September 2004

Chronic Diarrhea Stinks

It’s messy and annoying, and it’s a serious health hazard for your horse.

Diarrhea can quickly dehydrate a horse, so be certain he or she has plenty of clean water and drinks it.

Chronic diarrhea is a frequent problem that’s extremely difficult to treat successfully. We gathered four typical cases with successful treatment outcomes as examples. In addition, our chart will help guide you to likely causes and help you and your veterinarian determine the best treatment route.

Case 1: A 13-month-old Thoroughbred colt had returned home from a Canadian breeding farm at the age of 4.5 months in poor condition and with chronic diarrhea. No parasite or pathogenic bacterial problem could be found, and no treatments had any good or lasting results. …