Horse Squirts Inquiry

[BornToRide]

I know my gelding is not the only one with this problem. I have seen several other owners complain of this problem with their horses and in those cases a root cause could really not be found as well........

For the last 3 - 4 years, my gelding will get the "squirts", which means his poop is normal , but he produces a lot of liquid with it. It always starts in the fall and generally resolves itself in the winter, only to return the next fall.

Nothing consistently occurs with this, like hay or feed changes, weather changes, etc., so it cannot be linked to any management issue per se. Everything else is the same. He's out 24/7 in the Pacific NW.

I have treated it with probiotics with minimal results. He cleared up 2 weeks after I stopped giving it to him. Last fall he did not get any probiotics and the problem wasn't quite as bad as it had been the year before. Tried worming (Panacur) too, with about the same results.

I can tell that he's starting to develop the condition again. Obviously something is irritating the walls of his intestinal tract and their optimal function is affected.

Having recently had an experience with bracken fern possibly causing laminitic symptoms in a client's horse, I am now wondering if he may be starting to eat something in the fall that may be causing this. We know he dines on Oregon Bigleaf Maples that fall, but supposedly they are not toxic. But perhaps they are very mildly irritating? Or perhaps there's another plant like that, that should not be eaten in larger amounts, but isn't really toxic per se? I checked his pasture and it is mostly clean. He has a few buttercups in the lower part, but I have never seen him eat any and they are there all year. Besides, that's one of his poop areas too and he does not graze in that area.

Are any of the horses that have this problem too possibly exposed to a similar environment so it is conceivable that some plants in the fall may be the culprit? Would love to hear from horse owners who have experienced this problem with their horses. Perhaps we can find a common denominator and finally pin it down :)

Thank you!

[Moudy]

My Morgan gelding had this happen when we were boarded before we got him home. It was in the fall/winter months as well. We put him on a product called Bio-Sponge by Platinum Performace.

"Bio-Sponge is an intestinal protectant designed to help support healthy intestinal function. Bio-Sponge has substantial capacity to adsorb and absorb toxins, viruses, bacteria and free radicals."

This cleared it up in no time and I always kept some on hand incase of a flare up. It is reasonable cost wise and we never did figure out what the cause was, but we were able to treat it with this product.

Good luck to you.

[goeslikestink]

its due to the grasses that they eat during that time as grass changes growth rate and richness in the times of year -- so does the pooh of a horse
can go from very brown to green and sloopy depending on the grass

grass stops growing in the winter months then re grows in spring

[Sansena]

I can't tell you what your horse is eating to bring on this condition. But I 2nd the vote for Biosponge. Also, if you can get your hands on Gastrocoat.. 120 cc's orally twice daily for a few days should help. Or you can simply have your vet tube with it.

[tweeter]

Wow, we're going thru that now.

About 4 days ago Old guy (30+) started giving me cow patties, Nemo (5), softer, but formed poop, but brown streaks down his backside. I'm sure he's tired of the butt wash. I've started them on probiotics, and this morning everyone is looking better.

They've been drinking a little more water than usual, eating just fine, act fine, etc. Nemo's stall has been really trashed in the morning and he's usually neat. When I went to feed this morning, it was back to it's normal neat :)

The only thing I can find that might have caused it are some blue berry things that were on a tree that fell during the last storm. Nothing else in the pasture has changed, and I can see little hoofie prints around there. I've moved them to another pasture till we can get it cut up and removed.

I think it's a plot, they have to do something new every week just to keep me on my toes :lol:

[Moudy]

its due to the grasses that they eat during that time as grass changes growth rate and richness in the times of year -- so does the pooh of a horse
can go from very brown to green and sloopy depending on the grass

grass stops growing in the winter months then re grows in spring

I would love to think that was the case with our beloved Duke, but the horses went out in a dry lot with little to nibble on but the few flakes of hay provided....

but that is a very true about the timing as well.

We used to have to go and wash Duke every night because he was just a wet mess down his legs. When we noticed it, we had not been out to the barn for a few days and he was caked with it. The BO said, oh...we did not notice that he had a problem. Let alone know that his poop was cow patty material, oh yea, they would not know because they never cleaned their stalls! GRRRRR!

Once again I am so glad my horses are home!

Good luck everyone with the poo-poo messes.

[BornToRide]

I have to second what Moudy said - although there's some grass in his pasture, there is now very little of it available. I very much doubt it comes from that.

