loose droppings

[H & Bailey]

Hi I have an old shetland pony and for about 2 weeks he has been a bit loose on his droppings.I thought it was because he had squirmed under the fencing into the field next door and had been eating new fresh grass and it had upset his tummy.
But surely he should be ok now.
He is fine in himself ,ie twinkly eyes and full of mischief.
He gets a couple of handfuls of mollichop with a handful of pony nuts each day and him and bailey share 5 slices(at the moment) of hay.
Do you think I should change his feed onto a better quality chaff from mollichop to maybe alphalpa or happy hoof as it isnt mollassed.
I have started giving a handful of dry bran to help bind him but have only just started so dont know if that is going to work.
He has been wormed about 3 weeks ago.
any ideas?

[lamprellsarah]

erm yeah i would have thought it would stopped by now.
saying that have you only just started to feed hay?? or that particually type??
because depending on what it's like and when it was cut, depends on what the droppings will be like!!
i don't think you should start changing the feed, what you are feeding sounds fine!!

[Cobby]

I expect it's because of the hay too, if you've only recently started it. I thought bran was used to 'clear out' horses, not to bind them up:confused:
Btw, happy hoof is molassed, and so is most alfalfa chaf. You can get alfalfa coated in oil instead of molasses.

[nat17]

I think Pink Powder by Naf is good for stoping loose droppings. An old pony i know has to have it sometimes. Not 100% what it is but it worked.:)

[Cobby]

Forgot to add this last night (it was getting late!), happy hoof is only lightly molassed, so if he's the typical shetland who does well on fresh air alone, you could feed him just happy hoof instead of the molli chop and nuts. As he's getting on, he might benefit from a general supplement in his feed. I've heard good things about naf pink powder too. If he doesn't improve, it would be worth getting the vet to check him over.

[H & Bailey]

Cobby....bran is a good multi use feed.If fed completely dry it binds........If fed dampened down warm it helps with constipation.
Also if used with some salt it is a good poultice dressing.
One of my old tips from the riding school I worked at.
Sooty was on happy hoof last year and seemed to like it.He was on badminton alphalpha before that with park mix but was getting too podgy and he has had(dont know when) laminitus so wanted something safer.
I only got mollichop as the feed shop had ran out of happy hoof
as for the hay I tend to put hay out most of the year round as my grazing isnt that great.i know he tends just to pick at the field instead,the hay isnt new cut stuff but last years and is good quality no rubbish in it.
I will look into the pink powder stuff...worth getting if it works!

[chev]

I'd have a worm count done just in case. May got the runs not long ago despite regular worming, and counts showed a moderate worm burden. It's always worth checking.

Elderly ponies commonly suffer bouts of diarrhoea and the cause is not always easy to find. My old cob got it every winter. Our vet diagnosed inflammation in the hind gut, although what caused that was never clear. It's possible that worm damage early in life had an impact. We cut down on protein in his diet and fed hay ad lib, and started him on a probiotic to help balance his gut flora. He did improve, although he suffered bouts as long as we had him. Be careful with the bran; if his gut is a bit inflamed, it could actually irritate it further.

We were told if Shadow got worse we could try steroids to help the inflamation but diet controlled it well enough.

[H & Bailey]

I do know that about 3-4 years ago sooty was poisoned along with 2 other ponies.Unfortunately they died and he was saved.
im wondering if this has affected his tummy.
When my friends pony was loose it was a gut imbalance and the vet suggested giving it other horses droppings to eat!:( Im sure hr wouldnt do that!Or giving natural yoghurt;) a better option and Im told there are feeds to promote the hind gut bacteria ,anyone know of the names?

[nat17]

H & Bailey, i think the Pink Powder i suggested does this, this is the link for some more info on other stuff to;) I hope it helps
http://www.naf-uk.com/index_horse.asp
if you click on the please chose drop down box and chose digestion there are a few products ;)