My horse is eatting its poo

[imarealboy]

My horse is eatting his droppings while he is in his stable. He has turnout and is exercised every day he is a tb 8 years old. He is up to date with vacc's, worming etc. He is being fed alfa a and show improver pencils and oil and garlic. Can any one help||||

 

[iconique]

They will usually eat their own droppings because they are lacking something in their diet like vitamins or minerals or their gut flora is damaged. Although some do it when they are hungry (we have a mare who has been starved in the past and when she runs out of food she eats them)
Perhaps try contacting the feed companies to ensure you are giving a balanced diet (btw garlic can cause acidity and we stopped using it due to colic problems), you don't say what type of oil or pencils?? He may need a vit suppliment or a balancer??

 

[deicinmerlyn]

Does he have ad lib forage to last all the time he is in. If he has then it could either be he is lacking in something or because it is a habit he's had in the past when he has not had access to hay/forage and or consider the possibility of ulcers.

 

[ofcourseyoucan]

fantastic!!! a self mucker out! now that ia a good time saver and should reduce bedding costs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! on a more serious note does he have enough tasty hay or haylage all the time he is confined to a stable? is he hungry? is he bored?

 

[Allover]

I would try a vitamin and mineral balancer, onions added to their feed also stops them eating their poo, though i dont know if is because it "balances" their gut or wether their poo tastes horrible (though cant imagine it is too tasty without onions!!!!)

 

[NicoleS_007]

My tb used to do this when he was out of work for a period of time. For him it was just pure bordem and made his teeth a disgusting colour!! He stopped once he came back into work and got more haylage to keep him occupied. Id personally use haynets or up his hay to keep him pre-occupied lol

 

[Durham]

This is nearly always caused by an imbalance, as others have mmentioned. One of ours suddenly started doing this and I immediately put him on Equine Gold Biotal for a period and also talked to our feed manufacturers' helpline, as he was a good doer and on daily turnout plus an excellent feed balancer (which already had pro and prebiotics in it) chop and hay.

The Biotal worked within two or three days.

The helpline suggested that, even though he had all day turnout he might be short of fibre if the grass was not good. I think it was the fibre that was the major issue, as, when we moved yards not long after, and got better quality hay and grazing that was a bit better - where the horses could also forage in the hedge for extras - the problem never returned and I was able to stop using the Biotal.

I hope this is helpful.

 

[imarealboy]

Thank you for all your replys its very intresting and helpful. I forgot to say he has ad lib hay which i got tested to see what the quailty was like and it can back fine although the ash content was high. Also when he is in and out he has a big mineral brick in both the field and in his stable. The oil i use is omega oil by naff and the show improver pencils are from saracen horse feeds. He gets plenty of suculents in his feed too carrots and apples. I also had his dropping sent off to the vets for a worm count and again it came back fine.

There are a few mentions of ulcers please can you explain more and do i need to get him scoped??? I no stress can cause a part and also poor worm management. But he has the life of riley and i am hot on worming. How worried should i be ???

 

[Durham]

Just try pre and probiotic first! Even if there is already some in his feed, although you don't mention it. Also, have you checked the hay for the level of roughage? it's worth trying simple things first and I would definitely get on to Saracen's help line, if they have one. If not, try one of the other big companies - TopSpec are very helpful. Sometimes over-worming can be a problem too, as that can affect the flora in the gut. Good luck

 

[Tnavas]

Generally boredom or insufficient fibre.

Increase hay ration when stabled and feed in a net with small holes so it takes him forever to get through the contents.

Keep a careful eye out for additional parasite burden.

 

[caramel]

My boy (17h 13yr old TB) does it. I have moved yards recently and he seems to be improving, he's out a lot on really good grass, lots to see and do, ridden daily and plenty of hay. Have changed his feed slightly.
I've found he does it out of habit. His feed is supplemented with equivite, daily turnout etc. He was in training for 10 years.
This morning I found he hadn't done it at all, he also boxwalks aswell. But the move definately helped.

 

[sam72431]

My youngster used to do this when waiting to come in from the field in the winter, so i put him on a vit and min supplement and he doesn't do it anymore, seaweed is good as well