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  Discussion on 2 month foal with diarrhea
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Posted on Thursday, Jul 11, 2002 - 1:09 am:

Hi Dr. O,

My 2 month old foal developed diarrhea 7 days ago, very loose, mushy stools. I started given her petol-bismo 3 days ago. I started with 10 cc 3x a day, saw no improvement, then increased to 20cc 3x day and it appeared she was starting to firm up a little, however by tonight the stool is liquidy and when she passes gas she squirts fluid.

I was told by an old-timer, this is just foal heat diarrhea and not to worry as long as she stayed alert, active and is eating good. We have been having a record breaking heat wave here (108 degrees) and everyone seems to be a little slower than normal so I really can't tell if she is less energetic than normal. She is still nursing really good, drinking water and eating grass hay.

Her mother has laminitis, so we have to limit the amount of grass hay she has available, so neither is able to free feed. And since the latest flare-up I have been giving the mare 1 bute tablet am and pm (yesterday and today). Could this be the reason for the watery squirts and should I discontinue the bute?

Thanks for your advice
Jacquie

Posted on Thursday, Jul 11, 2002 - 3:39 am:

Hi Dr. O,

I made a mistake in the above message...I have been giving the foal Kaopectate NOT petol bismo. I apologize for my error.

Thanks Jac

Posted on Thursday, Jul 11, 2002 - 5:22 am:

Hello Jacquie,
Since the diarrhea preceeded the bute and the bute has only been given for 2 days, I do not think they are related. We do not have any work in horses, but we do know it appears in the milk in other species but the concentration apprears to remain very low in the 1 microgram per ml range follwing fairly high doses for a week straight. This is about a milligram per liter (quart). So doses approaching that of what are therapeutic, and potentially toxic, amounts occur at about 25 gallons a day under these conditions.

Despite this, I only recommend bute for lactating mares when the benefits outweigh this very small risk. This is a clinical judgement that must be made by someone who can examine the mare and foal.

It is possible this is a harmless diarrhea but the combination of all the problems, the recent worsening, and environmental stress worry me. I am chiefly concerned about the possibity of dehydration, sepsis, and endotoxemia. It would be worthwhile to have this little guy looked at. For more on diarrhea see the articles under: Equine Diseases: Colic and GI Diseases: Diarrhea in Horses. At least 3 of them apply to your situation.
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Jul 11, 2002 - 10:09 am:

Thanks for your response Dr. O!

This morning her stool is much firmer...not normal, but firmer than it is has been all week. I'm thinking (which isn't saying much) the combination of the mare in heat and the extreme hot weather we're having is the cause, but I will call my vet today and see what he says.

The last dosage of Kaopectate I gave her last night, was the first time she got the full dose...usually some of it has was either spit out or missed...so maybe I finally got enough down her to make a difference. Since I have been 'winging' this I'm overly cautious about not giving her too much. But to be on the safe side, I think I should call the vet.

Also, I forgot to mention this in the first message, which may or may not have any baring on this. Yesterday AM, I had given the mare her first dose of Equitrol. The container states it is ok for lactating mares and foals...but since this was something new maybe the change wasn't good for the foal.

I think I'm going to go back to the feeding program I have been using, with no changes until we have this cleared up (unless the vet says to do things differently).

Again, thanks for your response. I really appreciate your advice!
Jac

Posted on Friday, Jul 12, 2002 - 4:20 am:

The Equitrol is an unlikely cause also. What changes did you make in your feeding program?
DrO

Posted on Friday, Jul 12, 2002 - 9:31 am:

The only changes I made were: 1) removed all alfalfa (I'm still not giving either of them any alfalfa), 2) added the Equitrol (I'm going to go ahead and discontinue the Equitrol till we're completely back to normal) and 3) had just started giving the baby one handful of Omeline 300 per day, again I think that can wait till she's back to normal.

Progress is being made...by last night her stools were much firmer and almost normal, no 'squirts' at all yesterday. Appetite very good, very active through out the day and drinking lots of water. This AM stools are still firmer, again not perfect, but firmer than cow pies with some clumping.

The vet was unable to see her and probably can't today either due to the extreme heat we are having and the other local vet is away on vacation. Since things are improving I'm not going to worry as much, just keep a close eye on her.

Thanks for all of your input Dr. O!
Jac
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