21 yo Gelding

Question
My 21 yo GH Gelding has lost alot of weight and has diarrhea.  We purchased him approx. a year and half ago and we have wormed him twice.  His teeth have been floated.  His last worming was approx. 1 month ago and I was wondering that if it were worms that was causing the weight loss and diarrhea, how long before we could notice any difference.  Should we take him to the vet to be tubed.  Thanks you!

Answer
hi Kim,
with him being an older horse his body does not hold on to nutrients as well. with the diarrhea, it takes all the water out of his body. so give him salt with some grain. to help build weight feed him rice bran, beet pulp, and mare and foal. start all grains out with one handful everyday for one week. then slowly work it up to a scoop of each grain twice a day. you can also give him a weight building supplement to make the process go faster. my best guess would be that he does have worms and that is what is making him loose weight and have diarrhea. keep him updated on worming every other month at least. with every worming rotate your brand and type. do ivermectine one month and rotecine the next. this way the worms don't get immune to the paste. if all of this does not work have him scooped and see what the vet says. other then that stay updated on your worming and keep him on the grain for a while or until he has regains all of his weight.
good luck and if you have any other problems just give me a message.
amanda groff