pony digging up field

Digger123

Digger123

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I have had the new pony for about a month now.He is turned out on some good old pasture . I have noticed occasionaly he like to paw at the ground(not colicking!) and he appears to be looking for something to eat. I won't go as far to say that he is eating mud but maybe the roots of the grass.
I have bought him a mineral block which he as access to at all times.

He isn't having any hard feed at the mo as he doesn't need it or perhaps he does?

So after waffling on do you think he is lacking something in his diet ?
 
It's probably nothing to worry too much about. He is looking for minerals/a mineral and is finding it in the earth. As OP has said, a mineral lick will help him, or a rock salt block.

I once had a pony recovering from purpura haemorrigica (can''t even spell it) a dreadful disease. In his convalescence he used to eat quantities of earth. The Royal Dick people who were looking after him as a test case said not to worry - he knows what he wants - let him go for it. Likewise our current horses doctor themselves freely with the willow from our willow avenue in the field.

You could mention it to your vet just to put your mind at rest - no need for a call out; just a telephone conversation should do.
 
hi mine are doing this also but they all have suppliments and are fed fast fibre,it is the first yr they have done it when i looked the bits they are doing it on are where we have had clover they have eaten it all away and dig the roots out??obviously something there they like.
 
I saw a couple of our horses do this the other day, they were both properly digging! I am going to get a salt/mineral block for them and see if this helps. One of the horses that was doing it is on a general supplement though?!
 
One of my geldings dug a hole about 18 inches in diameter and at least a foot deep in his field as a yearling! Quite a neat job actually. I had to get some soil from another area with the tractor bucket to fill it. He had minerals and none of his companions complained.

"They only do it to annoy because they know it teases". Simple!

(Of course, I always forgot about his hole and always went into it with the quad!:rolleyes: Since sold to jftd 500 miles away. Problem solved!:D).
 
My TB digs holes to roll in!! Horrid creature, he makes a fair size hollow in the ground, scuffs it up a bit, even better if it fills with rain, then rolls in it really rubbing his face and neck until he looks like a hippo. Gotta love him :)
 
As another thought what condition was he in when you got him? When I got daughters she was a mess & had lived in a small mudbath, & she used to dig & paw a lot. Even when grazing, she'd dig out of habit with one leg, as I suspect that, & being a good doer was why she hadn't starved to death. It did become less frequent & eventually stop though. Now she's just a pony who likes to mess with buckets, balls etc!
 
Could just be a habit. My mare digs a mud patch for rolling/sleeping in every field we put her in. What's fascinating is her 2 year old son does the same as she obviously taught him. When he was a yearling he came home after going away for weaning, was put back in his foal paddock with a companion sm dug up the exact same spot as doll had when she had him at foot.
 
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