Cow pat poos! advice needed please! (Sorry yucky)

Nickles1973

Nickles1973

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We turned our horses out last week on the summer field and gradually left them out longer each day to get them used to the new grass. Since Saturday night they've been staying out all night, coming in at 7am ish for their brekka and a small haynet then turned out again after excersize (about 11am give or take) I Poo picked last thurs (we take it in turns to do a couple of barrows) and most of the poos looked normal, just the odd sloppy one. I went again on Tues (my turn again lol) and most of the poos I was picking up looked like cow pats. My Yo did it yesterday and she said there was no improvement. We're thinking its just the grass being a bit rich and maybe quite high in water as the field gets a bit boggy in places (Drainage issues) but is there anything I could add to my boys feed to settle his tummy. He's a sensitive tb and I don't want him loosing condition after I've worked hard all winter to keep him looking so good. Any suggestions will be gratefully received, thanks.
 
Any new feed should be introduced gradually over preferably 2 weeks to allow the gut bacteria time to adjust. So you may have rushed the access to new grass.

Secondly, grass at this time of year is obviously higher in water so as you said, that doesnt help.

I personally would reduce the access to the new grass by strip grazing- it sounds like your horse is getting too much. Feed hay in the field if necessary. You should also feed a pre/pro-biotic to help the gut and encourage the good bacteria to flourish.
 
I've looked after a couple that have been prone to very runny poos (on occasion pretty much liquid!)
On vets advice, I used cornflower to help bind them up, and it worked a treat!
 
Thanks for that, I did put hay out in the field but the horses wouldn't touch it lol! Yo ended collecting it up and giving it to the goats. The field grass isn't exactly long as it didn't recover all that well after the drought at the end of last year so stripping it when there is five horses turned out might be a bit extreme. I think I'll look into getting a supplement as we can't really turn back the clock. Any suggestions for a good one?
 
They wont touch the hay if they have enough grass. But if you dont restrict the grass then the cause of the runny poos will still be there. A supplement will help (equimins pro bio is good) but it isnt a cure if the cause is still there.

i.e. If you make a horse lame by galloping on the road you cant just give it bute and carry on galloping on the road and hope it stays sound!
 
i'd restrict their grass a bit
i'm v lucky - i have a self medicating horse who'll still eat coarse fibre even with lots of grass - over the summer months she always eats a bit of hay a day regardless of the amount of grass availabel and that keeps her regular and normal lol! v useful!
 
The horse out with my mares are a bit sloppy as is hers.tasteofchaos,how did you get the cornflower into them????? Both mine and her field mate aren't on any extra food as they don't need it at all..
 
Equine Premium Gut Balancer worked a treat on my TB who had exactly the same thing a few weeks after the grass started to come though on our ex dairy pasture
 
doesnt matter if the grass isnt long, the goodness is at the bottom, but unfortunately til silage time the sugar levels are high, after that the stems are hollow and more fibreous (SP?!) so the loose droppings stop. my tb poos are disgusting but i cant do a thing about it at the yard im at as they wont restrict grazing and are moving them onto another new pasture in a fortnight (complete nightmare as she is also hyper with the extra energy!) last year when i was at old yard i was recommended protexin gut balancer to help her out and i think it did help, but grazing wasnt as good there so didnt have the energy problems! like you i worked hard over the winter to keep the condition on my TB and now she wont eat a thing! too full of grass but i cant restrict her grazing and if i leave her in after she goes mad. however if its any consolation the rich grass although it gives them the runs does still put the weight on usually and the cow pats really more annoy us rather than bother them, my mare does look very round for her and she is very lean usually! but sorry for rambling, hope it was some help. so try to restrict grazing and try a supplement though if you already feed top spec or something it may have prebiotics anyway. good luck :D
 
Psyllium husks are brilliant - completely natural, one of nature's most effective colon-cleansing dietary fibre supplements. We have exactly the same problem - lush prime-arable dairy pasture and within days, my lot need psyllium. 20g in feed for a week or so and everything's back to normal. You can get it here: www.equinatural.co.uk under 'Individual Herbs'.
 
Mine gets this every year on spring grass. I use a pre biotic and it clears up. I haven't tried it but I've heard pink powder is good.
 
Every spring my TB does cow pats at this time of year when the grass is lush. This year I've had him on Pink powder & its worked a treat. He's looking fab too. Biotal Gold is also good. Both a Pro/Prebiotics. yea-sacc would also help.
 
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