I’ve had to deal with occasional horse diarrhea off and on again with my horse Bamboozal. He’s a little older, so his digestive system may not be what it used to be. I didn’t just want to accept that I would have to live with this gross problem forever. Nothing is worse than getting out to the barn with intentions of saddling up and riding off into the sunset, only to be stalled by an impromptu butt/hind leg washing session.
I’m sure I don’t want to wash dried diarrhea off of Bamboozal’s legs anymore than he wants to have it! I’ve tried a ton of different things, all of the usual suspects. Nothing has worked consistently over a long period of time.
One day, I was talking to my farrier about this issue, and he told me about an old rancher he knows that had a secret recipe for preventing scours in his calves. He told me it was beer and brewers yeast. He said it also works for horses. Having tried just about everything to get Bamboozal’s occasional horse diarrhea problem resolved, I decided to do some research on this old rancher’s remedy!
Beer and Brewers Yeast for Occasional Horse Diarrhea
I knew that beer was safe for horses, because we had a horse that stopped sweating years ago (anhydrotic) and he required a beer a day. Since I wasn’t familiar with brewers yeast, so I did a little bit of research. It turns out that brewers yeast is a safe and fairly common horse supplement, so I decided to try it out!
I always like to bring a small bucket of soaked hay cubes to my horses when I come to the barn. In the winter, I use hot water, so it’s nice and warm. I like for their bellies to be full before I work with them. Depending upon what time I get out to the barn and the time of year, they might have finished their hay or gone without for a little while. Horses don’t like working on empty tummies. If you’ve ever dealt with ulcers, you know how important it is for your horse to have forage throughout the day.
The (Not so Secret) Recipe
So, in Bamboozal’s little bucket of soaked hay cubes (about a pound of dry cubes before I add the water), I add a tablespoon-sized scoop of brewers yeast and a half a beer. He’s a little horse, and is only 13.2 hands. If you want to try this with your horse, you may want to give more. He’s super picky and suspicious and he gobbles this right up!
Fast forward about 2.5-3 months, and Bamboozal hasn’t had an episode of gross diarrhea since I started this protocol!
He doesn’t get it daily. He only gets it when I go to the barn. That can be anywhere between 2-5+ times per week, depending upon my schedule.
You can find Brewers Yeast on Amazon!
Let me know if you’ve tried this, and how it worked for your horse. Do you have a special remedy to deal with occasional horse diarrhea? Drop me a line!
Happy Trails!