Vitamin Help - Eating Poo!

[Mariselle]

Can anyone suggest a good vitamin supplement for my 12 y-o mare? We have had her just over six weeks, but I caught her eating poo this evening, so clearly something is amiss. She is turned out 24/7 in a small-ish paddock that we are gradually widening as the field was left for a year before we bought it - the rest of the grass is knee-high, so I don't want my horses to stuff themselves... our other one is a New Forest, who is showing no signs of anything like this. She has plenty of energy, is fairly plump, and has no signs of being off-colour. Oh - she is a thoroughbred though, which possibly explains a lot...

 

[Shay]

Unless you know you are dealing with a specific deficiency why not start with a general vit / min supplement. I persoanlly like Pink Powder, but others prefer balencers (watch out for the ones full of rubbish you don't want to feed!) Does she have hard feed at all at the moment?

 

[Mariselle]

Thanks Shay - I'll give it a go. She doesn't have hard feed as they have a good amount of grass - she's a good doer also, - so much so that my saddler asked if I'd had the vet check she wasn't pregnant (she's not)! She's just a broad girl with a decent amount of bone for a TB. Her old owner fed her Mollichaff year round, but I've been scared of overfeeding her, especially at this time of year. She has access to a salt lick but doesn't seem to want anything to do with it, unlike our New Forest pony.

 

[Shay]

You'll have to have something just to get the supplement into her - a very small handful of soaked grass nuts perhaps? Or a low calorie fiber replacer like fast fiber?

When did you last worm? It might be worth doing a worm count just in case?

 

[JillA]

I'd try salt first - might be something as simple as that. At least 20 ml in a tiny handful of damp bran daily, forget salt licks, their tongues aren't rough enough to get sufficient

 

[tristar]

i have noticed that horses who occasionally eat the poo are the healthiest, no doubt that will be hugely unpopular point of view!

i dont mean vast barrow fulls either!

 

[Mariselle]

Thanks everyone - funnily enough I was planning to get both worm counted next week. I'll try giving her a bit of salt and get some vitamins - she genuinely looks like she doesn't have a clue what to do when I present her with the salt lick. Just had a thought - could be the hot weather?

 

[Bartleby.]

How about SlimAid from Feedmark? It's vits and mins in a pellet form that you can hand-feed, mine take it readily from hand.

 

[Mariselle]

Fantastic - I'll have a look at that also.

 

[vhf]

For interest. My dominant mare will occasionally eat the dropping of an incoming mare into "her" territory. It's the only time she does it, and she clearly hates it! I have seen her spread the rest once she's eaten as much as she can face... ! Never seen the same behaviour in any other equine; just young foals occasionally, and one very poor youngster.

 

[Mariselle]

Interesting - though she's not the dominant; the gelding is. She lived alone a lot before coming to me, so perhaps it's some sort of bonding thing??

 

[JillA]

The difference between poo and other food is the bacteria - maybe she needs a good probiotic?

 

[vhf]

The difference between poo and other food is the bacteria - maybe she needs a good probiotic?

Certainly won't do any harm? I think this is why foals are known to do it, but someone who knows more about breeding could confirm that (or otherwise).

Interesting - though she's not the dominant; the gelding is. She lived alone a lot before coming to me, so perhaps it's some sort of bonding thing??

It will be interesting to see how long she keeps it up!

 

[poiuytrewq]

As above salt stopped mine

 

[Adorable]

The difference between poo and other food is the bacteria - maybe she needs a good probiotic?

Yes. This behavior can actually be an indication of hind gut.

 

[Myloubylou]

My new mare also was caught eating poo. turned out at night and hay in stable. Small feed of chaff to carry hoof supplement. Her droppings look ok and normal amount. Was on top spec balancer but sent her scatty