Grasping at straws, loose droppings

J

Janah

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I have posted this before on here I'm sure. Pony aged 22 has cushings, she is on pergolide. Just got over bout of laminitis. The problem being loose droppings and when I say loose I mean loose. Continually farting out foul coloured water. ideally needs bum and back leg washing twice a day. Not easy when it's such cold weather, for her, not me. I have tried soooooooooo many things to help her. Am at the end of my tether. Owner, she is a companion pony, is all for putting her to sleep, though I think she still has good quality of life. If she were mine I would get vet to do a real work up and maybe able to treat. I have tried bran, pink powder, various hebal remedies, all to no avail. Am I burying my head in the sand? I have struggled with this problem for 2 years.

HELP PLEASE.

Any suggestions.
 
Have you got the blandest hay possible? should be completely white, with no goodness in it whatsoever.
Could also be intolerant to any type of starch- this means hard feed,and grass.

I had a young TB that could not tolerate ANY grass whatsoever-nor hard feed. He lived on a diet of alfa-a, oil, and vit/min balancer along with adlib bland hay. He also had a high definition pro-biotic given to me by the vet as he was found to have totally abnormal numbers of gut bacteria in his gut. He had to have very high levels of this probiotic. It wasnt protexin it was a more high spec one that you can only get from the vet.
If he was given any starch he immediately got the runs, and often colic.
 
I feed her soaked meadow hay, ad lib. She has a very small amount, double handful of Safe & Sound twice a day. I have given her Top Spec fee balancer, but feel this has made things worse and so discontinued it. I'm really fond of this little girl and would really like to do the best by her but, to a certain extent my hands are tied. Would like to add she has never (touch wood) never coliced.

Jane
 
Forgastrin powder from the vet, not expensive iirc, i think it is basically charcoal powder, it sorted out my permanently-scouring old horse. got to be worth a try. slippery elm can calm down an upset gut too, i think.
 
When my Cushings horse had a mild bout of Laminitis in July he was put on Danilon and the Pergolide was increased. At this stage his droppings 'loosened' and the Vet thought it was the Danilon. However 6 months on his droppings are still the same and the when I spoke to the Vet on New Years Eve in her opinion it was due to the Pergolide. So it appears that there is possibly not much more you can do. It sounds like you are a very dedicated carer and I admire you for this, as I know how hard it is when the animals you love are not doing well
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Thank you all for your advice. I have just spoken to the vet about forgastrin powder and he felt it would be difficult to get enough down her as it's not very palatable. He suggested codeine which I am picking up later today. Expensive, but, hopefully will work.

Jane
 
If money allows & if your vet is in agreement, codeine tablets works wonders as they slow down the bowel activity and allows water to be reabsorbed through the intestine, thus drying out the faeces.
 
The codeine should work within a day or two - you may find you have to juggle the dosage to get the required effect. I found with one of my previous horses (14.3hh cobby build) that some days she needed 8 tablets, but I could wean her down to 4 at times. Good luck
 
Belle has a dry bum!

I brushed her back legs today instead of washing them, YAY.

The dose started at 15 tabs and I have to cut down by two a day. Whether this will be a cure or ongoing I've no idea. Time will tell.

Jane
 
Feels more like a miracle than progress!!!

I'm so pleased for Belle, she must feel so much better, with her nice clean dry bum. What she feels like internally I can only guess at. Bless her.

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I would be interested in how you get on. My old boy is a bit runny now, although the manure tends to be an OK consistency. The 'runs' is just before he manures.

I have had him on Pink Powder for about 10 days now, and no noticeable difference. He can't eat hay very well now so I feed him high fibre feeds.

What are the side affects of feeding codeine? I could try that if the Pink Powder doesn't work.
 
No side affects to codeine that I've noticed. I can not get her off codeine completely. She is on one tablet a day. I have tried several times to stop completely and will continue to do so. I do wonder how effective her worming doses have been though, due, to the rate her digestive system has been working. She is due for worming in about 10 days time. I actually couldn't be more pleased with her progress.

Jane
 
Had better add that I'd heard codeine is expensive. It isn't. The whole treatment cost £22 and I have loads left. The saving in hot water, shampoo, bedding, sore bum (from all the washing) and time is well out weighed.

I am aware that codeine is quite a powerful drug, but at the rate I'm using it is well worth while. If eventually there are side effects I feel they are outweighed by quality of life.

Jane
 
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