Fecal water syndrome (FWS) is characterized by normal feces with the addition of fecal water running out of the anus before, during or after defecation. Although the exact reason is unknown, horse owners continue to express concern for the health and well-being of animals affected by FWS.
 

Read more here to learn about what risk factors may be associated with the occurrence of FWS in horses.
 

Fecal water syndrome (FWS)is characterized by normal feces with the addition of fecal water running out of the anus before, during or after defecation. Although the exact reason is unknown, horse owners continue to express concern for the health and well-being of animals affected by FWS.
 

Study Objectives
 

To evaluate what management factors may be associated with the occurrence of FWS.
 

Questionnaire
 

Using a questionnaire, information about the affected horse's management, workload and social status in the herd was collected, including:
 

  • Body condition score (BCS)
  • Fecal samples for a complete parasitological exam
  • Blood samples to evaluate various aspects of health status


Horses
 

  • Fecal water group (FW)= 42 horses affected by FWS
  • Stable mate control (SMC)= 42 clinically healthy horses from the same farm
  • Behavior control (BC)=37 unaffected horses from separate farms used to evaluate the effect of social hierarchy


Results
 

  • 47.5% of cases not affected by season and FWS was present at all times
  • 90% of FW horses were in good body condition (5-6 out of 9)
  • 78% of FW horses were geldings compared to SMC (52%) and BC (8.1%)
  • FWS horses were more likely to be a lower rank in the social hierarchy


Conclusion
 

The important risk factors for FWS in this study included being on the lower end of the social hierarchy, being a paint and being a gelding. Further work is needed to investigate the role of other nutritional factors in the development in FWS but in this study those owners that had tried adding various supplements reported little to no long-term success.
 

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References:
 

Kienzle, Ellen & Zehnder, Carolin & Pfister, Kurt & Gerhards, Hartmut & Sauter-Louis, Carola & Harris, Patricia. (2016). Field Study on Risk Factors for Free Fecal Water in Pleasure Horses. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science. 44. 10.1016/j.jevs.2016.04.098.