Scouring!

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benn212

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Brought foal from France 4 years ago, has always had very loose droppings and have to continually wash his tail, more nucence than massive problem. Nothing has appeared to make a difference, always up to date with worming, tried pro-biotics and hayledge balancer and limestone flour through the winter to no avail. This summer he has been particularly runny, we have had some good grass in the fields and his digestion has never settled. He is a very good doer, has had couple of episodes of compacted bowel from dry hay last winter so I think must be some problem with bowel - any suggestions? Thanks
 
If it is the grass you may have to look at adjusting his diet and reducing field turnout and feeding soaked or low sugar hay.
If he gets a feed check it isn't something in there he's sensitive to. He will need a balancer anyway.

Tbh, I would get a vet check up with blood screen. I would also get a worm count done.
 
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What do you mean by scouring? Is the poo very runny even watery? Does he do any formed poos or is it all runny/sloppy cow pat type?

If it is very watery or runny constantly/most of the time I would definitely get the vet. I just added this as this is what scouring means to me.
 
Has he been scoped? Ulcers can cause scouring. As can rich food if he has a sensitive tummy and also stress.

To get the scours to clear up for a bit I would feed Slippery Elm Powder for a max of 3 days. It is a mucilage and coats the gut to alleviate any irritation, however prolonged use causes the mucilage to coat the gut so well that it prevents the uptake of nutrients for the feed (hence the only using it for 3 days). You need to add it to the feed and damp it down a bit to activate the enzymes before feeding it.

My TB scoured constantly for 12 months... Liquid running down his legs, staining his rugs and I was washing his back end and tail daily. I tried pro biotics, changing his diet (at the advice of my vet), lots of fibre, chamomile, calmers, fecal counts and I was in weekly communication with my wonderful vet while all this was happening. He was scoped and was clear for ulcers. I started him on Slippery Elm as a last resort and it worked. I also had a herballist come out to help me work out what to feed as I was at my wit's end. We changed his diet and he is now right as rain and poos like a normal horse, even when stressed. He went from being able to hit objects 1m away to normal in about 4 weeks.
 
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