Solutions for Diarrhea?

[easyklc]

My new horse has been at my barn now for about 4 weeks. Initially was pooping “normally,” but has since started having diarrhea. Is getting orchard grass, locally grown and not much different from what he was getting at his old barn. Lots of watery projectile before formed poop. Has been vetted, dewormed and is otherwise a happy camper. BTW a few of the other horses in the barn are also poopy right now. Summer grass is pretty eaten down, so not likely from that. I’ve started probiotics daily.

Is there anything anyone has tried that works or do I just wait it out? Vet says “wait and see.” Horse came to me slightly underweight and unfit. Is gaining nicely and in 5 day/week training program. Stalled at night and on turnout all day. He doesn’t seem uncomfortable, is amiable to workload and eats hay and ration balancer/flax meal enthusiastically.

[equineartworks]

If little Rye gets anything other than his hay…he is just as you describe. So now he gets his vitamin in the am and that’s it.

[tarynls]

I’d try some Biosponge (works wonders!). Here’s some info: http://www.platinumperformance.com/animal/equine/products/productcategories/product.cfm?category_id=162

If you scroll down a bit they recommend giving 120cc paste to adult horses with gastrointestinal distubances (they also give a recommended amount of Biosponge powder if you prefer to go that route).

One dose may be all you need.

[easyklc]

Thanks for the BioSponge tip. May try that if we’re still poopy by next week. The past day or so it seems to be slowing up a tad. Maybe the Probios is kicking in finally. My guy is growing weary of the daily tail and butt baths though. :eek:

[cloudyandcallie]

You can use sheath cleaner or baby wipes to clean him up, and apply desitin to keep it from being irritated.

If it’s an intestinal anerobic “bug” you can use, let me try to spell this, metridazonole, hope that is right. This clears up intestinal problems, then you give the probiotics to put the good “bugs” back in the gut.
$152.00 for a bottle of 500 tablets. Worked on BO’s pony 2 summers in a row.

[sid]

Ditto on the Biosponge. If it continues test for clostridium (fecal sample to lab).

I had one horse we put on a regimine of Metronidazole that cleared up the problem (antibiotic for anaerobic bacteria – also used for people with colitis).

[cloudyandcallie]

@sid;4369955

Ditto on the Biosponge. If it continues test for clostridium (fecal sample to lab).

I had one horse we put on a regimine of Metronidazole that cleared up the problem (antibiotic for anaerobic bacteria – also used for people with colitis).

Thanks for spelling it correctly. It has worked on my BO’s pony 2 summers in a row.

[msj]

You can also try adding plain yogurt to his diet if it continues. That and Dia-Gel are what finally cured my old gelding last winter. I’m keeping an eye on him already and have some Dia-Gel ready and a quick trip to the grocery store for yogurt if needed.

Good luck. At least you’ve got decent weather to keep his butt clean. I was dealing with this when the temps were in the teens and 20’s.

[sid]

Yes, Dia-gel combined with Biosponge is good. But frankly, I agree that plain yogurt after the Biosponge works well.

Not be be a buttinskly, but any stools like those you describe last for more than a couple days, deserves getting fecals to lab looking for salmonella (esp. since you said another horse in the barn has the same problem) and clostridium.

When any horse breaks with diahhrea, lest not be tromping around the premises or into other stalls until you know the cause.

Though the horse doesn’t have full blown projectile diarrhea, beware of dehydration and acidosis. I would offer a 2nd bucket of water that has about 1/2 small container of baking soda mixed in it. If the horse needs it it will drink it. When they don’t, they won’t or they’ll stop.

[msj]

Dagnabit easyklc! Ya had to bring up the subject of diarrhea… My old boy has been really good all summer and sure enough this morning I went to feed and clean and didn’t he have 4 really loose piles…

So to the store I went and picked up some yogurt to start feeding him again. If that doesn’t help in 2 days, I have 2 tubes of Dia-Gel. Here’s hoping I can get him back to normal… :sigh:

easyklc - good luck with your horse. I’m hoping I can get my old guy cleared up ASAP.

[winegum]

I would try and get him on some pro-bios. It is expensive, but I have heard it works wonders. You can get it in a tube if he diarrhea is only every so often. It’s a paste and you give him half a tube for 2 days or so. This is what I do with my horse, because his diarrhea is not that frequent. However, other horses I have known have it on a daily basis and require pro-bios in the powder form in their food daily. Only setback is if feed is measured for the am the night before, the pro-bios cannot be added until the morning when the horse is about to eat because it contains living organisms that will die if they sit out of the container too long and it would make the supplement ineffective.

