Free Faecal Water in Horses: Causes, Diet Fixes & What to Try First

Podcast #43

Free faecal water (aka free fecal water / free fecal liquid) is one of those horse problems that looks “not that bad” on paper… until you’re on wash-duty for the 14th time and your horse’s skin is angry, sore, and stained. 🐴💦

In this episode of the Happy Horse Nutrition Podcast, Dr Nerida McGilchrist unpacks why FFW is suddenly being talked about everywhere — from first hearing it at a conference in Dijon (2016) to seeing it dominate conversations at AAEP Denver (2025). And yes… she asks the uncomfortable question: is this a disease of modern management in an ancient gut?

You’ll learn:

• What FFW is (and why it’s not infectious diarrhoea)

• Why it’s likely multifactorial (forage changes, fibre variety, grain load & digestibility, sand irritation, ulcers, nitrates…)

• The practical “low-hanging fruit” steps to try first, in a logical order

• Why microbiome research can look “conflicting” when it’s only measured at broad levels (and why species-level testing may be the next big clue)

• When to loop in your vet (sand assessment, ulcer scoping, more advanced options like faecal transplant)

If you’re dealing with FFW, this is your calm, evidence-informed roadmap.

As always, follow the podcast so more horse owners can find this, and if it helped, share it with a friend (or your whole agistment chat 😉). 💛

Want to see how your current feeding program stacks up for gut health?

Pop your horse’s diet into MyHappy.Horse and check the gut health score (7-day free trial availabile): https://apps.apple.com/app/myhappy-horse/id6633422324