Feed advice please! Eating dirt

[RhiannonE]

Hi,

Before Whisper i've always had exciteable TB's or TB types who needed lots of feed as they could never keep weight on and calming stuff and who knows what else. Pretty much all of them were fed on Hi Fi, spillers cool mix, little cod liver oil and garlic granules.
Whisper was on chaff and leisure mix when I brought him so I have kept him on this but changed "chaff" to Hi Fi variety and also added cod liver oil.
Recently now that he's fitter he's been doing more work - typically schooled once or twice a week, lunged/jumped once a week and hacked out 2-4 times a week. So on average he has one day "off" a week. He's out on grass for the majority of the day now and has small feed morning and night and a small haynet.
He's not at all overweight but I think being a connemara could easily put on weight if I allowed him too.

He's started eating dirt so he's obviously not getting enough nutrients from his current feed - any suggestions on what he would be good on? (I feed also farriers formula because his feet were poor)

Thanks
Rhi

 

[0ldmare]

Try giving him a salt or mineral lick - it stopped one of mine doing it almost immediately

 

[Cliqmo]

Any broad spectrum vits/mins supplement would do the job however it could be a salt deficiency??

Just found this link http://www.animavet.com/EatingDirt.pdf

 

[RhiannonE]

He's got a salt lick on his wall (doesn't touch) and he has the Original Horselyk in the big blue tub - which he gets through every few weeks but still doing it!! Should I add salt to his feed directly? I know my friend in an eventing yard does but Whisper isn't quite eventing standard just yet lol.

 

[hoggedmane]

I give my good doers on restricted diets a scoop of equivite in a minimal feed to stop this.

 

[RhiannonE]

I've seen that in the tack shop, i'll give it a go thanks

 

[kellyeaton]

i give mine seaweed that has all vits mins and trace elments and amio acids in it that the horse needs if they are not on the recomened horsefeed!