Weanling with diarrhea

Miniature Horse Talk Forums

Help Support Miniature Horse Talk Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

rosaroca

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2003
Messages
168
Reaction score
3
I have a weanling colt who had occasional bouts of diarrhea while he was nursing. It stopped when I weaned him (it's been close to two months now) but it started up again last evening. He's wormed regularly (Panacur, mostly) and seems healthy. Today, the stools are very mushy, but last night they were nearly liquid, so much so that they soaked his tail and hind legs.

Any thoughts on what could be going on with him? I have a lot of leaves falling, of course, including oak leaves (and acorns). I know that both of those can be toxic, but would they cause diarrhea and no other apparent problems? If so, what could have caused the problems he had when he was still on his momma? They're on dry lot for the most part, with occasional turnout on pasture, but their last turnout was a couple of weeks ago. I feed Purina pelleted feeds and bermuda hay.

He never seems to feel sick when it happens, doesn't get dehydrated, doesn't colic or go off his feed. I normally give him Pepto or something like that, and the stools firm back up, usually within 24-36 hours. It's really puzzling to me and I'm worried about him.

Pat
 
Is he completely seperated from his mom? If not, he could still be nursing, causing him to get the runs. I know the first time it happened when he was still nursing was because of the mare"s "foal heat" but I don't know about this time. Good luck with him
 
His dam is not even on the premises anymore, so that's not it.

Today his stools are still mushy, "cow patties," but he's still eating and looking good otherwise. Eyes are bright, etc.

I'm baffled!!!
 
Pat, if he's eating oak leaves and acorns, they could certainly cause diarrhea.

More than likely, something he's eating, he's not able to digest. I purchased a weanling filly some years back that had diarrhea when I got her. I couldn't get it stopped! My vet and I tried everything. All kinds of medications, antibiotics, oats and grass hay. Nothing worked. I finally put her on a weanling feed that was beet pulped based and the diarrhea stopped. I still have this mare and she has no diarrhea problems whatsoever and can eat any kind of feed.
 
Thanks! I think it is the acorns and oak leaves. I have another colt who lives in the same lot who is starting to have loose stools, too. Unfortunately, there's nowhere I can put them where they won't have oak leaves dropping or blowing into their pen. So, I guess I'll just have to keep treating it as I'm doing unless it gets worse, in which case I'll have to ship them out to someone who has a stall for them with no leaves.

Pat
 
[SIZE=14pt]Hi Pat,[/SIZE]

We have 2 weanlings with the same problem, a colt & a filly, caused from falling leaves! We went to the vet and got a tube of BoiSponge and it clear both of them with one treatment! But as Becky pointed out a different feed could help stem the diarrhea!

Bill
 
Last edited by a moderator:
make sure also that they arent on the salt or mineral blocks too much. this will also cause runs
 

Latest posts

Back
Top