Poo

[mickey]

Sorry, not a nice topic!

My horse is normally out during day, in overnight. In fact he is usually in his stable by 4pm, out in the morning by 9am.

Last winter he was fed on haylage from large bales. His droppings were the same as normal. He never gets much hard feed so his droppings are not hard and dark, but firm to soft and dark green.

At the moment he is on the same regime but every day I notice that he has signs of runny liquid down his back leg. (Just a couple of streaks). His droppings are totally normal and not runny but I myself have seen this ejection of brown liquid on occasion when grooming recently.

Is this something I should be concerned about? He is on 1 scp chaff and 2 handfuls pasture mix twice a day.

He gets a large armful of haylage at night which is fairly light, so not excessive. I also try to keep him off it for a couple of hrs after he gets in from the grass.

He is on a paddock with grass that is about 2-3cm long (so very short really), no extra forage during the day.

 

[hellybelly6]

This is not a nice reply!! Are you sure its poo and not gunk from a dirty sheath? My horse gets muck down his legs and its from his sheath.

Alternatively, could he have eaten something from a nearby hedge?

Sometimes just after my horse has pooed, he has a runny brown liquid at the end of his bowels opening. Worse after rich haylage/grass.

Keep an eye on the situation, keep his behind clean of any residue to reduce flies and inflammation. It may clear up after a few days.

I hope he is ok.

 

[bexandspooky]

Spooks is a mucky bugger because he is an odd shape, so always gets a bit of 'poo juice' (!) down his bum - also if he gets a bit grotty around his bits - he gets a dark gunk from there - could it be either of these?

 

[mickey]

QR
It is definitely not from the other bits down there!

It's a runny poo coloured liquid, he will raise his tail and a small amount runs out and hits the floor. This has been going on a couple of weeks now.

 

[Shilasdair]

It's probably just his way of ejecting the extra liquid he is gaining from wet grass (has it been damp with you), and the haylage, which has a higher moisture content than hay.
He'll probably pee more too...but you won't notice that.
As long as his poo itself is normal, and he doesn't appear to be dehydrated, then you shouldn't have any problems.
S

 

[Wilbur_Force]

My horse used to have exactly the same thing and still does occasionally. Its usually when the grass is quite wet or he goes on to a rested paddock. Like you say, the poo itself is normal, but then there is an excess of liquid which sometimes looks like 'runny bum.' My horse is fed next to nothing in respect of hard feed, but a good pre/probiotic did the trick for him. My horse also had a slight tapeworm burden (I had only had him 6 months when problem first started) and when he was wormed it cleared up. It cost me loads to try and find out what it was - still dont know the answer. He had abdominal scans, he was scoped for ulcers, had rectal biopsies and the vet found nothing wrong with him!! The problem is basically a problem in re-absorbing the excess water in the large colon, but we found no reason as to why it happened. I wouldn't worry - my horse is a picture of health and was never sick or sorry - even with me washing his backside several times a week, which thankfully, I no longer have to do!

 

[mickey]

Yes it was pretty wet until the last week or so. I acutally asked the yard to put more bed into his stable because he is peeing a lot and also getting himself covered in stains (not that I am normally too bothered about that kind of thing but I swear he is trying to become bay).
He used to be on hay but always coughed at this time of the yr. The haylage has put a stop to that.
So I don't have anything to worry about if this carries on?
His droppings are totally normal.

 

[mickey]

Thanks for your post. He is wormed regularly, has his own paddock that is cleared religiously on a daily basis.
My thoughts were that the grass could be esp rich at the mo, but I don't know.

 

[Pidge]

same as Pidge then

and no nothing to worry about - get some cheap baby wipes to clean up his bum or wait till it's dry and it will brush off. Gah don't we get the nice jobs eh!

 

[Fairynuff]

I thinkthat in human terms they go by the name of 'wet farts'. I wouldnt be too worried but would cut down on the time I spent around his nether regions-it can cause havoc with contact lenses. M.

 

[mickey]

Oh how lovely it is that this June I have found myself a new hobby.

In fact, I need to get in the shower because by arms smell a bit strange from cleaning the stains earlier.........

 

[Wilbur_Force]

No probs. I was worried sick when William started with it, but after nearly £2k of vets bill we called it a day! We thought he had ulcers and all sorts, but the results all came back fine. When a horse eats, the food is mixed with water and then goes down into the stomach where the body then takes what it needs. The food then enters the colon and the water is then re-absorbed - this is what Will used to struggle with. On the yard he would just lift his tail and it was like someone had turned a tap on! It settled down though and I find that he gets the odd day perhaps once every couple of months or so.

 

[ChristineCorp]

My mares have done this. Mixture of rich grass and haylage that's all. Nuisance on a grey that's been bathed for a show though!