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  Discussion on Orpan Foal Eating Sand
Author Message
Member:
Kamla

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 8, 2006 - 3:11 pm:

I am raising an arabian foal that was orphaned about 3 weeks ago at the age of 6 weeks. When I take him to turn him out in pasture he digs holes and eats the sandy dirt. He is drinking about 3 gallons of milk replacer, a small amount of alfalfa hay, milk replacer pellets off and on, and drinking water. What can I do to stop this? He needs to be outside to get exercise but I can't leave him because he stands and eats dirt. Any help would be appreciated.
Member:
Banthony

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 8, 2006 - 3:29 pm:

Does he grind his teeth?

When we see a foal eat sand we think ulcers. Usually the sand eating is followed by raging diarrhea as the sand tears up the gut.

We use ranitidine 3 times a day. For 2-3 weeks.
Member:
Kamla

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 8, 2006 - 6:09 pm:

I think I may have heard him grind his teeth, if so he doesn't do it often, but no diarrhea. How much ranitidine for a 250 lb foal?
Member:
Oscarvv

Posted on Wednesday, Aug 9, 2006 - 8:07 am:

I agree about looking at possible ulcers. I also offer mine free choice minerals from ABC.
Does the foal have company nearby?
When I had one that was determined to eat sand, I put a soft, nylon basket/muzzle on her. They can drink water with it. I would take it off often for nursing. She had eaten so much she was spraying the walls with diarrhea. This was not an orphan, but offering her the minerals put a stop to the sand eating.
-B
Member:
Banthony

Posted on Thursday, Aug 10, 2006 - 5:04 pm:

Dr. O, please check my math.

Gastro Guard is the way to go if you can afford it. We have to use Ranitidine - if you have a Sam's Club in your town it is the cheapest. They have 75mg tablets. Your vet has 150 - 300mg tablet doses.

It is 6.6mg/kg - your foal is about 115kg so you need 750mg every 8 hrs.

For 75mg pills you need 10 per dose; for 150 mg tablets you need 5 per dose and so forth.

Crush the tablets and mix with applesauce, caro syrup, strained baby carrots baby food or the like. It is very bitter - try to get it at the back of the throat so they just swallow it and don't get it all over their mouth.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Aug 11, 2006 - 8:37 am:

Looks good to me Linda.
DrO
Member:
Kamla

Posted on Friday, Aug 11, 2006 - 4:49 pm:

Thanks everyone. I put the colt on gastrogard yesterday morning 2 cc 2X a day for a total of 3 treatments given. Midmorning today he started having a very smelly nasty diarrhea.

The only symptoms of possible ulcers he had were occassional teeth grinding and eating sand. He looks good, eats and drinks well, no diarrhea until the gastrogard. Did I jump the gun with the gastrogard, could this be something else?

I will discontinue the gastrogard until the diarrhea stops and the start up at 2cc 1X a day to be sure he tolerates it OK. In the meantime I have added a salt and a mineral block in his stall.

What else could be causing the sand eating? It is very frustrating not to be able to let him stay outside on pasture where he can exercise, breathe fresh air and can soak up some Vitamin D because he is eating dirt. I absolutely hate foals spending their lives in a stall!!!
Member:
Banthony

Posted on Friday, Aug 11, 2006 - 5:09 pm:

In my experience eating sand and grinding teeth are symptoms of an upset tummy. Why they think that eating sand will help them feel better is anyone's guess.

Not having the money to use Gastroguard I don't know what to say about that. I am just very surprised you haven't had the diarrhea before. Sand is very hard on the gut (think sandpaper) and usually causes the raging, smelly diarrhea you describe.

Maybe the diarrhea was coming and it was coincidental with the Gastroguard?
Member:
Kamla

Posted on Saturday, Aug 12, 2006 - 12:40 am:

Probably the reason he never had the diarrhea before is because I stay with him the entire time he is outside so that the dirt eating is minimal. Of course me having to monitor him the entire time he is out makes for very reduced outside time.

His mother severely foundered 10 days before he was born for unknown reasons so he has never been able to be outside like he should because it was too painful for momma to walk. I would tie her outside the barn and he would run around until she got too upset and had to come in.

This has really been a heartbreaking situation. I keep hoping that someday soon he will be able to do normal foal things but something always seems to happen.

I have a friend that says you can always tell the good ones by how much trouble they have so he must really have some potential.

Anyway, the diarrhea has subsided so I guess I will start in the am with dosing him only once a day for a couple of days so he can get used to the medicine.
Member:
Banthony

Posted on Saturday, Aug 12, 2006 - 12:02 pm:

Well, you have a real challenge on your hands. Good luck and keep us posted.
Member:
Sureed

Posted on Saturday, Aug 12, 2006 - 9:14 pm:

I had a colt eating sand even though he was not orphaned, for reasons related to bad management at the place where he and his Mom were supposed to be provided with mare and foal care. I had to wean him at 3 months because he had so much sand in his gut you could hear it with a stethescope (sounds like the ocean, like you are listening through a conch shell or alternatively, like rotating sand in a brown paper bag). I did a sand test with his manure using a surgical glove and it filled four fingers to the first knuckle (one finger to the first finger is considered severe).

I would test this foal for sand right away. It's easy. You need a clear surgical glove or just a plastic bag to do it. Pick up a fresh clod or two of manure from the foal (or plop of diarrhea). Invert the glove or bag and fill it with water. Squish it a little and then look at what accumulates in the bottom of the fingers or in the corner of the bag. One knuckle of one finger (or the equivalent accumulation in the corner of the plastic bag) is considered significant.

If there is significant sand accumulated then you should put the foal on psyllium (Equipsyllium and Sand Clear are two good products, get whatever has the highest percentage of psyllium.

I'm not sure what supplements to recommend but it seems he needs a mineral salt block at least or maybe a mineral supplement put right into his feed. On the other hand, he may just be compensating for the absence of being able to exercise his sucking reflex.

Good Luck, I think it will turn out OK. My colt turned out great.

Suzanne
Member:
Christos

Posted on Sunday, Aug 13, 2006 - 5:56 pm:

That's a neat trick with the glove or clear bag, Suzanne, thanks for sharing.
Member:
Kamla

Posted on Monday, Aug 14, 2006 - 5:05 pm:

Thanks everyone. I'll let you know how it all plays out. He is doing good off the gastrogard. I have given him a mineral block. I am looking for a weanling companion for him. I'm thinking that part of the problem could be boredom.
Member:
Sureed

Posted on Monday, Aug 14, 2006 - 8:08 pm:

Thanks Christos,

Unfortunately, I am an expert at testing for sand, but the methods aren't mine. They were recommended to me by my vet and a friend who didn't have a glove around when she needed one.

So what I forgot to mention in my writings above was the reason we are concerned with sand and digestive sounds is that a horse with too much sand in its system can colic, require surgery, and/or die. Also, I am convinced that my yearling who was shipped to me full of sand had his growth stunted as a result of carrying so much sand around in his intestines for so long. He had failed to fully shed out his colt coat, was pigeon toed, possibly from pulling his gut up because of the pain, and was terribly pot bellied, certainly not the colt I had bought 8 months before. It took him colicking twice and four days in ICU before we got him cleared out. Then I kept him on psyllium five days at the beginning of every month for a couple of years to make sure he stayed clear.

Sounds like this orphan is on the right track now, but I would still recommend using psyllium for a couple of weeks to help clear out any sand he accumulated if he tests positive for sand with the glove trick.

Suzanne
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