Horse hemorrhoids

Question
QUESTION: Hi,



I've found this topic difficult to fathom.



1.. Is there such a thing as hemorrhoids in horses?



2.. Is lack of dietary fibre a reason for them?



I asked my father in law about it, he grew up with horses, worked with horses, and he reckoned they could if the feed was low fibre, but I dont understand how a horse eating hay and grains can have a low fibre diet!



3.. He said he never came across a horse with hemorrhoids.



Thank you,

Donald.


ANSWER: Hi Donald,  
To answer your question, "Do horses get hemorrhoids"?, yes they can get hemorrhoids.  I have never seen or heard of any horses ever getting them but it is said that they can in fact get them.  The reason any animal get's hemorrhoids is from being constipated which is from lack of fiber in the diet, or eating large amounts of foods that are binding foods such as cheese.  Probably the reason we never see such a thing is because a horses diet consists of mainly fiber.  Even the grains we feed them are formulated for horses which have no properties that would cause one to get constipated.  If one did get constipated it would have the effect of causing an impaction rather than a horse straining to defecate which is when hemorrhoids become present.  In turn the impaction would cause a horse to have a stomach ache and could cause the horse to colic if the impaction doesn't break up on it's own.  Hope this answers your question!  Jessica

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Jessica,

That was a good answer.  I have just found an old vet book that briefly mentioned them, but your comment was so much more thorough.

So hemorrhoids aren't caused by straining in horses, but by the effect of impaction / clogging building up more and more and pressurising the region more and more.  Is that correct?

Also, in humans there are two types - internal and external - internal originates from the insides, but external occurs around the outside rim.  Can  horses suffer from both types, or just internal ones?  My old vet book talks about pushing the prolapsed bowel back inside, which suggests that they are internal ones that prolapse, but makes no mention of external ones.

Can birthing, obesity, lack of exercise cause them in horses, like they do for humans?

Kind regards,
Donald.

Answer
Hi Donald,  

Keep in mind I am not a vet, however, my educated assumption leads me to be believe that yes hemorrhoids are caused by impaction/clogging.  There is very little information regarding equine hemorrhoids, as I have researched it to some extent.  I would say that it could be possible for horses to suffer from both types but as you have read the more common is internal and yes, the birthing process and overall fitness would have some effect on a horse having hemorrhoids.

Sorry for the delay as I was out of town for the weekend without my computer.

Jessica