Licking soil, rust metal & chewing rotten wood.......

[jules9203]

I have a 3 yr old mare who is doing the above. She has good quality grass when out (at the moment 18hrs + per day) When she is in she has ad lib good quality hay. She also has 1 feed per day - alfalfa, vits & mins and dampened with sugar beet. She's 15hh and 500kg and is a good wieght. Anyone have any ideas why she is licking soil? She has also been licking the old metal drums I have and chewing on any old fencing posts. Slightly confused as she has no restriction on her fibre intake plus the v&m.

 

[be positive]

She could be teething which is causing the chewing, one of mine was licking soil today, which I have never seen him do before, when he came in last week to be trimmed he was licking the salt lick in the stable so I put a new one out in the field but it has not been touched so I plan on getting some loose salt to leave for them as I think that is what he wants and is too lazy to spend enough time at the lick. Try adding some to the feed and see if it helps, mine is not fed and I don't want to start unless I feel he really needs it.

 

[AmyMay]

Get a Rockies block for the field.

 

[jules9203]

Thank you. She is definitley teething will add some salt to feed and get a rockies for the field x