Thanks for the info on bio sponge - I actually have a bucket of it :-)


The only thing I can find that might have caused it are some blue berry things that were on a tree that fell during the last storm
What kind of tree? I hope it is not English Laurel, because that one I know is toxic. I jave a client with minis and one of her young ones got a bit colicky. She also suspected he ate some of those berries.

[Equibrit]

Do you have acorns in the pasture? They are high in protein and fat and can cause the problem.

You could get a sample and find out what's in it.

[HopeHill]

My old guy use to do this, consulted with nutritionists at Cornell, put him on mega doses of probiotics and various other things. Finally solved it myself. In the fall when this begins to occurr I start to give him a mush made of Alfafalfa cubes and the squirts go away, works everytime and has worked for many others that I have suggested this to.

[peedin]

Same problem with my gelding and with a few others in the barn. I refer to it as "messy butt." It clears up while on pasture, but in the late fall they come into the dry lots for the winter and messy butt starts. I definitely see a correlation between being on pasture and a clean butt. I've tried different probiotics over the years but haven't found the one that works. Maybe I'll try Bio-Sponge.

[BornToRide]

Do you have acorns in the pasture? They are high in protein and fat and can cause the problem.

You could get a sample and find out what's in it. No, have none of those and I know they can cause problems

I start to give him a mush made of Alfafalfa cubes and the squirts go away, works everytime and has worked for many others that I have suggested this to. Interesting. Does it clear up immediately or does it take a while?

[peedin]

Finally solved it myself. In the fall when this begins to occurr I start to give him a mush made of Alfafalfa cubes and the squirts go away, works everytime and has worked for many others that I have suggested this to.

How often do you give this? Daily? Weekly?

[Foxtrot's]

On my mare with a touchy tummy, I start with beet pulp to fill up the hind gut.

[ArabX3]

My older gelding has this problem - he gets DFM-EQ Powder - it is stabilized lactic acid bacteria with lactobacillus acidophilus. He gets 1 oz daily every day all year long. No problems anymore. I love the stuff! It only costs $20.19 for 3 lbs which lasts a looooooooooooooooong time.

[Foxyrab]

My old gelding used to have this problem in the fall, as he changed from summer grass to winter hay. After trying all kinds of cures, I finally realized that in HIS case, the cause was the hay itself. This particular horse (who was 20 when he started having this problem and had been doing just fine for the previous 16 years that I had owned him) was having difficulty digesting the first cutting hay, which was the same type of hay he had been living on previously. The hay hadn't changed, just his ability to digest it. My other horses were fine on this hay.

What worked for me was to add beet pulp to his diet, then I switched him over to a senior feed, then toward the end (when he was 30+), I had to feed him a highly digestible, good quality second cutting grass hay in addition to the senior feed and beet pulp.

[tweeter]

What kind of tree? I hope it is not English Laurel, because that one I know is toxic. I jave a client with minis and one of her young ones got a bit colicky. She also suspected he ate some of those berries.

I don't think it was English Laurel. I googled it, and altho the leaves looked kinda like that, the berries are blue/purplish, and they said the EL had a black fruit. This tree was maybe 50 ft tall, and about 25 ft of it broke off.

We spent the morning getting most it cut up and the branches dragged to the burn pile. I'm going to keep them off that pasture until for a while, just to be on the safe side.

This morning, no messy butts, and even the old guy had some normal poops :)
so I think we're just about done with this...at least I hope so.

[StrawberryFrosted]

How does everyone administer the Biosponge? Do you just sprinkle it on top of their grain?

[BornToRide]

How does everyone administer the Biosponge? Do you just sprinkle it on top of their grain?The instructions say to mix it with water and I assume squirt it in

[Moudy]

How does everyone administer the Biosponge? Do you just sprinkle it on top of their grain?

I just put it in his grain and he ate it no problem.

[HopeHill]

Sorry, just checked the responses :winkgrin: When feeding the alfalfa cubes I would notice an improvement within a day, he was fed about half of a 5 gallon pail worth twice a day, he doesn't have many teeth so hay is a challenge. What I found interesting was that if he happened to miss a day he would instantly have what we referred to as "explosive" diarhea, as soon as he got his alfalfa mush he was fine. For me this was a much cheaper alternative than things like BioSponge, which I had never heard of.

[KnKShowmom]

You can also use a cup of yogurt mixed with their grain - mine only liked the plain flavor but my friend's olderthandirt guy likes banana cream! You will just have to experiment!

