hi dr getty,
my 20 year old horse has had diarrhea for about a month now. i moved him to a new yard 2 days ago as the old place where he was had cape weed in the padoks(a common weed where i live) and it was giving my horses diarrhea. i had the vet out to see him as he went off his feed but he still ate hay, and the vet gave me some medicine to give him twice an day until all of the medicine was finished. he has now finished all of the medicine that the vet gave me and he still has got diarrhea. so i rang the vet and told him and he just told me to worm him, but i dident worm him that long ago and he is not due for one yet, i think if i worm him it will just upset his stomache even more, do you think it will or should i just worm him? he is still settling in to this new yard and he is a bit stressed so that is just making it worse. the new yards grass is quite different to the stuff at the old one and is very green, his poos have also turned very green, is this normal as he is not used to this grass? do you think i should just let him settle more and get used to the grass and he will get better by him self? or is there any thing i can feed him to help with the diarrhea? i have been giving him lots of hay but he isent really interested in it as he is at a new place with new grass and he would rather eat that, but he has been eating some of it and he has been eatin all of his hard feed. i have been feeding him- http://www.coprice.com.au/speciality/horse/nr-veteran.asp and chaff, and oaten hay and he has free acsess to grass 24/7. do you think the feed i am giving him is ok or should i add somthing or change his feed?
thankyou hope you can help.

Where are you from? Western Australia

How did you locate this forum? google

Hello Vanessa,

From what you describe, the diarrhea is very likely due to his new grass intake. The green color of his manure is an indication of the changed forage and is not a concern.

As long as he does not have a fever and is eating well, I would not be terribly concerned at this point. I would, however, give him an electrolyte supplement because of his fluid loss. And, also give him a potent probiotic to help replace the bacteria in his hind gut.

Give him a couple of weeks and see how he does.

All the best,

Dr. Getty

My horse has had diarrhea on and off since I got her last year August. We did worm counts and it wasn't caused from worms. I've tried different feeds and a million different things. I can't quite find the connection between what she has eaten and when her poop is perfect and what she has eaten when it isn't. I am very confused. I have sort of discovered that when the weather is colder she has perfect poop, and really runny on hot days. Would this make any sense? She lived on a farm for 11 years where the grass is dry most of the year round and the horses grow up very hardy. It is also much much colder there than where I have her. It is the most annoying thing! Having to clean dirty butts everyday :(

Hi Christine,

As long as she does not have a temperature and has a good appetite, you needed worry too much. However, it is not normal and very difficult to manage, indeed!

Make certain that you are providing an electrolyte supplement because of all her fluid loss. This is important because plain water when she has diarrhea can cause even more electrolyte imbalance.

The first thing I would do is provide her with a five day treatment of fenbendazole at a double dose. This is a wormer that is marketed under the name of Panacur. But in double dose for 5 days, it will kill encysted larvae that do not show up in fecal exams and can irritate the intestinal lining.

After you've done this, let's see what happens.

All the best,

Dr. Getty

Hi dr getty just an update from me
my horse has now settled in to his new paddok and his diarrhea has now gone and he is looking very well
thanks for your help

Where are you from? Western Australia

How did you locate this forum? google

Hi Vanessa,

That is excellent news!!


Dr. Getty

I am alarmingly confused. I went to my horse today and suprise suprise - perfect faeces. She is eating the same bale of grass hay as yesterday (when the poop was sloppy) and I haven't changed her diet, she is on the same pasture. This is really really really wierd. If its not worms is this just something I'm going to have to deal with?

Hi Christine,

Well, it certainly is good news and I understand your confusion. It may have been something in the pasture that he ate that irritated his intestinal lining. If it were worms, it wouldn't just abruptly disappear. So, if he develops diarrhea again, see if you can determine anything unusual that he may have eaten or if he drank any water from sources other than what you provide.

Dr. Getty