[lolalola]

Pro-bios is not that expensive. I give the powder form to my two horses daily, and get it from one of the major mail order houses. It’s about $30 for five pounds, and lasts a couple of months for my two. If you’re giving it to them every day, it’s cheaper than yogurt.

[lintesia]

I had a similar problem with my horse when I first got him. After trying ProBios, Psyllium, taking him off of everything except hay (orchard grass), etc., he still had mild but chronic diarrhea. With four white socks, it was no fun…

He had a complete work-up at the vet clinic and everything came back negative, but the vet put him on Metranidazol (now I’m probably misspelling it!) which cleared it up within 48 hours, but despite getting it for 10 days, the diarrhea eventually came back. We then tried “Restore” and BioSponge and yoghurt, with no real success.

Finally, someone suggested Aloe Vera Juice, and this has made a world of difference. He gets 1 cup every morning and has been diarrhea-free for about 10 months. I buy it at Trader Joe’s – $8.00 (I think) for a jug which lasts 3 weeks. One thing I definitely remember, though, was that for the first 2 - 3 days, his diarrhea got worse (even though I introduced it gradually). But by day 4 or 5, he was completely fine.

So I swear by Aloe Vera Juice… and I love the price!

[easyklc]

Haven’t felt like we need to start Flagyl (metronidazole) yet. It all started with a new batch of hay. Vet will be out again next week to do fecal testing. Flagyl is actually pretty tough on the gut, so I’m giving the Probios a chance first. Will start Bio-Sponge next. It’s pretty intermittent diarrhea at this point. About every 2-3 bm’s is liquidy with watery discharge prior to stools. Previous vetting two weeks ago all was normal.

One thing I’ve found that keeps the tail and butt cheeks happier is Corona cream. That stuff is the BOMB! Keeps the dock soft and keeps the fecal gunk from sticking. I actually think my boy is starting to like the attention. I’ve had some fantastic rides on him too in the past week. Go figure!

Oh, and for those who wondered…he is drinking water normally, eating well and in general doesn’t seem too bothered by the whole thing. Someone locally mentioned higher nitrogen usage by growers due to lack of rain here. Keeps the hay greener, but can cause intestinal upset. Guess I should do a hay analysis?

I just hope this all clears by winter. Nothing worse than freezing temps and crappy tails! :mad:

[CAH]

Just wnet through this with a 22 year old. He too started with on again, off again mushy poo from the hay (orchard grass). Then went to ok poo but squirty farts. He gets fasttrack but it wasn’t cutting it.

Hit him with a half of tube of pro-bios for 2 days. Did the trick - back to normal. Try the paste form first.

[msj]

[QUOTE=lolalola;4372300]
Pro-bios is not that expensive. I give the powder form to my two horses daily, and get it from one of the major mail order houses. It’s about $30 for five pounds, and lasts a couple of months for my two. If you’re giving it to them every day, it’s cheaper than yogurt.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the suggestion. So far the yogurt has cleared him up from cow plop consistency to just soft but well formed manure balls. I’ll start tapering him off tonight and over several days and see if he holds his own. I had a devil of a time with him last winter and don’t want to go through this coming winter like that again.

I learned over last winter when I started to have problems with my old guy (27 yrs) that if something works, stick with it, so for now he will get yogurt.

I had him on Fastrack for quite a while but it obviously didn’t cut it so both horses got switched to Ration Plus a couple of bottles ago. It’s a bit messier to deal with but that was easily overcome. So far the RP has helped my other guy who is prone to gas colic. And with that comment, you’d better believe I’m knocking on wood really hard! :yes:

[JoZ]

New horse? Do tell! Where is Miss Olive?

[merrygoround]

Have you checked your hay? Is it this year’s cutting? Just out of the field? Freshly cut hay, recently baled is still sometimes fermenting sufficiently enough to cause diarrhea. but not mold.

Always seeks the source of the diarrhea, Treatment is important, but the cause moreso.

[equineartworks]

[QUOTE=merrygoround;4377842]
Have you checked your hay? Is it this year’s cutting? Just out of the field? Freshly cut hay, recently baled is still sometimes fermenting sufficiently enough to cause diarrhea. but not mold.

Always seeks the source of the diarrhea, Treatment is important, but the cause moreso.[/QUOTE]

So true…

With us it is grain for the ponies.

[easyklc]

@JoZ;4376639

New horse? Do tell! Where is Miss Olive?

Miss Olive is leased out to some beginner riders in a lesson program. She is much happier plodding around than galloping over solid fences. She is fat, shiny and cannot get enough grooming or love. Still the love of my life…

How’s life on the farm?