[2boys]

Boy, am I glad to see this thread. I have been freaking about our newish pony because he has "messy bum". Hopefully this is a passing thing. I may try yogurt in the morning. I started him on psyllium yesterday, in case it is sand. I thought I had heard somewhere that bran was good (dried)? I bought some today, but it is wheat bran... Any thoughts on that?

[fuzzydise]

I am also having the same "problem". Three weeks ago, this first started and we had the vet out cause it lasted a week, vet treated with bio sponge paste for 2 days and VBG paste for 2 days, also dosed for an additional week of SandTrap. . I started him on probios and things have been fine for 3 weeks. it started again today. there was alot of sand in his poop though the first time. when the BO talked to the vet tonight, the vet said he is "shedding sand". to use biosponge powder and to pump him up with metamucil.
we are in very sandy aiken, sc and he is out 24/7 and he cleans up after everyone in his pasture so he does ingest alot of sand(scary).
I am going to try the powder bio sponge.
sarah

[jetsmom]

Is the horse in question, barefoot, by any chance? That has been proven to cause "the squirts" by several well known barefoot trimmers. Apparently, what happens is that when a horse has on metal shoes, they act as kind of a magnet, which draws the partially digested food down to the bottom of the stomach/abdomen, and makes it ball up into little balls due to the force of the "magnetism" of metal shoes. When a horse is barefoot, there is no magnet effect, so the fluid in the abdomen just kind of floats in there creating liquid poop.

I know this is true because my farrier said he saw a barefoot horse with diarhea once.

[fuzzydise]

My horse has front shoes only. No hinds. But he has never had hinds. (he is a royal s**t for the farrier though it is getting better!)

[Mary in Area 1]

Is the horse in question, barefoot, by any chance? That has been proven to cause "the squirts" by several well known barefoot trimmers. Apparently, what happens is that when a horse has on metal shoes, they act as kind of a magnet, which draws the partially digested food down to the bottom of the stomach/abdomen, and makes it ball up into little balls due to the force of the "magnetism" of metal shoes. When a horse is barefoot, there is no magnet effect, so the fluid in the abdomen just kind of floats in there creating liquid poop.

I know this is true because my farrier said he saw a barefoot horse with diarhea once.

OMG, this is the most crack-headed post I have ever read! You CAN'T be serious!

[citydog]

Is the horse in question, barefoot, by any chance? That has been proven to cause "the squirts" by several well known barefoot trimmers. Apparently, what happens is that when a horse has on metal shoes, they act as kind of a magnet, which draws the partially digested food down to the bottom of the stomach/abdomen, and makes it ball up into little balls due to the force of the "magnetism" of metal shoes. When a horse is barefoot, there is no magnet effect, so the fluid in the abdomen just kind of floats in there creating liquid poop.



Yup. It's why EasyBoot is coming out with the EasyBoot Electras. They have iron filings mixed into the rubber composite to help with the liquipoop issue.

[~Freedom~]

Is the horse in question, barefoot, by any chance? That has been proven to cause "the squirts" by several well known barefoot trimmers. Apparently, what happens is that when a horse has on metal shoes, they act as kind of a magnet, which draws the partially digested food down to the bottom of the stomach/abdomen, and makes it ball up into little balls due to the force of the "magnetism" of metal shoes. When a horse is barefoot, there is no magnet effect, so the fluid in the abdomen just kind of floats in there creating liquid poop.

I know this is true because my farrier said he saw a barefoot horse with diarhea once.

:lol::lol::lol::lol:

[Altamont Sport Horses]

I have a friend with a gelding who does this every single fall/winter. They have tried everything including probiotics, giving only 1st or 2nd cutting hay (can't remember), supplements, etc. etc. He has been tested for different deficiencies that would cause the problem and found not to have any. He never felt bad but it was a mess and they had to clean him up every single day during the winter. In her neck of the woods they will have no grass at all after a certain point so the horse is eating only hay and a bit of grain. While it is the same hay and grain he was eating before, the proportion of those in the total diet obviously changed once there was no more grass to graze. At one point last winter he started to act a little lethargic and uninterested in eating so I suggested maybe it was ulcers and that she should give him some alfalfa. She replaced his little bit of grain with alfalfa pellets and it was cleared up within 5 days and did not return. No squirts and feeling good. She continues to give him alfalfa pellets.

[cyberbay]

This may sound strange, but soak the hay before feeding to the horses with 'liquid' in their manure. That what a friend was told to do, and it worked. I'd love to hear if it works.