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fiber.....?

my horse doesnt have diarhea but her crap (sorry to be blunt) isnt exactly how it should be. it has quite a bit of water in it but its not runny at all. i don't know what to do about this. its been like this for awhile. should i add a bit of fiber to her feed? i've been puttin 1/4 cup of corn oil in her feed once a day to help her put on a little weight and keep her coat soft and pretty. she was on electrolytes but since its not hot out i switched to corn oil. does she need some fiber therapy too?

Public Comments

1. the corn oil is making her manure soft. Thats normal with adding oil to the diet. Hay IS fiber and should be the biggest part of her diet.( at the VERY least 1% of her target body weight a day..if you want her to gain at least 2%..so if she should weigh 1000 lbs, she needs 20 lbs of hay a day.More will not hurt unless she starts to become obese) You can keep up with the oil and accept the looser manure or just up her hay or try adding a few pounds of Beet Pulp ( rinsed at least, soaked awhile is a little better They can choke on dry BP) to her grain ration to help her gain weight.
2. Hay is fiber give alot hay in horses diet. its really good for them. they need alot of it too. its the biggest part of their diet
3. You should take her temp first and then if it's over 101.5F, call the vet. The oil could be giving her the loose movements so I would stop that immediately and just keep her on her regular feed and hay for 48 hours. If it continues or she spikes a fever, then you need to get a fecal sample and consult with your vet.
4. Try adding beet pulp (soaked in water for 20 min or so) Beet pulp is a low-startch high fiber food that is digested in the hind gut of the horse. Many concentrated feeds such as sweet feeds contain to much startch and when digested can actually release toxins because they are not easily digested by the equine system. Any how weight gain should be done by feeding fiber. Beet pulp has worked well for me and has actually been recommended by my vet. My horse is picky and sometimes refuses to eat hay when others are getting grain. The beet pulp has added molases (but not too much) so the horse thinks he is getting something good. It is a great way to increase weight safely and without the risk of colic or hyperness. I suspect the oil is causing the loose manure. Also you can try rice bran as a source of digestible fat. This product works well to add weight and top lines on horses and it is relatively safe. One more thing, if you live in a sandy area it might be wise to give your horse metamucil in his food to "clear" out his system of excess sand. My vet has told me that this is safe and might help the horse if his digestive tract is upset or irritated by sand. Good luck. Oww..one more thing, I don't know what kind of hay you feed, but sometimes hay such as alfalfa fed in too large of quantities can cause loose manure. Once again good luck.
5. I would first cut down on the corn oil. While it helps with the coat, you are giving way too much. She only needs a couple of tablespoons, not 1/4 of a cup. That might help with the watery poop. She also maybe getting too much protein (grain wise or alfalfa), I would cut back on that also, depending on her grain amount I would try to cut it back by 1/4 of a pound at first(not too drastic), and if she is getting alfalfa, I would try to give her more grass hay in lew of alfalfa, say cut back one flake of alfalfa, and up her grass hay intake. I don't know if you have been traveling a lot, but she may need some time to re-adjust to life on the rode. Good luck with her.