Does anyone here have horses?

[Nay]

I am wondering if anyone here has horses and/or belongs to a forum something on this forums lines? I haven't looked and have a question to post. I'll post it here just to see, and any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
I have a 20 something yr old Shetland (not old in pony language) that has had diarrhea for more than a year!! (Off and on) Before any bad thoughts get sent,let me qualify all this by saying I have had a few vets, more than once, check him out. Tests have been run, and we have tried different approaches. He tested neg for lyme, but we treated him anyway. His blood values have all been within normal values. He has been wormed routinely, and then because of negative fecals, stopped the worming for a few months to see if that was it. He has been on courses and courses of different probiotics and sometimes that seems to ease it, no one can seem to help it to stop though. We went on grain, we went off grain(he needs the calories, even though he is a pony, Dr's orders(I know pony's don't process grain well), we went to just lbs of hay pellets. a mixture, etc. I was told he just has idiopathic diarrhea, no cause. I have looked it up , diarrhea, on line and I must be a dummy on the computer because I cannot find anything that even comes close to a horse having something this long and still being alive. He has been cushings tested, (just thought of that). Any thoughts or places to turn. Summers are a real challenge to manage,and when it gets hot I am so paranoid of fly's laying eggs there.and never mind he can't be happy. I have tried to wrap his tail, put baby ointment on him, poor guy. Thanks and feel free to cut and paste this post if you have a spot that would maybe get me more horsey people.
Na

 

[Yvonne G]

I did a GOOGLE search for equine idiopathic diarrhea and there were many hits. Even a few that wanted to sell me something to cure it. Take a look at this site. It might be worth it for you to join there:

http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=2338

I have a mare and she gets diarrhea in the days before she comes into heat...every time. It lasts a week, then she's ok. But I don't know what to tell you about your little guy. I hope that article up above has some help for you.

 

[Nay]

Hi Yvonne,
Just to let you know, that pony of mine right now has NO diarrhea, going on 2 weeks now.
He is not able to eat to much hay, it balls up in his mouth and he spits it out. Well hay pellets are just supposed to be hay. I was giving him that and just alittle grain to keep his weight up. I know grain is not a good thing for ponys, but when you need to supply calories there are not a ton of choices. I have done so many different options I decided to try one more. More grain and very little hay pellets.
Dosen't make sense but I haven't had to wash his tail and butt in 2 weeks.
Can it cause him more problems?.> Maybe, but he was becoming skin and bones, and when summer comes, having that mess is asking for maggots. I would not have many choices if he is a skeleton.
So just an update.
Keep your fingers crossed. thanks for the response and yes I already do belong to the horse and it didn't give me much, thank though
Na

 

[TortieGal]

Do you know why the hay balls up in his mouth? It could be a sign he needs his teeth floated. Wish you the best.

 

[Yvonne G]

Before I had to put her down, my old mare would chew, chew, chew her hay then spit out this soggy mess of chewed up hay (like a ball). When the vet came out to euthanize her he said she had a pretty bad tooth plus she was missing some teeth.

In the months before she passed, I was trying everything the feed store sold in order to try to put some weight on her. She did pretty good eating straight rolled barley mixed with a little wheat bran. She would eat the Equine Senior for a while but not real good.

Her morning meal consisted of a 2lb coffee can of rolled barley, a half can of oat hay pellets and a half can of Equine Senior. I always gave her a bit of alfalfa hay, but she had a hard time eating it. I think she just swallowed the pellets whole.Then the same for the evening meal but with a half can of wheat bran added.

I'm so glad your little guy has finally "firmed up." Fingers crossed it will last.

 

[Nay]

TortieGal,
Oh yes I had the dentist out to do them all just a few months ago. He said his teeth were OK and they do get like this as they age. He sometimes can eat a whole flake at night, but it has no rhyme or reason which kind. I give him grassy and he eats it, do it the next night and he won't. He balls up it all, but on occasion I don't see any balls.
Anyway thank you
Na

 

[Jacqui]

We had a horse with eating problems and what worked for him was taking the alfalfa cubes and soaking those in warm water until it was almost like a mash. Then I dressed that with a high calorie powder for horses. Feeding that he would keep good weight, take him off of it and he quickly became a skeleton. People would think we weren't feeding the poor guy. Simply amazed me how quickly he could drop weight.

Also did the feeding of the Sr foods as it is easier to chew and digest. We used that also on an old mare who did poor on hay, but great on pasture and okay on Sr food/grain.

 

[Laura]

Check your worming routine.. maybe its time for a Power Purge. Have Vet check her teeth, and find a food she likes, but make sure it has in it, or you supplement with vitimns and minerals. you need a salt block, look at Pro Bios and even asking your vet about Bio Sponge. It absorbs toxins inthe gut that can cause diarhea.
Instead of Alfalfa, i would try a good soft grass hay like Orchard or mix. Or get something called All in One. its a ground up hay with molasses. To get weight back on. Corn syrup is good. but CHECK WITH VET before trying anything new.
You can get Grass hay in pellet form and make a warm soak of beet Pulp and top the pellets with it after its soaked.. most horse love it.

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oh and if the Diarhea comes back.. wrap its tail with a tail wrap or Vet wrap to keep clean.

 

[Nay]

Check your worming routine.. maybe its time for a Power Purge. Have Vet check her teeth, and find a food she likes, but make sure it has in it, or you supplement with vitimns and minerals. you need a salt block, look at Pro Bios and even asking your vet about Bio Sponge. It absorbs toxins inthe gut that can cause diarhea.
Instead of Alfalfa, i would try a good soft grass hay like Orchard or mix. Or get something called All in One. its a ground up hay with molasses. To get weight back on. Corn syrup is good. but CHECK WITH VET before trying anything new.
You can get Grass hay in pellet form and make a warm soak of beet Pulp and top the pellets with it after its soaked.. most horse love it.

---

oh and if the Diarhea comes back.. wrap its tail with a tail wrap or Vet wrap to keep clean.

---

Hi Laura, Thanks for the tips, yes we did do a regular wormer, and will do a double dose next time.I have a large salt block always in the stall, he loves it. and I actually did get Bio Sponge probiotics from the vet. (Good Call!!) Teeth have been checked, and King will eat all I could give him.The hay pellets is all hay and I never tried to soak it as King has been able to eat the pellets no problem.Could it make a difference?
I will look for All in ONE, that's something I never heard of. Beet pulp has always scared me, although I do know some folks that have used it. Maybe I will revisit that.
No alfalfa, but I do have some very nice grass hay, and sometimes he does eat a whole flake of that, sometimes I find just all balls.
The tail, man, I have tried wrapping with vet wrap, even bought one of those silly tail wraps. I keep it braided and that helps.
We have gone 2 weeks without any gooey poo, maybe all is well, after more than a year.
Appreciate all the thoughts. nice to have a place to exchange ideas.
Thanks
Na
A

 

[Tom]

Okay my wife is the horse person and she says " if the diarrhea comes back to try beet pulp. "

She says that and probiotics are another alternative to try.