Diarrhea

How long did you try any of these different things????
 
Have you talked to your vet about this?
 
I would try yogurt for an extended period of time.

OVer the course of these couple of years I first changed from sweetfeed to simple single ingredients, oats, corn, barley, a bit of linseed, a bit of soy,oil and a vit/min supplement. In the wintertime I usually add a bit of molasses-free sugarbeets. That's what I've been feeding for years before we came to Italy, and he never had a problem. 
 I eliminated one component at a time, the more obvious ones, like beetpulp, carrots and oil first, then the others, until I was down to plain oats. I've stuck with one item for about 3 weeks at a time, to see the effect. Yeast he got for two months daily, no effect, the same with yoghurt. It seemed that when I got different hay he was okay for a few days, then it started again. I get my hay from a dealer, so I never know what kind will come next. I asked to not bring me any legume hay anymore, which he didn't, but it didn't help either.
 I did talk to a vet about it, when I realized that he was doing fine with grass. She said he might have a problem digesting hay, due to his age, and that probiotics might help him get over the winter, when there's only little grass. So I'm going to have a try. Any suggestions on brands?
 It's just so strange, any normal horse has a bit loose stools when getting on grass, and he's the other way around...........and that happend very quick too, one day out on grass, next day no more diarrhea. A matter of 24 hours.
 I've never encountered that problem with my other oldies.  Or other senior horses I know.
 

That does seem odd.
 
Did the vet say probiotics or prebiotics??
 
I am surprised the yogurt did not work over time.  I have always had the best of luck with it.
 
You may have to try a few different ones to see what works for him since his system seems to be so sensitive.

He is just an odd horse, I guess..always been like that
getting the strangest diseases and hurts himself in a rubber stall. A monday horse, I guess. Like cars who've been assembled mondays..don't buy them since the workers are still in the weekend[].
I could try real yoghurt, I had the powdered stuff. Thing is, come summer, there's no more grass, it all dries up, and we're again stuck with the problem if I don't find a solution. I'm pretty sure, she said probiotics....I'll ask again.

Hmmm..... I did a look up and one thing I saw was sand colic.  Have you ever run a course of metimucil through him?  It's the same stuff that's sold for more money as horse medicine.  I get the Walmart brand, Equate.

Also, stemmy hay helps, according to one lady, not the fine textured.  It's amazing there are people that sound like they have your horse!  One said pasture=fine but hay=runny. 

Good to know that other people have the same problem........[].
 Hmm, sand colic...he's not colicky, acts normal, is not the least bit disturbed by the runs....only thing that bothers him is when I come to wash him...he actually gets embarrassed, go figure. He doesn't want the others to see him, turns his hind end towards the wall[].
 As I said, I tried all kinds of hays, it's just about the same. The first year I had really long, stemmy, late first cut alfalfa, that was the only hay he could eat without side effects. Other stemmy hays, same thing, the runs, fine, rather plain hay, or the really green good stuff with lots of herbs...all the same. It's good for a couple of days when I change hay and then it starts all over again.
Is there any way to test his gut bacteria, if all what's needed is present? At least that's what the vet said, not all there what's needed, due to his age. Grass obviously provides something hay doesn't.

Just saw this post. (ok, I am slow at looking at older posts).  Years ago I had a mare who was old enough to be loosing her teeth and she got diarrhea every summer.  I had a friend who was a Standardbred vet, and when I asked him about her he told me to give her  CERTO.  I tried it and it worked.  Any time since, if I have the same problem, I use the same solution.  It always has worked for me.

I realize this is a late response, but if you still have the problem, this might be your solution.  You can find CERTO with canning supplies in the store.

Connie

DOES IT WORK ON GREAT DANES? [:'(][>:][]

It just might.  It is made to make things more solid.  I think it is mainly pectin.  I would think it shouldn't hurt to try.
I got a picture to upload regular size this time.

Hi,

Well as you probably already know, horses frequently get diarrhea from rich grass & are fine on hay. This is due to hind gut acidosis, which basically happens because of eating too much &/or too large/infrequent feeds of carbohydrates. As it appears to be the hay, I would be particular about choosing low-grade(compared to rich cattle-fattening pasture) hay for one. I would also be careful to avoid mouldy hay, as that may be the prob. Legume hay is actually quite low in sugar, but high in protein, calcium & other nutrients, so *generally* good, but only when fed in balance with other ingredients/supps, as the imbalance of above mentioned nutrients can lead to trouble.

Sweet feeds and grains are generally not good for horses, largely because of the high sugar/starch content which leads to the above probs. It is therefore best to avoid them where ever possible. If your horse is not in hard physical work, he shouldn't need high energy feeds anyway. As you mentioned that in your process of elimination of his feed you still fed oats, so perhaps it was the case that the excess carb load was causing further sensitivity to whatever it was in the hay.

If for some reason you do decide to keep feeding him high-carb feeds, oats are the safest, digestible grain for horses & all others should be well processed. I would avoid sweetened or other high-carb additives. Also little & often is a huge factor in maximising the good the horse gets out of his ration & minimising potential problems from it. A small daily ration, divided into as many tiny feeds as possible - at least 3-4 is best.

Hi,
 
Sorry you're having such problems with your horse's diarrhea. I have a 21 year old gelding who sometimes gets the runs badly, too.
 
I see you've tried yoghurt, but did you use a live culture? When I give my guy live yoghurt (it'll say it's live on the tube) mixed with warm honey twice a day, he gets better within 48 hours. Live yoghurt is a probiotic.
 
You could also give him probiotics in powder form.
 
Hope this helps!

Our horse Tubbs was having diarrhea due to an ulcer.  He's on Neigh-lox and doing wonderfully.  It cleared him up almost instantly.  Hope your guy gets over it soon.