Foal Diarrhea: Diagnosis and Treatment

Gastrointestinal failure is associated with a variety of disorders in foals (See Table 1). Failure of this organ system may manifest as diarrhea, ileus, abdominal pain, obstipation and weight loss. Clinical syndromes associated with gastrointestinal failure include enteritis, colic, meconium impactions, gastric reflux and necrotizing enterocolitis. The following will review the pathogenesis, clinical manifestation, diagnosis and treatments for the aforementioned syndromes of gastrointestinal failure.

ENTERITIS

According to the national animal health monitoring system equine ’98 study, diarrhea affected > 20% of foals within the first 6 months of age. Although diarrhea is common with enteritis, diarrhea is not always associated with inflammation of the bowel. Most infectious causes of diarrhea and enteritis result in signs of mild to severe abdominal pain.

Diagnosing the cause of enteritis in foals can be difficult because of the myriad of potential causes. Obtaining historical information can provide clues to the etiology of the enteritis. Questions may include:

Have there been or currently any other animals on the farm having fevers or diarrhea?

Has the foal received any medications that may have predisposed it to gastrointestinal disease?

Have there been any changes in management (Feeding, turnout and etc.)? What is the consistency of the feces? Fetid in odor?

What is the age of the foal? [...]