What It Is
Free fecal water syndrome (FFWS) involves a horse passing free water before, during or after normal manure. Unlike diarrhea, FFWS is not life-threatening, but it is a problem since horses’ bodies need to conserve water. When horses lose excess fluid in their manure, it can indicate a gastrointestinal (GI) issue with how their bodies resorb water.
Horses need to drink at least 8 gallons of water a day. On average, horses have approximately 19 gallons of water in their GI tracts, which moves continuously between the circulatory and GI systems. Water is secreted by salivary glands, the proximal GI (small intestine) and the initial part of the large colon (ventral colon), but it’s mainly absorbed in the distal hindgut (the dorsal large intestine and the small colon).…
