Sand Clear

[O So]

I gave O So his first dose of Sand Clear today at lunch time. Since then he has been basically squirting out water. It is brown water, some times there may be a little bit of digested hay, but mainly water. He hasn't had a actual bowel movement since I gave him the Sand Clear, just the water.

I am giving him the SC because he had diarrea for the last few weeks. See my thread Cutting Teeth for more details on that.

I was wondering if the Sand Clear would cause him to have this watery discharge at first?

Oh, and earlier today, before the SC, he had a movement that looked like it started out almost normal, but then went to kind of loose. Then his next one was more loose then normal. Then I gave him the SC and it has been water ever since. So about 6 hours now he is just squirting water out. He is acting fine as far as everything else goes. Bout runs me over for a treat, eats his hay, and even eats Pippins hay. LOL So he has no loss of apatite, that is for sure.

Pippin is still fine and is pooping normal. I even gave him a dose of the SC, to make sure he didn't have any in him either. Figured it couldn't hurt. That is what the confusing part is, Pippin isn't having problems even after the SC. Wonder if O So is just more sensitive to it or if there is something else wrong?

One more thing, what is a normal temp for a mini? I didn't find a thermometer the feed store today so I am going to just use my oral one and then buy me a new one. I will take his temp when hubby gets home.

It had to be a 4 day weekend this weekend. I plan on emailing my vet to see what he has to say. May have him come out one Tuesday if O So doesn't start getting more solid by then. Course may have to have an emergency visit if this watery stuff keeps up!!!

 

[breezy farm]

I give Sand Clear to all of my minis 1x month for 7 days because they are in a sand lot for part of the day and they eat their hay there. I have never found it to give them runny poops so I would say no.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I have a friend whose horse had mysterious runny poops off and on for a year. She never could figure out what caused it. It just stopped suddenly. She was so frustrated by his dirty tail and behind, and of course it was worrisome.

I know she does use sand clear, but he was on that before the problem started. It didn't seem to affect it one way or another. The other horse was normal.

If you figure out what it is, I'm sure other folks would like to know; I don't think it is terribly uncommon. HOpefully some other members will post about the problem.

I use sand clear periodically and have never noticed it causing loose poops.

 

[bevann]

I use a psyllium product daily on 1 horse who has a history of very loose watery poop.I had to use Bio sponge for several weeks to get the problem cleared up.good luck with your guy I don't think the Sand clear is causing it, but you might want to ask your vet.

 

[Melinda Dean]

I have had a lot of experience with one of my minis and sand clear. Here is what I have learned as it applies to my gelding who is a sand eater. I do not know the background on your horse and definitely suggest getting in touch with your vet as soon as possible.

Here's what I have learned. :

When they get too much of a load of sand collected in their digestive track, the intestines draw water from the rest of his body to help flush it out... looks like watery stuff you described. He may get dehydrated. Make sure his is drinking a lot of fluids.

Have you floated his poop to check for sand in his feces? Very easy to do. Use a clear plastic glove or zip lock baggie. ( I use the big baggy) Turn it inside out and pick up the poop then add water. Make sure it is sealed. Then shake it up good, hang it up so one corner hangs down. I hook mine on the fence for a while. Then look at the corner. Sand will settle and give you an idea about how much is coming out of him. If you have already started dosing him with sand clear, be happy if you see some. It is working!!

I have 3 different minis who eat grass differently. Two have never had a sand problem, but Lil'Bit eats roots, sand and all. My soil is very salty here and the vet says he just likes the taste. I give sand clear 1 week on, 1 week off to all of them. If Bit starts pooping sand castles, he gets lots of mineral oil out of a turkey baster in his mouth (Like paste worming only very messy), double sand clear with some molasses added to it. Plus I add Wal Mart Equate fiber that is orange flavored to warm water and he drinks it right up. He was my first mini and had a sand blockage/colic the 2nd week here. The vet talked me through it on the phone that night and by the time she came out the next morning, he was just a tad dehydrated so he had to get IV fluids.

I keep all this stuff on hand and if Bit even looks a bit runny, he gets it all! No more colics in years.

As I said, please do contact your vet. Other things can cause watery poop. I guess some horses may not tolerate the sand clear. It was worked wonders for Bit.

Good luck.!

 

[O So]

No, I haven't checked for it. Just figured I would treat for it because I have been feeding him hay on a dirt lot. That is another thing, this is a dirt lot, not sand. I was just guessing that it could have the same affect as sand, maybe I am wrong?

Here is a poop from about an hour ago or so. The first pic is O So's and the second is Pippins, after the SC. Pippins looks like it is a bit bigger then usual. Usually it is several balls, not on big clumped together balls.

 

[Marty]

Oh wow thank you for the visual aid but honestly not necessary! Its pizza night you know???

I'm from Florida and very used to feeding Sand Clear and Sand Blast. To answer your question:

Sand Clear Will it cause worse diarrea?

the answer is TOTALLY! Your horse must be really sanded bad to cause this to happen.

OR!!!!!! You have NOT followed the exact directions.They are there for a reason. This stuff is not to be monkeyed with so you do have to be sure you have adjusted the dosage for OSO correctly and not come up with your own schedule. This is very important. And yes: sand=dirt

You really need to keep the boy drinking because it surely could cause him to dehydrate.

Under these circumstances if he were my horse I would also be giving him a round of probios and de-worm him. If this doesn't clear up pretty soon I'd be consulting a vet.

 

[O So]

Oh wow thank you for the visual aid but honestly not necessary! Its pizza night you know???

