What’s everyone’s best prevention for the liquid type poo’s when trailering/traveling to places. Horse, not human!
Horse has traveled not infrequently, once a week/every 2 weeks and seems to get liquid poo’s soon after being placed in trailer and during duration of trip. A 1/4 tube dose of Ulcergard does not mitigate. Neither did a 1/2 tube dose. This always seems to help my last horse with the worry-poo’s but not this one.
You can try a dose of psyllium in bran mash or other type of soaked feed twice a day. It helps bind the manure together. It won’t help with the frequency, though.
Check with your vet, but BioSponge works well for us. Otherwise, stock up on baby wipes —our white horse always came out of the trailer a mess --quick sponge and then wipe with baby wipes turned him white again.
Perfect Prep Gastroprep EQ paste (it’s the paste version of Gastroease EQ) is great for this. I use it for this reason and learned about it from someone else at my barn. Really works great. I just give it before shipping and don’t need it otherwise.
I have the same problem just started Bio-sponge too soon to tell if its working
Start practicing being around and in the trailer more, even just at home. On and off, helping him relax. Might need more regular training to feel more secure. It’s not always about a supplement or pill, but COTH likes focusing on that.
Absolutely! Except due to Covid-19 we’ve been tacking up at my trailer since March, she’s quite happy to do so. She also happily self-loads and unloads when we travel. Just trying to see if there is a way to make her comfortable without the tummy wobbles.
Please do update if this works for you!
My mare never had runny trailer poops but she will start to poop more often when she sees the trailer. But this has been getting less over time and we had one recent trip with no nervous poops. So I think just getting them happier about trailering will go a long way.
Poops originate in the hind gut. Meds targeting stomach ulcers may be useful for that purpose, but they don’t target the hind gut. They may also upset it.
Also realize that it takes time for anything to reach the hind gut. Food typically takes a day to digest. For long term gut health you could consider a probiotic and Yeasacc. But anxiety poops are driven by anxiety, so that’s what you really need to address.
I agree, I think this is valuable advice. OP, I understand if she loads happily, but is she really that happy, or is she focused/tense? Sometimes I think we as horse owners mistake a certain kind of behavior as happy, when they still might actually be hyperaroused. How can you help her feel more comfortable inside the trailer once you’ve loaded?
Two weeks in and Bio-Sponge is not working, waiting to hear back from vet
A friend gives her horse the syringe version of Succeed when he goes to a show (youngster…) SInce Succeed is a hind gut supplement, perhaps that will help. Another friend uses the syringe version of Proviable EQ daily at shows; her guy gets mildly colicy without it. My horse does not have trailering issues, but he gets KER Equishure ( a hind gut buffer) and Gastroese from Perfect Prep daily; he has stopped eating fences…
I still think that with the time digestion takes, anything you give for hindgut needs to be a couple of days in advance, not the day of the trip.
I agree with the poster above that “hyperaroused” can be a mix of positive anticipation and anxiety. Don’t humans also get butterflies in their stomach before things that they enjoy that are also stressful?
Thank you scribbler, yes, he gets that a few days before and through the show. Just not on it between shows.
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