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>   My question
> (finally) is does anyone have any history of foals having diarrhea
> from feeds with molasses in them?  I really like Eq. Sr. and would
> like to use it if possible.

Yes, yes, yes--as well as ANY hi-carb concentrates.  Even in programs that
grain their mares, so-called "foal heat" scours are greatly reduced if the
mares get NO grain at all from foaling time until after the foal heat. 
Personally, I don't grain mares OR foals at all--we have 7 babies right
now, and all are healthy, growing great, and have mammas in good weight on
good pasture supplemented by a bit of good alfalfa hay.

One reason for no grain (in addition to the prevention of diarrhea) is
that foals NEED to be on a full forage diet, IMO, to fully develop their
hindguts.  May not be important for horses that never work--but many of
mine are expected to do stuff like endurance later in life, so that is a
biggie to me.  Also, grained mares milk more heavily and sometimes milk
more than young foals can handle (which is why even my grain-pushing
clients in years past learned to take the grain away for a couple of
weeks), and tend to be in poorer flesh as lactation progresses than mares
on QUALITY free-choice forage diets.

Several posters have also mentioned the other REALLY big factor in
preventing foal diarrhea--that is deworming the mare with ivermectin just
after foaling.  The suggested window for doing this is within 12 hours of
foaling--I have the ivermectin right in my foaling kit and usually just do
it the same time I treat the foal's navel right after birth.  I didn't see
a single loose stool at foal heat time this year, and rarely see much more
than a bit of loose stool--nothing I'd even class as diarrhea, and
certainly nothing that requires medicating scalded bottoms.  (Yeah, used
to go through that drill with Vaseline, and in later years with Desitin.)

But all this (other than taking away the concentrates, which would still
help) is preventative.  For treatment, you are on the right track--some
sort of kaolin/pectin, monitor for fever (add an antibiotic if necessary),
medicate the scalded bottom, etc.  I'd add probiotics, consider using
paregoric (it slows down intestinal motility), monitor hydration closely
and give additional fluids (oral in mild cases, IV in severe cases) if
necessary, and ADD AN ULCER MED!!  Ranitidine would be my drug of choice
for a foal--you can get it over the counter (I think Zantac is the popular
brand name--read the fine print to make sure--I just get the generic next
to it) and give it a human dose 3 times per day.

Hope this helps.

Heidi




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