Feacal water- a whole new level

[poiuytrewq]

This is a nightmare!
Pony who has always been a sufferer is currently so so bad, the worst he’s ever been.
I know it’s because he is getting too much hay.
Due to the fact he is just impossible at the moment to contain and I’m unable to stock fence the only field with a safe amount of grass alone (farm is flat out and VERY stressy atm) he is relegated to my turnout pen and therefore only hay.

It’s actually permanently dripping and leaving puddles on the concrete
I’m washing him daily and sloshing the yard off. His bed is gross. This is soul destroying!

Anyone tried Gut binder?

 

[HufflyPuffly]

I’ve fed psyllium husk, that is generally the main ingredient of gut binders, that helped my crew with loose poo. But nowhere near what your guy sounds like sorry.

 

[IrishMilo]

Poor thing, that sounds like a nightmare. My friend had really good success with Gut Sponge if you haven’t tried it already.

 

[mini-eventer]

I fed psyllium successfully

 

[poiuytrewq]

I have tried gut sponge in the past when it was at a normal level and sadly it didn’t help.
Where does everyone get the physillium husks from?
He’s starting to get sore right up between his back legs. It’s continuously wet, either with liquid poo or having just been washed.

 

[Pidgeon]

I have tried gut sponge in the past when it was at a normal level and sadly it didn’t help.
Where does everyone get the physillium husks from?
He’s starting to get sore right up between his back legs. It’s continuously wet, either with liquid poo or having just been washed.

Have you tried Coligone liquid as that helps Pidge tremendously with the flushes of grass where he can get the squits?

 

[HufflyPuffly]

Whoever has it cheapest, mostly use horse herbs.

 

[Northern Hare]

I bought mine from eBay, it was good stuff.

If it's the goodness of the hay that's triggering the pony's FW - would it help to mix some straw (or chopped straw) in with the hay?

 

[poiuytrewq]

I bought mine from eBay, it was good stuff.

If it's the goodness of the hay that's triggering the pony's FW - would it help to mix some straw (or chopped straw) in with the hay?

It’s just the hay in general he can’t cope with regardless of how good it is. In fact the rubbish last years hay I got made him worse as it’s too coarse. He’s actually best on decent grass but being a little fat boy with cushings I can’t do that.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Have you tried Coligone liquid as that helps Pidge tremendously with the flushes of grass where he can get the squits?

No I haven’t. Thanks!

 

[FieldOrnaments]

If he's ok on grass could you try something like grass chop? and ditch the hay entirely?

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

Mine has FFWS and colitis, none of the supplements worked (gut sponge, Psyllium, Aviform, coligone) but I have had some progress with really dry hay but when the hay had higher levels of moisture I added readigrass to his forage ration and that seemed to make a slight improvement.

Honestly, only the moisture in the hay has had any impact for my horse.

 

[Debsflo1]

We use gut sponge and psyllium for our mini who has gut damage and profix from the vets

 

[meleeka]

I think I may be able to trump you on FWS. Mine has been so bad I was considering PTS. She is now ok on fine, small bale hay as long as she doesn't eat too much of it. It's been impossible to get hold of until recently so I've had her on a hay replacer of Haycare, Speedibeet and a bit of Happy Hoof Mollasses free to slow her down a bit. At her worst she was on Gut Sponge and Acid Ease together. I did find the Gut sponge helped, but she was still really windy. Acid Ease definitely helps with that. I've tried pretty much everything else and some worked for a while. The dentist says she only has about a third of her chewing surface left now, so although I won't stop her hay entirely, she has either grass or hay replacer and no more than a fold of soft hay twice a day. Shes only got to try and eat courser hay for a day and it's back, so I'm very careful with what I feed her.

 

[Jambarissa]

I've tried everything, lots had some sort of impact but no significant or long lasting changes. The protexin syringes were best but very temporary.

It's interesting that you know what's causing it. How long til you can get him on grass? Any chance you could use electric fencing for a corner to use some of the day?

Is it worth trying to replace your grass? Simple systems blue bags grass nuts are pretty close to 'normal' grass. Could soak and mix with a haycare or a straw chop to bring the sugars down and make it last longer. Maybe try it for a few days and see what happens.

Hope he recovers. I'm waiting for FWS to hit again. I remember the pain from last year clearly, I think it went on until after Christmas.

 

[Bradsmum]

I bought my psyllium from Natural Horse Supplies. They do the husks or a powder - I used the husks with good results.

