Elderly mare with diarrhea

[TJAnonymous]

I have a 20-something elderly mare that has diarrhea. There has been no change in her food regimen. She is also on a rotational worming schedule. She was last dosed with Ivermectin in January. She is not due to be wormed again until March with Fenbendazol. The only out of the ordinary change is the weather. We had 2 snow storms last week so she and her pasture buddy (another elderly mare) both pretty much stayed in the barn. They were given plenty of hay to bide their time...

My daughter noticed her bum and legs were coated in poo on Saturday so she has had this at least since the weekend. Her piles look like a cow patty but otherwise normal color.

Anyone have any suggestions for treating it?

 

[Egg Snatcher]

Sorry, the only thing I know that would cause this is grass but there in no grass.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Sorry, the only thing I know that would cause this is grass but there in no grass.

I understand... I'm just as baffled.

 

[Egg Snatcher]

Hope you find the cause.

 

[Percheron chick]

Even if she has been eating the same hay, a new bale can be richer or have a weed that triggers the diarrhea. Start a new bale. If there is any clover, lespedeza or alfalfa, don't feed it. Just basic boring grass hay. No concentrates, no treats, just boring grass hay.
Has she been dewormed for tapes? If it persists, you can add pre and probiotic (Diamond V is my go to) and at her age, she would benefit irregardless. Diarrhea can be a pain response as well. Weather can be part of the equation as you have upped her intake in response to the cold weather.
Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about it. It usually corrects itself in a few days.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Even if she has been eating the same hay, a new bale can be richer or have a weed that triggers the diarrhea. Start a new bale. If there is any clover, lespedeza or alfalfa, don't feed it. Just basic boring grass hay. No concentrates, no treats, just boring grass hay.
Has she been dewormed for tapes? If it persists, you can add pre and probiotic (Diamond V is my go to) and at her age, she would benefit irregardless. Diarrhea can be a pain response as well. Weather can be part of the equation as you have upped her intake in response to the cold weather.
Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about it. It usually corrects itself in a few days.

She was given Quest Plus back in the fall (November) as part of the rotational worming schedule.

She is on Triple Crown Senior which has probiotics in it. Wondering if I should get a different supplement to assist?

As for the hay....My normal hay guy didn't have enough hay. I purchased what I could, but had to find a different source. I ended up buying some hay (all fertilized bermuda, allegedly) from his neighbor. I looked it over and it looked good but was really green. I bought it because I didn't have much choice. Brought it home and my horses wanted NOTHING to do with it. They were eating sticks & leaves to avoid eating that hay. So I went on the search again and found another person with premium bermuda (fertilized & clean, etc). Bought it and the horses will eat it. In the meantime, the horses have decided that the other hay is somewhat edible so I don't know if it was just those initial bales or what... But we have been alternating between the two different hay sources.

Now, I KNOW that switching up your hay source CAN cause digestion issues, colic, etc... But she has not had any diarrhea even though she was eating hay from both sources for 2 months. It is only recently that this diarrhea has started....coincidentally timed with the snow storms we received. So I don't know if this is just stress or what's going on... Maybe something the hay, like you mentioned? Not sure.... But the weather has turned warm again (66 today) so we'll see if it gets better but so far, it is the same. Cow patty poop....runny and smelly.

ETA - she has not shown any signs of colic at all....just the diarrhea.

 

[Percheron chick]

TC is an excellent product, I would however discontinue it until she returns to normal. She needs time to calm her gut down.
Sounds like you have enough moving pieces that can be contributing to the problem. Make sure she is consuming her salt/mineral blend as she is losing lots.

 

[TJAnonymous]

TC is an excellent product, I would however discontinue it until she returns to normal. She needs time to calm her gut down.
Sounds like you have enough moving pieces that can be contributing to the problem. Make sure she is consuming her salt/mineral blend as she is losing lots.

Thanks! She has free choice access to both mineral and salt blocks. Plus, I put a teaspoon of salt in every feed bag. She gets fed twice per day. I also add Purina 12:12 to her feed bag once per day.

I'm thinking about giving her some Redmond's Daily Gold and see if that improves her gut....in case she has consumed something. I have some game hens who took up residence in the barn during the bad weather. I'm wondering if maybe she picked up some bacteria from them? They like to roost in the rafters above the horse stalls. They also fly up on top of the hay storage in the barn occasionally.

 

[littledog]

Have you taken her temperature?

 

[TJAnonymous]

Have you taken her temperature?

No, but in the few days that followed, my other elderly mare (they are pasture mates) started having diarrhea too. I put them both on Daily Gold (bentonite clay) and things are slowly returning to normal. Their poop is semi-formed now. Still loose, but not as bad as it was.... I'm going to keep them on the Daily Gold and see if it clears up in a few days. They are due for their rotational worming this week. I would normally use Fenbendazole, but since they are having these issues I might use Quest Plus just to be sure this isn't a worm issue. They've never had worms before because we are so diligent with the worming them every other month and rotating types of wormer to get everything. But you never know....at least I can rule it out if I worm them.