At wits end with runny poo! Any ideas?

ImmyS

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I posted about 7 weeks ago in vet sexton about Arlos runny poo which started around November last year.

I had the vet out and in the end decided to get him scoped for peace of mind which was done a few weeks ago. Literally nothing remarkable was found at all! We did bloods a stool sample and worm count. All came back normal, worm count slightly high so wormed with a higher dose as prescribed by vet but still no change to poo.

I feel like I have tried every supplement going, for at least a few weeks each with no change at all. He is out 24/7 on limited grass and ad-lib hay in a settled herd of 4, has also had a period turned out alone with no change.

I’ve tried no hard feed, changing hard feed, adding salt etc etc..

Some days his poos are almost normal, others they are nearly all like cow pats and I can’t find a reason or pattern to it at all, it’s completely random.

He looks the picture of health, is a pleasure on the ground, a pleasure to ride and all round seems a happy bunny, no stressiness or any sort of vices! Vet very happy with him and thinks he’s the picture of health.

Do I just accept that maybe this is just ‘him’?

It’s just frustrating all the other horses are on the same routine and fine. Some times we get a few good days I think we’ve cracked it then they go back to a bit sloppy again.

Any miraculous ideas??
 

Pearlsasinger

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Have you tried adding dampened bran to his feed? It's an old-fashioned remedy but it usually works when there is no obvious reason for the 'runniness'.
 

J&S

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There is a feed called Happy Tummy, one of our RDA horses needed this. What if you take him off grass completely?
 

ImmyS

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There is a feed called Happy Tummy, one of our RDA horses needed this. What if you take him off grass completely?

Have tried all of the above suggestions and no difference, thank you for suggestions
 

limestonelil

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Try bran mash as Pearl says. Old fashioned treatment but can work a treat to help rebalance guts. Year ago a rescue centre manager suggested I try it.
 

windand rain

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might sound contra intuitive but have you tried several days/weeks of Equidgel sometimes it is just that the gut is a bit damaged and the fibre length is too long and needs to be shorter to stop in the hindgut rather than just flowing out as a liquid it kind of builds up like a dam and the water is absorbed through the gut wall leaving fibre only to be passed through
 

ImmyS

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might sound contra intuitive but have you tried several days/weeks of Equidgel sometimes it is just that the gut is a bit damaged and the fibre length is too long and needs to be shorter to stop in the hindgut rather than just flowing out as a liquid it kind of builds up like a dam and the water is absorbed through the gut wall leaving fibre only to be passed through

No haven’t tried this, will look into it and add it to list to try
 

Chianti

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I posted about 7 weeks ago in vet sexton about Arlos runny poo which started around November last year.

I had the vet out and in the end decided to get him scoped for peace of mind which was done a few weeks ago. Literally nothing remarkable was found at all! We did bloods a stool sample and worm count. All came back normal, worm count slightly high so wormed with a higher dose as prescribed by vet but still no change to poo.

I feel like I have tried every supplement going, for at least a few weeks each with no change at all. He is out 24/7 on limited grass and ad-lib hay in a settled herd of 4, has also had a period turned out alone with no change.

I’ve tried no hard feed, changing hard feed, adding salt etc etc..

Some days his poos are almost normal, others they are nearly all like cow pats and I can’t find a reason or pattern to it at all, it’s completely random.

He looks the picture of health, is a pleasure on the ground, a pleasure to ride and all round seems a happy bunny, no stressiness or any sort of vices! Vet very happy with him and thinks he’s the picture of health.

Do I just accept that maybe this is just ‘him’?

It’s just frustrating all the other horses are on the same routine and fine. Some times we get a few good days I think we’ve cracked it then they go back to a bit sloppy again.

Any miraculous ideas??



NAF Thrive?
 

Louby

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A friend of mine was really struggling with her boy, she was recommended Keyflow Pink Mash by a fellow livery and it worked. Thinking it may be a fluke she stopped feeding it just to see and he started with the squits again, so it def worked for him. They love it too
 

Pearlsasinger

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I did try this but didn’t see any difference really. How much would you suggest? Maybe will try again?


Don't make a mash - that gets the guts moving! Just give slightly dampened bran, I would start with about 2 cupsful and give it for several meals. The idea is that the bran soaks up the liquid in the guts.
 

ImmyS

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A friend had an old pony like this, she was advised by a vet to give him a banana, in it's skin, once a day and problem solved

I could try don’t think he would eat it though! He’s quite fussy with things like that, doesn’t like apples or pears or jam sandwiches!
 

ImmyS

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Thank you for suggestions all stuff to try. Just getting tiring and expensive trying all these different things. Especially when he’s so well in himself!
 

ZondaR

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ImmyS, my friend could have written your opening post so following this with interest. He suspects it might be the grazing his horse is on at the moment. I'm definitely going to tell him to try the banana.
 

The Fuzzy Furry

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What sorted FLF out a few years ago, was charcoal and banana.
Sliced banana (not peeled but with skin on) and a dessert spoonful of charcoal twice a day with Hi Fi Lite and a bit of Enduro mix. Took 48 hours to settle the system, after a week I stopped the banana, kept up with the charcoal. If I stopped the charcoal then within 24 hrs she was cow patting again....
Oddly, she had never drunk properly away from home, once I'd got her tummy settled, to her owners amazement, FLF drank 'normally'. Vet baffled, but noted the changes as 'useful trial' ☺

I'm not suggesting you try this combi, but it worked for her. (And I'd had full bloods run, vet check etc)
 

CMcC

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Probably a stupid question. But, is it a problem? Does your vet think it is a problem? Could you accept that is just the way he is? You have been a very responsible owner and done investigations. Changing routine, feeds and supplements may not be helping.
BTW I can personally recommend Protexin I have just taken the human version for a week after a sore stomach everyday for about a month caused by a disastrously bad diet (caffeine and sugar) totally cured.
 

ImmyS

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Probably a stupid question. But, is it a problem? Does your vet think it is a problem? Could you accept that is just the way he is? You have been a very responsible owner and done investigations. Changing routine, feeds and supplements may not be helping.
BTW I can personally recommend Protexin I have just taken the human version for a week after a sore stomach everyday for about a month caused by a disastrously bad diet (caffeine and sugar) totally cured.

It doesn’t really bother me in the sense he seems really happy in himself, good in his work, vet very happy with him. It annoys me that he wasn’t always like this, I’ve had him since March last year and poos were normal until around November so that’s the frustrating part I can’t figure out what’s changed!
 

ImmyS

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ImmyS, my friend could have written your opening post so following this with interest. He suspects it might be the grazing his horse is on at the moment. I'm definitely going to tell him to try the banana.


He moved yards a couple of months ago so has changed grazing and hasn’t made any difference so don’t think it’s grass
 

ImmyS

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Oh poo, literally. Sorry-appalling joke.

Had anything changed prior to November? It is frustrating when you try to investigate things and get no answer.

No no changes I could think of at all. I thought maybe he was lacking something as the grass obviously reduces in goodness over the winter so started on a good general supplement but no difference, then it just carried on from there really
 
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Poo tea! :D

Very old fashioned, but if no underlying medical condition it will sort out his gut in next to no time.
Still a common recommendation for small mammals (particularly guinea pigs), but must admit I've not heard it used for horses before! How do you do it: just manure from a healthy horse in hot water? How much?
In smaller creatures, the whole lot is mashed up together and syringe fed to them as lots of commonly used drugs upset gut flora balance pretty severely which can lead to constipation and GI stasis.
 
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