 

[ThreeFurs]

Hopefully the above will help. If it doesn't, I would be getting your vet to take a rectal biopsy for Inflammatory Bowel disease. Its reasonably safe and not too invasive, they only take a tiny pinch of tissue, but will tell you if the bowel wall is inflamed.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Hopefully the above will help. If it doesn't, I would be getting your vet to take a rectal biopsy for Inflammatory Bowel disease. Its reasonably safe and not too invasive, they only take a tiny pinch of tissue, but will tell you if the bowel wall is inflamed.

And can anything be done about this?

Over the years I have been able to absolutely confirm it’s hay and chaff, I assume things that take a bit more digesting.
Grass he’s fine best on but as above causes problems of it’s own.
Dried grass and pellets are too high sugar generally and make his feet sore.


The problem with electric fencing is however Fort Knox I make it he seems not to care! He always gets out.
He’s been retrieved from the road a few times recently hence him being in. I have a pen with post and rail and electric (which he has broken!)

I dare’nt even mention re-fencing just yet, it’s on the cards but seriously the farm is just so stressed out at the moment. Mr P has had not a single day off since the start of summer and is still doing pretty long awful problematic days. Moral is pretty low and me whinging about fencing isn’t really needed!
So in answer to when he can go out I’m not totally sure!
If I could find really fine soft hay it would help but it seems impossible to source and people say it’s great, really soft then it turns up no better than I have.

On the plus I know some show signs of pain during bad spells and he never appears bothered at all.
His poo is in the softer side of normal but always has been.
I’m going to order physillium now thanks

 

[Lurfy]

Psyllium worked with my horse, I got it at the supermarket.

Could you replace the hay with speedibeet?

 

[Barton Bounty]

I have used comfort gut for loose poos and psyllium husk to clean out the tummy.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Another vote for psyllium husks. I get mine from Feedmark, and now routinely give a 5 day course every three months to both neds.

Since I’ve done that routinely this is the first autumn in the 8 years that I’ve owned her that the IDx hasn’t had FWS. Rather than waiting for the FWS to start then putting her on psyllium, which is what I used to do before.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Should be delivered tomorrow hopefully.
Do I just chuck a handful in his food?

 

[Tiddlypom]

With Feedmark IIRC it’s a 150ml scoop twice a day added last thing to the feed after you’ve mixed a dryish crumbly mash. Don’t have the feed too wet as otherwise the psyllium will absorb too much water from the feed and will be less effective in the horse’s guts.

It’s funny stuff, but mine eat it fine.

 

[poiuytrewq]

With Feedmark IIRC it’s a 150ml scoop twice a day added last thing to the feed after you’ve mixed a dryish crumbly mash. Don’t have the feed too wet as otherwise the psyllium will absorb too much water from the feed and will be less effective in the horse’s guts.

It’s funny stuff, but mine eat it fine.

Ok, thanks. So would speedibeet be too wet to mix with?
I hadn’t thought of that!
He doesn’t have chaff. Just literally a handful size blob of beet and a handful of nuts to put his prescand into.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Have the speedibeet on the dryer side and add the psyllium at the very last minute.

I mix mine in dryish crumbly soaked hay cobs.

You don’t want to risk choke, so a bit dampish is fine but not swimming.

 

[poiuytrewq]

@Tiddlypom Thank you again!

 

[Caski]

Thinking of the escaping, is your horse alone in his pen? Just wondering if there is an element of stress causing this?

 

[Highmileagecob]

Mine is definitely better when long stalk forage is with held. He is losing teeth, and has moved to haylage replacers and chopped everything. Soaked sugar beet, fast fibre, dried grass, soaked hay cobs, oat straw chaff, Silvermoor veteran haylage..... I assume he cannot chew long stalk forage well enough to be digested by the hindgut.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Thinking of the escaping, is your horse alone in his pen? Just wondering if there is an element of stress causing this?

No he's never alone. He's just a little mon**y.
He is very happy to be alone though as he is completely unbothered by leaving the others. They are usually the alarm that he's gone. They yell like mad while he casually wanders completely out of sight alone.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Mine is definitely better when long stalk forage is with held. He is losing teeth, and has moved to haylage replacers and chopped everything. Soaked sugar beet, fast fibre, dried grass, soaked hay cobs, oat straw chaff, Silvermoor veteran haylage..... I assume he cannot chew long stalk forage well enough to be digested by the hindgut.

I've actually never tried haylage either. He's so hard to manage weight wise I've always been worried to do so, Same with the bucket of hay replacer type feeds. He just balloons instantly.
He has really good teeth (I sometimes half wish he didn't to help loose some fat!)