Loose Stools in Old Age

My old gelding is generally healthy, but lately he developed loose stools. Is there something I’m missing?
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

Q. My 27-year-old gelding is generally healthy. However, this year he developed loose stools. It’s not cow pies but not well-formed manure either, and the manure includes some liquid.

He’s on a regular deworming program. I have treated for sand (colic) and have him on daily probiotics, which seem to have helped but not eliminated the problem. He had his teeth floated in May, and his appetite is excellent. Do you have any suggestions?

Susan, Laurel, Md.


A. Periodic loose stool in aged horses is not uncommon, and may be a consequence of the aging changes that occur in the gut. If he is maintaining his weight, you might have your veterinarian do some basic blood work to be sure nothing else is amiss. Often the cause of loose stool in the geriatric horse can’t be identified or resolved. You can try some trial-and-error work seeing if any diet changes in the fiber source helps

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Dianne McFarlane, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, is professor and chair of large animal clinical sciences at the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine, in Gainesville.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
277 votes · 277 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!