My perfectly healthy horse has bad chronic Diarrhea & now colic!?

Question

I have a 10 year old Percheron gelding who has always been super healthy. I've never had to call the vet except for his gelding procedure and his annual shots.

I moved him to a new stable last summer. Since March he has had chronic diarrhea. I thought it was just spring time, fresh grass diarrhea but it has not subsided. It is pure liquid when he goes and also when he passes gas. This new stable has a regular vet who comes out for spring shots and I paid for a check up too. She said he was fine, he's not dropping weight, his coat his thick and shiny and soft, he's not in any discomfort. She said "it's the grass, his stomach flora ."

So we took him off the grass and took him off the grain.

Last night he coliced! I was up until 1 am making sure he didn't die.

I found out that this barn has had 6 vet calls because other horses have coliced in the past 6 months.

They eat their hay off of sand mixed dirt.

Any suggestions on preventing the colic again and curing the diarrhea?

Answer 1

Hello,

Well, I too think it sounds like sand colic.  Follow Lusitano's directions and check the manure for sand.

We fed physillium for 3 days every month because of the sand at our old ranch in S. CA....  I found that I could get the best buy at Cost Co. or Sam's Club, just buy their brand of Metimucel.  Then give your horse 1/2 cup every day with a hand full of sweet feed, or grain to get them to eat it!  Make certain they have access to fresh clean water.

Do this 3 X a week every month.  I WOULD probably do it 6 days the first go around since it seems he may have a build up right now.

Get a rubber stall mat and feed on that instead of the ground.  That is where they pick up the sand.  Unfortunately, they do not pass the sand particles when they pass the manure and it builds up and causes irritation in the bowel system.

DO not give anti diarrhea meds, you need to try to get the sand out!

Once he is feeling better, keep up giving him the monthly treatment and it will help the build up!

I would recommend calling a different vet out next time, seems to me he didn't do anything for your chronic diarrhea????  OR even check the manure to make certain that was the cause?  There are also infections like salmonella and e coli that cause chronic diarrhea....  Did he check for those?

Answer 2

My old pony had diarhea off and on for a few months last fall/winter, and I think had a mild colic once during that time.  Eventually I had the vet check him out throroughly.  He took a fecal sample and drew blood.  He found nothing major but the pony's white blood count was a little high, possibly meaning he was fighting something, although his temperature and other vital signs were normal.  We put him on antibiotics, just in case.  I also wormed him and increased the amount of senior feed I was feeding him.  Shortly afterwards, he made a full comeback, and is looking/acting great for 27.  I'm not sure if any one of the things I did was the reason, or if it was a combination.

So, get the vet, or another vet, to do blood and fecal work on your horse.  Three months is a long time, he should have adjusted to the grass by now.  The colic may or may not be related to the diarrhea problem.

Answer 3

Ask your vet these questions she can snswer them better then any other people on this website. Don't risk it and call your vet! She knows MUCH better then anyone.

Answer 4

I am SO sorry you are having all these problems. Our horses here tend to graze and eat their hay off the ground they get sand colic. The way we have always treated them is to use Equate brand of Metamucil in their grain. It helps grab the build up of sand/dirt in their intestines and bring it out. The horses love the orange flavor too. If you feel funny about the Equate, you can spend a lot more money to buy Sand Clear or some other "equine" brand. It does work well and you can put a 1/2 c in the feed. I hope you catch it in time. Good Luck.

Answer 5

I would first check the entire pasture for any noxious weeds. Smell the horses breath, sometimes you can smell ragweed and horses will eat it. It doesn't bother some but others will colic if they eat a lot.

  Keep checking your horses temperature and gum color too. If this persists another couple days I would get another vet's opinion. Your horse's health is the most important.

Answer 6

You need to do two things: first, start feeding your horse some Sand Clear in his food- you can get this at the local feed store. It's basically just Metamucil for horses- but the psyllium in it will bind with the sand in your horse's gut and help him get rid of it. The sand is what's causing the diarrhea and colic, pal- and that vet who said it was the grass and a flora imbalance is either ignorant or is just a bad vet. Keep up with the Sand Clear for a couple of weeks- and then follow the package directions, and put your horse on a regular regimen of this. The other thing you need to do, if the diarrhea doesn't subside, is to have your horse tested for Potomac Horse Fever. PHF causes diarrhea and colic as its main symptoms, along with fever, severe dehydration, and in some cases, founder ( also called laminitis). There is no cure for PHF, but it does respond to antibiotic therapy and treatment with fluids and electrolytes.

But I would try the Sand Clear first, and keep your horse on a regular program of it. I live on a farm in central DE, and we have this same issue with our horses- and the way we manage it is to feed them Sand Clear for a week, about once every quarter or so. Our incidence of colic has been extremely LOW since we started doing this- in fact, only one horse has had colic, and even in his case, it was very mild. Our horses eat off the ground too- and they graze in a sandy pasture. As long as we keep up with the Sand Clear, we will not have a problem.

Good luck, and I hope this helps.

Answer 7

I think that you may want to look into the effect of sand (thus sand colic) on a horses digestive system.  Especially when they are eating off it.

My horse had been fed off a sand mix for a short while which led her to getting sand colic.  I began feeding a psyllium supplement and that helped but I moved her anyway, didn't want the complication of dealing with the feeding situation.

Answer 8

I'd make the owner get feeders (He/She can buy 100 gallon feeders/waters at Costco or most feed stores) and use those for feeding which would get the hay off the ground.  

I had an arab mare in training back in the mid '80's who was prone to sand colic and the vet had me give her 4 TBLS of sterilax in a hot bran mash twice a week and we NEVER had an issue with it (She's 31 now.).

I would also check for stones if your vet hasn't done so.  Any time a horse eats off the ground they can and do pick up stuff.

Answer 9

My first suspicion would be sand colic - it definetely sounds like he has it.  Take some of his manure and put it in a bucket of water.  Let it sit for 20-30 minutes or so, and then remove the manure and see if there is sand at the bottom of the bucket.  If there isn't any (and you know there is sand where he eats) then he's ingesting it and not moving it through his body.  Do the test a few times over several days to see if the results change...I have a feeling you'll be finding very little sand, meaning he is ingesting it and it isn't going anywhere.

Feeding small amounts of psyllium (the same stuff that's in Metamucil, for humans) is the best thing you can use (NOT oil, which won't help move sand) but I would hold off a little until you have more information as to what's causing the symptoms.

I'd also check for poisons and toxins in the areas where the horses are - weeds, chemically treated lawns close to the pasture, substances being used on the fencing or in the barn that could be toxic to horses (ex. pesticides, chemical bug traps, chemicals and solvents you'd use when painting or lubricating machinery, etc.)  Find a book with color photos of toxic plants in your area (check Amazon, there are lots to choose from) and go around the pasture and grounds with that book.  Take a camera to shoot anything you're not sure of, so you can research it and/or ask for help on identifying it later.

Here is a very good link on sand colic:

http://www.equine-originals.com/sandcoli...

Good luck, it doesn't sound like hes too far along with the sand colic, if that is indeed what it is.