Free fecal water in the horse – an unsolved problem

Free fecal water in the horse – an unsolved problem

Kotwasser beim Pferd – ein ungelöstes Problem

Ertelt A, Gehlen H

DOI: 10.21836/PEM20150308
Year: 2015
Volume: 31
Issue: 3
Pages: 261-268

Increased fecal fluid among normal feces is a common occurrence in German warmblood breeds. Affected horses usually seem to be in a good general body condition and health status, but in some cases skin irritations of the anal region are present. So far little is known about these disorder in horses. There is a similar syndrome in humans named functional gastrointestinal disorder (FGID). The term ‘functional gastrointestinal disorder (FGID)’ is used to define several variable combinations of chronic or recurrent gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms that cannot be explained by structural or biochemical abnormalities. The pathophysiology of these disorders, however, remains incompletely understood and may be highly multifactorial. It is widely accepted that dysfunction of the bidirectional neural pathways between the brain and the gut at any level can contribute to the various symptoms experienced by FGID. Different studies mentioned ongoing low-grade inflammatory changes which may damage the enteric nervous system, coordinating gastrointestinal motility. In horses, stress and a low grade inflammation of the gut are suspected in the etiology, but also the diet seems to play a role. More than half of horse owners tried at least once to treat their horses most frequently with yeast, fermented grain and yogurt with different success. Furthermore a variety of industrial food supplements is commercially available to improve intestinal microbial flora, even if there is no proof that a disturbance in microflora is responsible and randomized studies concerning this issue are lacking. Further research in this field is needed to evaluate the etiology and pathogeneses and to further develop appropriate treatment regimens with a proven efficacy in horses.