Use the navigation bar above to access articles and more discussions on this topic.
| Author |
Message |
    
Karen Powers (Powers)
| | Posted on Friday, Jun 1, 2001 - 1:12 pm: |   |
My 7 y/o gelding periodically discharges alot of watery stuff around his stool. The stool is
pretty normal - I'm used to what normal for
him given what he's eating at the time. Just
don't understand the watery stuff with the stool.
The first 5 months I had this horse none of this
was present, then this past January he had 2 bouts
of copious water discharge - so much so he was
crampy. This began right after being treated with
antibiotics for a puncture wound. We tubed him,
banamine and he got better. One more similar incident about 8 weeks later, again tubed and banamine and was fine. Then 2 weeks ago he became
mildly impacted...banamine/tubing had little effect. Vet observed him "grinding" his teeth (I spend a lot of time with this horse and I never heard him do this) we have him on 30 days of rinitadine and happy to report after 15 days of the medicine he's doing much better. He had exhibited behavorial symtoms such as "fussy" under saddle and nervousness - which just isn't him. My questions are: 1) could he possess a sensitivity to antibiotics that have caused the ulcers, and the watery discharge; and 2) if not, what could be causing this condition. I am concerned that if I don't get to the bottom of this he could developed much more severe problems due to scar tissue, etc. from the uclers. GREATLY APPRECIATED ANY INPUT!!!! |
Robert N. Oglesby DVM (Dro)
| | Posted on Saturday, Jun 2, 2001 - 8:18 am: | |
Taking your questions one at a time:
1) could he possess a sensitivity to antibiotics that have caused the ulcers, and the watery discharge?
Unlikely, though the antibiotics may cause a transient diarrhea it should return to normal as the bacterial flora get back to normal in the gut.
2) What could be causing this condition?
There are many possiblbities and most of them are covered in the article associated with this forum. Select "Diarrhea an Overview" from the navigation bar at the top of this page then click on the articles title.
DrO |
Jerre Redecker
New Member
Username: Jerre
Post Number: 1
Registered: 11-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, Dec 19, 2002 - 3:53 pm: | |
This is my first post -- I hope I am using this appropriately!
I researched this topic thoroughly here in the past six weeks.
My 3 year old mare had these same symptoms. There was no change in her feed or management and she was healthy, energetic and had good appetite. Pepto gave 1 day relief, but the symptoms returned. Cutting out grain had no effect. Psyllium made the symptoms worse. A 1 tsp./day dose of Probios (dosage recommended on the container) made a mild improvement.
After six weeks of chronic, low-grade diarrhea with formed stool accompanied by water, I had the vet out. He said she was not metabolizing water out of her lower colon and prescribed Metronidazole and Probios (50-60cc in a slurry 3x/day). My mare's symptoms resolved in 48 hours. |
Robert N. Oglesby DVM
Moderator
Username: Dro
Post Number: 7457
Registered: 1-1997
| | Posted on Friday, Dec 20, 2002 - 8:20 am: | |
You did fine Jerre. The treatment / results suggest you treated a low grade infection sensitive to the metronidazole (an antibiotic).
DrO |
Sara Isaacson
Member
Username: Spamflam
Post Number: 2
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Friday, Dec 27, 2002 - 3:24 pm: | |
I have a 2 year old Mustang gelding with the same problem. I am an ICU Nurse - so I thought I could figure this out. No such luck. And the vet cannot give me any definitive answer. His symptoms are:
1. afebrile
2. fairly normal stool accompanied by a stream of watery discharge - sometimes squirts across the stall.
3. He has regular deworming (Ivermectin) and is not underweight.
At times the diarrhea disappears - but then returns with a vengence. He plays with the other horses - and is growing well. The vet said that some horses just have this type of colon. I should also tell you that he has had this since we adopted him at 9 months of age. We have treated him with psyllium but never with antibiotics - maybe this could be a fungal infection that requires flagyl. Could he be allergic to alfalfa? This is my 14 year old daughters horse and I do not want to overlook something that will cause permanent damage.
Thanks,
Sorry for the rambling - I give a better ICU report. Ha!
Sara |
Robert N. Oglesby DVM
Moderator
Username: Dro
Post Number: 7497
Registered: 1-1997
| | Posted on Saturday, Dec 28, 2002 - 10:43 am: | |
Hello Sarah,
Yes your vet is right some horses do just have loose stools and yes it is possible the alfalfa exacerbates the problem but until a complete exam and lab work up is done how can we know for sure? Fungal colitis is unlikely. For more on a historical prespective, possible causes and diagnosis see: » Equine Diseases » Colic and GI Diseases » Diarrhea in Horses » Diarrhea an Overview.
DrO
PS, When you post a question about your horse you should start your own discussion and not post it at the bottom of someone else's discussion. When you create your own discussion, it keeps discussions easy to read and you will get more responses quicker. For more on this see the "KNOW THESE POSTING RULES" topic at the top of every "Add a Message" form. Lets go ahead and finish this here and later I will move it into its own discussion.
|
