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  Discussion on Diarrhea when traveling
Author Message
New Member:
cgiaco

Posted on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 11:15 pm:

I have a 6 year old gelding that I travel and camp with regularly. Back ground, he has traveled a lot and we camp at the same camp ground regularly. We camp with a lot of the same horses and travel the same trails. He is not a nervous horse, he is not generally herd bound and does not scream and holler to other horses. He hauls alone and is mellow. Day rides he does fine and does not get diarrhea. At home, he is out on property about 9 acres of grass. When we travel he is switched over to straight grass hay. He drinks a lot while we are traveling, eats well, and seems fine. BUT, he gets diarrhea to the point that it makes me very nervous and concerned. He has NO other issues, great gut sounds, eats, sleeps, drinks and goes out on the trails just fine. I give him probiotics as soon as we get to the camp ground. Could the switch from rich pasture grass to grass hay cause this? I figured that going from a “rich” pasture grass to a dry grass hay would not cause this but I know that horses are sensitive to change. Could it be the water at the camp grounds? He is regularly wormed, vaccinated, very healthy, ridden regularly, and before I take him to the vet since it seems to distress me more than him, I wanted to get any ideas from people that travel with horses and pull them off pasture and then put them back on pasture how do you deal with the change. All my friends that I travel with do the same thing and do not have any issues. I can’t really take time to wean him on and off the pasture and hay; he will not eat any grass hay if I try to feed it to him in the pasture. (he laughs and walks away) Sorry for being so long winded but I guess my question is, does anyone see reasons that he is getting diarrhea? He firms up within one day or two of returning home. Thanks for your input and help! (I do give him a handful of beet pulp to give him the probiotics and he does not get that on a daily when we are at home)
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, May 21, 2012 - 9:11 pm:

Hello Cindy,
Just because he does not look nervous does not mean that he does not have a nervous bowel however I thing the food change is still possible. Why don't you start keeping him on a small amount of hay at home so that when you travel the change is not so dramatic. It might makes a big difference. For more on possible treatments (you need to do the above first) see HorseAdvice.com » Diseases of Horses » Colic, Diarrhea, GI Tract » Diarrhea in Horses » Diarrhea an Overview.
DrO
Member:
cgiaco

Posted on Monday, May 21, 2012 - 9:44 pm:

Great! Thank you Dr O. I was just talking to some of my friends about this today. I will bring him in at night and feed him grass hay and give him some beet pulp/alfalfa pellet mash with his vitamins and minerals in it. How long should I give him probiotics? Just a couple of days before we leave and while we are traveling or should I give it to him all the time? Should I haul my own water or just start with the keeping him on hay and see if that works?
Again, Thanks for your time!
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - 3:32 pm:

Remembering that the idea is to stabilize his diet to see if this would keep his stools firmer as you travel I would try to feed the same thing all the time.
DrO
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