As weaning time approaches, your foal looks healthy as can be. But not long after, he’s lost weight, looks smaller, and seems depressed. What happened to the thriving colt you weaned? According to veterinarians, equine proliferative enteropathy (EPE), a gastrointestinal disease of foals and weanlings that’s increasing in prevalence across the country, could be a diagnostic possibility.

An EPE-affected foal (above), and the same foal after recovery (below).

"Equine proliferative enteropathy caused by (the bacterium) Lawsonia intracellularis is an emerging disease that is associated with significant financial losses," said Nicola Pusterla, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, an associate professor in the Department of Medicine and Epidemiology at the University of California, Davis