past the diarrhea stage.

chicamuxen