Intermittent diarrhea in horses can be SO frustrating. Last year, I blogged about how I fixed my old horse’s occasional diarrhea problem, and I wanted to give you guys an update. Just to bring you up to speed. After moving across country (from North Carolina to Idaho), my senior horse Bamboozal developed an intermittent diarrhea problem. He would be fine for a few weeks and then have an episode of loose stools. It was GROSS. I would get to the barn and have to wash his legs and tail before I could do anything else. I felt so bad for him too! I’m sure it was uncomfortable.
We talked to the vet and it was chalked up to “old horse” digestive issues. It came and went for a few months, and my farrier suggested I try an ole rancher remedy: Beer and Brewer’s Yeast. I did some research and found that both of those are commonly used for horses. In fact, brewer’s yeast is actually the main ingredient in MANY very expensive “gut health” supplements.
How to Fix Intermittent Diarrhea in Horses
- Brewer’s Yeast
- Beer
Bamboozal’s Struggle with Occasional Loose Stools
I started bringing Bamboozal a bucket of soaked hay cubes whenever I went to the barn (3+ days a week). In that bucket, I put a half a can of beer and a scoop of brewer’s yeast (about a tablespoon I think.) Soon after starting that, his intermittent diarrhea problem was totally cleared up! Whatever stress and dietary changes that brought on the diarrhea was obviously soothed or healed by the addition of brewer’s yeast and beer in his diet.
Most excitingly, we are going on nearly a year and a half since starting this regime, and still NO diarrhea! We even moved barns and taken several camping trips, had a blizzard and cold snaps this winter (which could all be stressful on an old horse’s digestive system). He’s had an occasional poop that’s a little wetter than it should be, but not a single episode of messy legs or tail! Not once! I hate to even blog about this, because the superstitious part of me thinks I’m going to jinx it, but I HAD to share the update with you.
Getting Started With Brewer’s Yeast and Beer
If you’re able to, I would recommend giving brewer’s yeast daily, but if you’re at a barn where that’s not possible, just bring it to them when you go out. I had results just giving it 3-5 times per week. Also, I’m not super religious with the beer. If I have cheap beer in the fridge, I will use it. If not, no big deal. I think the brewer’s yeast is the most important ingredient in curing intermittent diarrhea in horses.
Obviously, rule out all of the usual suspects before trying this! Make sure there are no medical conditions that need to be addressed first, like ulcers. Is your horse up-to-date on deworming? Have you talked to your vet about the problem? I know this is a super frustrating (and gross) problem to have, and it always makes me sad to see horses with messy legs and tails. It just has to be painful! If you’ve been struggling with intermittent diarrhea in horses, and you haven’t found a remedy that works, try the brewer’s yeast and beer trick!
The Deets on Brewer’s Yeast for Horses
Brewer’s yeast is commonly used in many fancy and expensive gut supplements. Brewer’s yeast is also known as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, so if you see that name on a label, it’s got brewer’s yeast. There is research to show that brewer’s yeast can help stabilize the equine hindgut environment (which is a difficult place to treat for ulcers). Brewer’s yeast has been demonstrated to support a healthy equine digestive system and has many other benefits too. It’s high in natural B vitamins, protein, minerals and amino acids. It’s also very palatable. Bamboozal is a picky eater and doesn’t like most supplements or anything he perceives to be medicinal, but he will gobble brewer’s yeast up!
I haven’t seen any research on it, but I’ve also read that some people experience a calming effect on their horses after supplementing with brewer’s yeast, leading some to believe it’s a calming supplement. My guess would be that the horses that experienced a calming effect did so due to a healing gut.
If they were anxious or excitable before, it could have been due to ulcers or some other digestive upset that caused pain and anxiety. After staring the brewer’s yeast, the horse’s tummies started feeling better, so they appeared to be calmer. (I have NO scientific proof to back that up, it’s just a hunch that if horse tummies feel better, they will be calmer.)
Beer for my Horses
I think people have been sharing beer with there horse since the beginning of time. This is actually a veterinary-recommended supplement for horses with anhidrosis. I’m not sure how much the beer is actually helping, because I suspect brewer’s yeast is doing all of the heavy lifting as far as promoting digestive health, but I’m okay adding the occasional beer to Bamboozal’s mash. Beer and brewer’s yeast smell very similar, YEASTY, and the horses seem to love it!
Improving Gut Health and Fixing Intermittent Diarrhea in Horses
If you want to try this remedy on your horses, or you’ve been shopping around for a gut health supplement, I highly recommend beer and brewer’s yeast. I’ve seen some VERY expensive gut supplements, and almost ALL of them have brewer’s yeast as the number one ingredient. Even the brewer’s yeast supplement (Yea-Sacc) sold by a VERY popular equine supplement company is about FOUR times more expensive than buying a plain tub of pure brewer’s yeast off of Amazon.
I absolutely believe in spending money where it’s necessary on my horses (and even in cases, where it’s not necessary but FEELS very important), but buying the expensively packaged “fancy” gut supplements seems like SUCH a RIP OFF, especially if they’re mostly brewers yeast. On amazon, you can get a 2 lb tub of Pure Brewers Yeast (which is a four month supply) for less than the cost of a one month supply from a dedicated “horse supplement” seller. Save yourself some cash, (spend it on tack), and see how your horse does on Pure Brewers Yeast.
Here’s the video I made last year of the Beer+Brewer’s Yeast “recipe” I use to fix intermittent diarrhea in horses.
Until next time, Happy Trails!
P.S. Leave me a comment if you have tried brewer’s yeast and beer or if you’ve had luck with other supplements or treatments for intermittent diarrhea in horses.