Have you got a hay dunker?

[milliepops]

and if so, do you have any hunches around why they do it?

As the evenings draw in I find myself spending more time watching my horses in their stables. One of mine is a confirmed hay dunker and I wondered whether anyone else notices any correlations between things or whether I'm inventing links

When I did her equisal test last month it took AGES to get enough spit to fill the swab. She never has a wet mouth after work, even when she's gone really well. And she is the one that has a sensitive tum, we've been through ulcer treatment and when she has significant change in time spent at grass/hay consumption then she gets a bit of squitty poo. I just wondered whether this was all connected. e.g. If she doesn't make much saliva then she'd want to dunk her hay etc.
With her, it doesn't seem to just be habit, she lives for her food but when I arrive in the morning, if her water bucket is too manky from a night of dunking then she won't finish her night hay until I give a fresh bucket (teeth done last week, nothing unusual, and i give her 2 giant water buckets as standard).

Thinking out loud... interested to hear from other dunker-keepers

 

[DabDab]

Yes Arts is a dunker. However I have automatic drinkers so she can't most of the time. So instead she swills and spits a lot at the drinker. Being young she needs her teeth doing every 6 months or so at the moment, and something the dentist has noted is that she has quite 'floppy' cheeks, so they sort of droop against her teeth. So I have wondered if bits of hay sort of gather in her cheeks and then she feels the need to swill them out....??
She can be a bit funny about nosebands and cheek pieces, I assume for the same reason, and I've ended up with a thick crank cavesson that is fastened very loose, but the rigidity of it means that both it and her cheek pieces stand off from her face a bit.

Interesting question.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

My big lad dunks his. Always did as a racehorse too. So He just gets a pile of hay next to his water bucket save him dragging hay and water across the stable soaking everywhere!

He isn't fussed by hay flavoured water either so finishing his food is never an issue.

I've never really given any thought to why he does it. I know he had ulcers for a time as a racehorse but he did it then and still does it now as a retired layabout. It's probably habit now.

 

[be positive]

If she doesn't produce much saliva then in theory she could be more at risk of ulcers, the saliva is required to neutralise the stomach acid and I think horses know what they need to do to help maybe wet hay is easier on the tummy, the few I have had that dunked were generally given soaked hay which did help stop it and none of the ones here now dunk habitually although sometimes a bit ends up in the water tub.

On the point of them knowing what is required to help I have watched my laminitic turned out in a paddock surrounded by hedges carefully pick at a variety of plants that are supposed to reduce inflammation, he spent ages picking rather than grazing which increased my interest in herbal remedies.

 

[Goldenstar]

i have two Tatts and Harvey .

 

[SEL]

The Appy dunked dry hay when she had ulcers. I moved her onto soaked hay in the stable after the PSSM diagnosis and she hasn't dunked since.

 

[SEL]

On the point of them knowing what is required to help I have watched my laminitic turned out in a paddock surrounded by hedges carefully pick at a variety of plants that are supposed to reduce inflammation, he spent ages picking rather than grazing which increased my interest in herbal remedies.

It's fascinating watching Militaire browse hedgerows. I caught him nipping the tiny baby leaves off ivy once and googled it. Apparently in tiny doses it's a natural anti wormer. Ditto bindweed which he has towed me towards before.

 

[Polos Mum]

I think it is something that can be a habit. I had one that would dunk hay, soaked hay and really lovely haylage - just the same. Even from teeny holed hay nets he'd take the tiniest mouthful of moist haylage and carry it across the stable to dunk.
On one yard with auto waters it was a right pain as they were grim in 36 hours ! I tried to make it difficult for him but he was insistent so in the end he had a dunking bucket which saved the waters !!

 

[Pinkvboots]

and if so, do you have any hunches around why they do it?

As the evenings draw in I find myself spending more time watching my horses in their stables. One of mine is a confirmed hay dunker and I wondered whether anyone else notices any correlations between things or whether I'm inventing links

When I did her equisal test last month it took AGES to get enough spit to fill the swab. She never has a wet mouth after work, even when she's gone really well. And she is the one that has a sensitive tum, we've been through ulcer treatment and when she has significant change in time spent at grass/hay consumption then she gets a bit of squitty poo. I just wondered whether this was all connected. e.g. If she doesn't make much saliva then she'd want to dunk her hay etc.
With her, it doesn't seem to just be habit, she lives for her food but when I arrive in the morning, if her water bucket is too manky from a night of dunking then she won't finish her night hay until I give a fresh bucket (teeth done last week, nothing unusual, and i give her 2 giant water buckets as standard).

Thinking out loud... interested to hear from other dunker-keepers

I don't have hay dunkers but one of mine has a sensitive gut can be gassy and loose at times, his on protexin most of the time and I have recently started him on fennel seeds by global herbs and I think it has made a bit of a difference, it's not expensive so might be worth giving it a try.

 

[sport horse]

I have several hay dunkers and have never tried to stop them. Interestingly, I had (a non hay dunker) end up in colic surgery with an impaction and twist. The after care involved feeding soaked hay to ensure that the horse took in plenty of fluid. I still, 5 months later, still feed that horse soaked hay and probably always will. Could it be that the 'hay dunkers' are actually making the product more digestible for themselves? I certainly would never try to stop a horse dunking its hay, just ensure that it has plenty of water and that the water and hay are sited near the door so that the excess moisture can drain away!

 

[milliepops]

I don't have hay dunkers but one of mine has a sensitive gut can be gassy and loose at times, his on protexin most of the time and I have recently started him on fennel seeds by global herbs and I think it has made a bit of a difference, it's not expensive so might be worth giving it a try.

Thanks, she usually does well on her supplement but I will look into the fennel as an addition

No intention to try and stop her, sport horse, and yes I expect they do it to make the hay more digestible or something. Mine has wrapped hay similar to dry haylage, I could soak it but it drives YO nuts when I do so happy to facilitate the dunking instead

 

[ester]

I think Frank's dunking is related to his shitty teeth, he never used to do it.

 

[milliepops]

I think Frank's dunking is related to his shitty teeth, he never used to do it.

Yeah i get the impression that can be quite common? She had a thorough dental under sedation 10 days ago and the verdict was just a normal youngish mouth.

 

[Squidge90]

I have a dunker who enjoys nothing more then making his automatic water thing minging. Again he has previously been treated for ulcers (though no actual ulceration on the scoping, just a bit of pinkness) - I think I read somewhere there was correlation between the two. I personally think he just enjoys making the front of his stable like a swamp 🤦‍♀️

 

[ester]

Yeah i get the impression that can be quite common? She had a thorough dental under sedation 10 days ago and the verdict was just a normal youngish mouth.

it is also easier for him to do as it's unnetted too since then (though he did sometimes dump the floor nets too). Mum has moved his bucket a bit to the other side of the door, I wouldn't have but then I don't have to deal with it\ and I'm not paying the metered water bill , apparently moving it a few feet further away means it's not worth it...

 

[Squirily]

I have a dunker, weirdly he has only started doing it this year. He's slightly overdue for the dentist now, so I'm hoping he might improve a bit once he's had his check-up. His tummy has always been good, but not a happy bunny at the moment so considering scoping for ulcers anyway. I give mine 2 large dunking buckets next to his hay so he doesn't use his drinker. He will pack the drinker with hay, often so that the valve is wedged open somehow and it floods his stable. He'll do it with hay, haylage or already soaked hay!