pony eating poo

Archiepoo

Archiepoo

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hi just wondering why an adult pony would eat poop ? hes fed adlib hay inside and outside the stable and has access to a salt lick ,has no hard feed and has his teeth done regularly . he is purely ornamental and is turned out with another sec A gelding so not near mares. i know foals do this but why would an 8 yr old do it - he seems to be doing it quite a lot ? is he lacking something? any ideas? thanks very much in advance
 
My horse did this when on box rest/restricted diet. I mentioned it to the vet who said could be boredom, could be for nutrition (I'm guessing the bacteria dryrot suggested). I have since started feeding yea-saac which I absolutely adore, he looks superb.
Don't worry about the poo eating, it's not going to harm him, it's just a bit gross! Especially gross if he decides to give you a nice sloppy kiss :rolleyes:
 
well ive ordered some brewers yeast and yea sac to try ,hes barefoot and gets a bit footy sometimes so hoping they will help with that too-will report back! thanks everyone:)
 
archiepoo said:
well ive ordered some brewers yeast and yea sac to try ,hes barefoot and gets a bit footy sometimes so hoping they will help with that too-will report back! thanks everyone:)
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That will contain bacteria but is it the right bacteria? I'd just let the pony continue what its doing and, if it bothers you, look the other way!;)

I heard a surgeon talking about gut bacteria on the radio and, being a pushy sort of person, I phoned him up! He wasn't impressed at being disturbed but relaxed when he realised I had a legitimate inquiry and we had an interesting discussion.

He explain that the human gut needs a balance of different bacteria to work efficiently. He explained that it is something like the African plains which is populated by grazing animals, such as zebras and wildebeest, these animals being compared to populations of intestinal bacteria. There will be a balance between the species according to their grazing preferences, one species prefers long grass and the other short grass. (Don't ask me which is which!:D).

He explained that to get the ideal number of animals on the plain that it could support, you need a balance between the tall grazers and the short grazers. If the balance it out of kilter, the grass suffers and none get the optimal grazing. (Farmers graze sheep and cattle together for similar reasons. Too many sheep and the grass never gets long enough for the cattle and vice versa). So, in gut terms, an imbalance might lead to ulcers, loose poo, etc.

My question to him was, could coprophagia (poo eating) be an attempt by an animal to correct an imbalance of these bacteria as some will be eliminated every time it poos? He said it could well be that and the theory made good sense. But it is only a theory and there is no scientific proof.

So there you go. Nature does not usually waste time on things that don't work. We may not know the reason why some things happen, but that doesn't mean there isn't one.
 
Mine eats his, normally it's when he runs out of food, and he's bored/ hungry. Am feeding him on dengie healthy tummy, ad lib hay and he has a treat ball, find he does it much less. I find he's always done it, and have put it down to boredom/hunger. Am not worried but might try the brewers yeast.
 
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