• Stop the milk immediately and offer anolyte water and electrolytes.
• Electrolytes must be given orally 4 times a day until the foal starts passing normal stools.
• If anolyte is not available, use plenty of clean, fresh water instead.
• Assess level of dehydration - pinch skin along the neck. If it springs back, the foal has good skin tone and is probably only mildly dehydrated. If the skin stays tented, the foal has poor skin tone and is profoundly dehydrated.
Long term response:
• Administer an oral dose of antibiotics that are effective in foals.
• Administer plasma transfusion within 6–12 hours of onset of diarrhoea.
• Use sterile techniques to reduce risk of infection in cases where indwelling intravenous or intraosseous catheters are used.
• Consider administering a dose of banamine if the foal has abdominal discomfort.
• Milk replacer can usually be restarted 24 hours after the diarrhoea stops, but start with half the previous feeding rate and gradually increase this as tolerated.
• If diarrhoea persists for 48 hours despite aggressive fluid and antibiotic therapy, consider other possible causes such as rotavirus or salmonellosis.