Gastro-Intestinal Conditions in Foals: The Diarrhea Dilemma
Part Two of a Two-Part Series By Laura McCormick with Carolin von Rosenberg, DVM
In the March/April 2015 issue of Warmbloods Today, we discussed the causes of diarrhea in newborn foals. Now that your foal is older than thirty days, happily living on his or her dam’s antibodies from colostrum until four months or so, you’re out of the woods, right? Not exactly.
T
he four to six-month-old period is when foals can be most susceptible to disease because of the waning maternal antibodies and the stress
of weaning, together with being around other foals more and consuming new foods. Any or all of these factors can trigger gastrointestinal problems, caus- ing diarrhea and possibly life-threatening illness. The most common causes of diarrhea in older foals
are still infectious—anything from salmonella to
E.coli to rhodococcus can create a very sick foal with severe diar- rhea. Another bacterial diarrhea, caused by the organ- ism lawsonia intracellularis has become endemic in some areas, especially in central Kentucky. There are diagnos- tic tests such as blood work, ultra sounds and fecal tests available to differentiate between these causes. Common non- bacterial causes include ulcers, abnormal eating patterns and parasites
ULCERS Most commonly seen in the suckling foal is Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS). You may think that only compe- tition horses in stressful environments or hectic sched- ules are susceptible to ulcers, but the truth is, both foals and adult horses can acquire ulcers for a number of reasons. The main cause of ulcers in foals at this age is the use of non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory agents such as Banamine. The four main categories of ulcers are silent, active, perforating, and pyloric or duodenal ulcers. The last of these is caused by squamous lesions (increased exposure to acid) or glandular lesions (impaired mucosal protection). The most common clinical signs active ulcers produce are poor appetite and diarrhea, however teeth grinding,
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poor growth, a rough hair coat, excessive salivation, inter- rupted nursing and colic could also be symptoms of ulcers. In cases that are more advanced, foals will exhibit gastric distension, spend more time in dorsal recumbency (lying on the back), will roll around frequently, are sensi- tive to palpation of the stomach and may have gastro- esophageal reflux. If you observe any of these signs in your foal, you should contact your veterinarian for further diagnostics. Through ultrasound examination or endos- copy examination, your vet will be able to determine if your foal has ulcers and to what extent. Once diagnosed, treatment can include ranitidine (Zantac), cimetidine (Tagamet), famotidine (Pepcid), sucralfate and omepra- zole (Gastrogard). Different medications are used to decrease acid production, buffer the acid that is produced and to protect the lining of the stomach from the effects of the acid. In mild cases, ulcers in foals can resolve on their own. Perforating ulcers do not happen frequently and are
harder to diagnose through observation. They occur in the squamous mucosa, which covers approximately one- third of the equine stomach. This part of the stomach does not have glands and is covered by stratified squa- mous epithelium (flattened epithelial cells arranged in
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