Obsessive licking

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appaloosacaz

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My horse is constantly licking everyone and everything, especially mud, I thought it was salt so I have given him a pure salt lick stone, which he doesn't really use. Does anyone know what could be missing in his diet?? He gets Bailey's No.4 Topline cubes and chaff, turned out in the day and stabled nightly (with haylage)??
 
To find out for sure, only a forage analysis will tell you. Just salt will not satisfy mineral needs. What about a himalayan one in the mean time.

My yearling licks constantly but for her, I think it is a security thing. How old is your boy?
 
Possibly a mineral deficiency? I don't know which one it could be :-/ maybe you could try a mineral lick? Some of them go through it very quickly though, so you may have to monitor this and take it away if necessary. A mineral supplement in his feed may be easier. Or wait for more knowledgeable forum member to reply...
 
Weigh your cubes and check the bag to see if you're feeding recommended daily amounts, if not he won't be getting sufficient vitamins and minerals. Give him a general purpose vitamin and mineral supplement and see if the behaviour stops.
 
I wouid second getting a himalayan salt lick. one of ours goes mad for hers, at times. One of ours rarely touches hers and yet a third has a go every other day or so.
 
He's 9, and he it was a himalayan lick he had before, but barely touched it, I may try the general vits and mins some of you have suggested I think, sounds logical, anyone recommend a certain brand??
 
My friends horse suddenly started doing this a few weeks ago, he also started chewing wood. She put him on the NAF general supplement and he has stopped.
 
I've used NAF haylage balancer, has antacids and probiotics for the gut. Feedmark slim aid, its one tiny scoop of pellets that can be hand fed if he doesn't have a feed. NAF d-tox helps my boys mud fever. Feedmark benevit, has cod liver oil good for joints and skin. Only feed one at a time though.
 
One of mine recently started this! She is also on top line cubes... I have now put her on Spillers lite balancer to sort any deficiency which may be causing it. If not, back to the drawing board!
 
Many people subscribe to the idea that if a horse is licking things .i.e. walls, brickwork, stable doors, people infact anything in reach that they must have a mineral deficiency or similar. Some horses may have a deficiency but some horses just do it because they just plain mess around & have developed it as a habit.

I, like a lot of kids used to suck my thumb, I wasn't short of minerals etc, it was a developed habit that I've got out of now. Sometimes horses do things for no particular reason & we just need to accept that.
 
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