I'm from Florida and very used to feeding Sand Clear and Sand Blast. To answer your question:

Sand Clear Will it cause worse diarrea?

the answer is TOTALLY! Your horse must be really sanded bad to cause this to happen.

OR!!!!!! You have NOT followed the exact directions.They are there for a reason. This stuff is not to be monkeyed with so you do have to be sure you have adjusted the dosage for OSO correctly and not come up with your own schedule. This is very important. And yes: sand=dirt

You really need to keep the boy drinking because it surely could cause him to dehydrate.

Under these circumstances if he were my horse I would also be giving him a round of probios and de-worm him. If this doesn't clear up pretty soon I'd be consulting a vet.

He is drinking very well!! So we are good there.

As far as the dosage, I asked on my other thread but never got a response, so I will ask here now.

The container say's for a 1000 lb horse to give 1 to 1.5 scoops a day. For pony's give less, that is all it says. O So is 150 lbs. The scoop is 1 cup exactly. So I gave O So 1/4 of a cup. Doing the math, that was probably still a bit to much. Thinking out load here, 1000 lb horse = 1 cup, so 500 lb horse should equal 1/2 cup, then 250 lb horse should get 1/4 cup, so really O So being only 150, I should have given even less then 1/4 cup. What is half of a 1/4th?? I suck at math, sorry to say!

I wormed him 3 weeks ago, and then did a follow up worming last week. Just incase. Figured his stool was still loose, that was why the follow up worming was done. I'm not the best at giving it to them, so figured what they go wasn't to much, and atleast with the follow up worming they got their actual dosage they should be getting.

Thanks for the help!!

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I figured it down from the larger 1.5 cup dosage for my two 250lb minis and give essentially 1/3rd of a cup per horse per night for 7 days. I would think 1/4 cup or a little less would be fine for your guys.

Leia

 

[shorthorsemom]

I would be watching for signs of colic coming on could have something causing a partial impaction. I wouldn't let my horse go very long passing water poo before consulting a vet.

 

[Melinda Dean]

Saw the poop pictures. Looks just like my Bit's poop in early stage of sand problem.

For my guy, he would be brought into the barn, given more sand clear, oil and Equate fiber. Apple jelly flavored water too. I would call my vet and tell her what is going on, what I have done, and follow her suggestions. She then knows what is going on and can be on stand by if I need her later. My vets live 2 hrs. away so we do lots over the phone. Once again, this is what I would do because of my past experience with this little guy. Every situation, mini and owner are different. I would never dream of advising you what to do but will gladly share my personal experience.

I thought I would reply to the dosage question.

For my mighty sand eater Lil'Bit who is 30'' stocky mini, and the bigger 34 and 36" guys, when grass is sparse, they all get 1/4 cup morning and night so a full 1/2 cup daily for 7 days. Skip a week, then do it again. If my grass is plentiful, I could just give it once a day every other week. I realize this may sound like over kill but my vet agrees with my system. I asked her what would happen if they got too much. She said it would just make them uncomfortable and she feels that I would notice this right away. My sandy pasture is just beyond my lawn so we see them all day, and they are loved on, groomed and spoiled at least twice a day.

The tasty sand problem is so bad here that I have to be careful putting fresh sand in their stalls. Lil'Bit will literally eat it by the mouth full given the chance. I have to spray the top layer with fly repellant to prevent him from munching out!! The first time he did it, his poop came out sand colored, sparkling in the sun light, and stacked with peaks like a kid's castle. All my stalls are lined with mats so they do not eat feed from the ground and the minis only get hay from hay sacks in their stalls.

I did find that adding even more minerals to his diet seemed to help for a time. I have salt and mineral blocks all over the pasture and barn for him, plus feed premium feed. Unfortunately, he quickly returned to his bad habit. My vet says he just likes sand!

I say all this so you will know....no matter how hard you try to control sand/dirt getting inside them, it will happen. My vet says all horses have some in their digestive tracks. It is a matter of how much and how their individual bodies handle it. But please do not wait to contact your vet. It can quickly change from watery poop to a severe impaction very fast.

 

[O So]

Took some pics of his poo from this morning!! Looking a lot better. Again, first pic is O So's poo and the second is Pippin's. Pippin's is back to normal and O So is not to far behind.

I tried to do a poop test and failed at it! LOL I only had a quart size baggie and I think I put to much poo for the amount of water the bag would hold. Seemed like half of the poo floated and half sank. I couldn't see any sand in it at all. I will try again next poop, but get a smaller sample.

If O So doesn't continure to get better, I will call my vet come Tuesday. Will only call him over the weekend/holiday, if O So turn for the worst. Right now things are looking to be on the mend.

I also cut the amount of sand clear I am giving them. I am giving them 1/8th of a cup. No watery poo today after the dose, so I think that was the problem yesterday.

 

[Eagle]

I think o so's look just fine now and if anything I think Poppin's look a bit dry!

 

[O So]

I think o so's look just fine now and if anything I think Poppin's look a bit dry!

Pippin's has been like that ever since I got him. It really never changes. Except for when I gave that big dose of sand clear yesterday, it was a bit looser, you can see it in that first post with the poop pics.

 

[Melinda Dean]

Poop is looking much better. Good job!

 

[Raine Ranch Minis]

Only horse people can get excited over poop!!!

 

[O So]

Only horse people can get excited over poop!!!

LOL, yah, I saw him pooping from a distance, I got all excited and had to go check it out!! It is looking so much better!! I was so happy I gave him a hug. LOL

 

[Raine Ranch Minis]

LOL, yah, I saw him pooping from a distance, I got all excited and had to go check it out!! It is looking so much better!! I was so happy I gave him a hug. LOL

Sorry That was just to Funny!!!!!!!!!