Our 2 month old foal came in with diarrhea last night. He is perky, has a good appetite and not dehydrated. This morning he was the same, but I took his temperature and it was 100.7. The only thing that is a little unusual is that he is quite into the salt lick. I cleaned him up and an hour later he did not appear to have had any further diarrhea, so I didn't call the vet. At what point do you get beyond the monitoring stage and call the vet? I don't mind spending the money, but don't like to waste their time and mine. Unfortunately I am at work so cannot keep an eye on them.
My colt had diarrhea off and on until he was about one month but he also had hernia surgery and was on antibiotics so we don't really know why it happened. I think that as long as you keep a close eye on him you wouldn't need to call the vet right out. Yes, they can get really sick from it but if it's off and on and all other systems are "go" I would just watch. You can give him yogurt (that's what I used with mine and he cleared up in 2 doses). My guy got 10cc once a day. I bought the vanilla flavored and he actually really liked it.
The yoghurt is a thought, thanks! I think he likely just ate something he shouldn't have, he is very oral. I did call the vet and give them his symptoms in the end, they can let me know if they feel they need to see him and at what point I should consider it necessary to page them after hours. If he didn't have the little temperature I wouldn't be concerned at all.
You indicate that he is "quite into the salt lick"... it may well be that this is upsetting his stomach or causing him to drink excessive (for him) amounts of water, which in turn can result in diarrhea. You might want to try moving the salt lick out of his reach and see if that makes a difference.
Probiotics - which are a little more effective than yogurt - might be a good idea too.
Other than that I'd keep a close eye on his attitude and his temperature and if either starts to get strange give your vet a call.
Yes, I had wondered about the salt lick possibly causing excessive drinking. However they only have access to it at night, I don't put one out in the field during the day. My vet said as long as he was perky not to worry too much, and he hasn't had any further diarrhea since yesterday morning. He's still on the loose side, but not out and out liquid.
Right my filly foal is just over 2 weeks old. Mom was given Ivermectin within 6 hours of foaling. At 7 days she started scouring, not too bad at first, but certain days are worse then others. My vet was out on Thursday and she was really dry that day so all looked good for a clear up. Also have been giving yougurt 2 times a day. Anyway yesterday she was back scouring so this is now a complete week. Filly has no temp, she runs around like a lunatic, is always bucking, and kicking. She is nursing away too. Have noticed she gets into moms feed which isn't really suitable for baby's digestion, feed pots are built into stables from the ground up so no moving them. I try to be in the stable when mom is eating, but I have other horses that don't like waiting, ect. I am slightly annoyed because the one day I pay to have the vet here, she was good. I don't know what to do or what's causing it. This filly is quite the pig though and eats anything. If I have the vet out again or start calling him, he's going to think I'm a lunatic which he probably already does. Anyway any thoughts? Terri
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