# NOT worms, exteremley pot bellied foal



## alfiesmum (1 November 2011)

recently purchased a weanling, (1 month ago)
colt is gonna be a big boy, was told he was 6 months but now had vet out

i wormed him prior to vet (1 week previous)


vet  says only 5 months old and was concerned about belly and asked to  have worm count done,
came back clear. 

he is only eating grass as not yet interested in hard feed.

he is very ribby, but his belly feels like it is gonna explode! i can feel his ribs, withers etc as he was underweight when i got him i presumed he would start to fill out but the weight only seems to be turning his pot belly bigger 

any ideas as to what is causing this?  i am considering having him scanned to see if its fluid as i am at a loss as to why he looks like this.
sorry for the length


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## foal (1 November 2011)

I would be getting a blood test done and go from there


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## alfiesmum (1 November 2011)

will be doing this first lol hope he doesnt have a liver problem  
just wondered if anyone had any ideas of what it could be , two heads are better than one and all that lol x


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## foal (1 November 2011)

well on the forum you may get more than one incorrect answer!!! and you will worry, and some good answer's also, go with yr vet


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## Borderreiver (1 November 2011)

I would still suspect worms. If you have just wormed him then probably no adult egg laying worms would be around when the count was taken, so you get a false negative. If he is very wormy then one dose won't get rid of the lot. Immature worms can still be present and of course youngsters are very vulnerable to picking up parasites. What did you worm him with? Did you see any evidence of worms in dung afterwards?


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## Laura1812 (2 November 2011)

also tapeworm is unlikely to show up on a FEC


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## amandap (2 November 2011)

Borderreiver said:



			I would still suspect worms.
		
Click to expand...

Me too in a youngster.


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## Amymay (2 November 2011)

He wouldn't recover a normal belly if he had been wormy for a while, for some weeks.

Although as you say he's ribby, he could just be suffering some malnutrition.


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## Keryn (7 December 2013)

This is the first year I have weaned (early foal) before winter, and we had plenty of lush grass left - so unlike most years - one foal went from milk to rich grass INSTEAD of straight onto grain. Her belly is HUGE - and she has no worms. Worming has not affected her belly. Vet believes it's likely grass belly. We are putting her on hard feed now, and keeping her in on dry hay to address the problem.


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## smellsofhorse (7 December 2013)

Not all worms show on a normal worm count.
Get a blood test done.

I hope you solve it quickly.


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## Silverfire (7 December 2013)

alfiesmum said:



			recently purchased a weanling, (1 month ago)
colt is gonna be a big boy, was told he was 6 months but now had vet out

i wormed him prior to vet (1 week previous)


vet  says only 5 months old and was concerned about belly and asked to  have worm count done,
came back clear. 

he is only eating grass as not yet interested in hard feed.

he is very ribby, but his belly feels like it is gonna explode! i can feel his ribs, withers etc as he was underweight when i got him i presumed he would start to fill out but the weight only seems to be turning his pot belly bigger 

any ideas as to what is causing this?  i am considering having him scanned to see if its fluid as i am at a loss as to why he looks like this.
sorry for the length 

Click to expand...


Foals that are weaned around five months old nearly always develop a huge pot belly. This is because they cant yet digest fibre properley. Only way to avoid the pot belly stage is to feed a feed that equals the protein in a mares milk starting before you wean them or dont wean them till about 8 months old. You could worm him with panacur 5 day if you havent already treated him for encysted redworm. The pot belly will disapear in time. 
Ive been breeding for years and i couldnt look at a foal and say whether it was five or six months old!


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## Goldenstar (7 December 2013)

Borderreiver said:



			I would still suspect worms. If you have just wormed him then probably no adult egg laying worms would be around when the count was taken, so you get a false negative. If he is very wormy then one dose won't get rid of the lot. Immature worms can still be present and of course youngsters are very vulnerable to picking up parasites. What did you worm him with? Did you see any evidence of worms in dung afterwards?
		
Click to expand...

I would be thinking this too , and did the worming cover tapeworms.


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## TrasaM (7 December 2013)

Two year old thread .. Interesting though


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## Silverfire (7 December 2013)

TrasaM said:



			Two year old thread .. Interesting though 

Click to expand...

I hadn't noticed that! Maybe Alfiesmum will come back and tell us what happened.


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## Goldenstar (7 December 2013)

TrasaM said:



			Two year old thread .. Interesting though 

Click to expand...

I hate it when I miss that


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## Andalucian (7 December 2013)

1.  Worm him again pin worm will need a second dose and is common in youngsters.
2. Feed a young stock balancer with high protein, look carefully at him, if top line is poor the problem is likely to be poor protein value in diet.


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## FairyLights (7 December 2013)

my youngster was like this, negative worm counts but big belly, this when he was a yearling and 2 year old. worm counts kept coming back clear, then he passed ascarids in his droppings, large and white. wormed him with strongid-p on vets recommendation and with regular worming his belly improved. he was never underweight , if anything a bit of a fatty being a cob.
Interstingwhat silverfire says, my foal was 4 and a half months when we bought him. we didnt know he was that young, only found out later.


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## Keryn (7 December 2013)

I have weaned dozens and dozens of foals, and this never happens when the foal goes from milk to grain. All foals raised and wormed exactly the same. Only the foals that went from milk to grass have developed this distended belly. They are being switched to grain now - so i will let you know what happens. Worming does NOT reduce the belly.

It doesn't make any sense that ONLY the foals who go on to grass mysteriously develop worms, when the others don't.


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## NZJenny (8 December 2013)

As someone has already pointed out, it is malnutrition.  Think starving children in Africa.


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## Keryn (9 December 2013)

Thanks - I am going to do that. I gave 1/3 tube of Equimax and was planning to follow up with half an Equest (to cover encysted strongyles). Topline is good, weight is good. Looks very healthy and bright in every regard - just a bit of a belly. Since being in and eating hay and grain instead of grass, the belly seems to be softening ... will keep you posted.


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## Keryn (9 December 2013)

Hmmm - I don't think so. Topline is good, weight is very good, and she is bright and generally well. All the other foals and horses are also looking great of the same rich grass, of which there is plenty.


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## Keryn (9 December 2013)

That makes a lot of sense. I have usually weaned at six and seven months, and haven't encountered this problem before. However, because of circumstances with the mother, THIS one was weaned at four and a half months. The only OTHER foal I ever had with a pot-belly was fed from replacement milk when her mother lost her milk (also "weaned" from mother arguably too early). I think you're spot on the mark here, Silverfire.


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