Help, my horse is eating manure!

Most people know that foals eat their mother's manure to build up their gut flora. But a horse that eats manure at a later age is not normal and has an underlying cause. Read in this article why some horses eat manure.

Manure for gut flora

Foals eat their mother's manure because foals are born without gut flora. To build and develop the gut flora, the foal eats the manure to get the right bacteria. For foals, this is very healthy and not a reason to panic.

But adult horses can also eat manure because their gut flora is out of balance. Due to illness, deworming, medication, or improper nutrition, the gut flora may not be optimal. These horses then eat the manure of another horse to get the right bacteria in their intestines. You can see this as a natural probiotic. This reason for eating manure is logically explainable and not a reason to panic.

Manure eating due to roughage shortage

Horses that do not receive enough roughage or grass will have a fiber deficiency. Once this becomes a real problem for the horse's body, the horse will look for a solution. The horse will then eat its own manure or that of another horse. The manure is fiber-rich and in this way, the horse reuses the fibers to keep its organs in order.

Deficiencies in the diet

If your horse has not been sick, is receiving enough roughage, and is still eating manure, it may be that your horse has a deficiency in the diet. Usually, in this case, there is a lack of vitamin B and vitamin K. But these deficiencies generally only occur if there is a chronic inflammation or diarrhea that makes absorption of these vitamins problematic.

Boredom leads to eating manure

Stress or boredom can do strange things to a horse. It can even cause horses to eat manure without any apparent underlying reason.

What measures can you take against eating manure?

In itself, eating manure is not a problem, but it is important to know the cause of eating manure so that it can be addressed. A shortage of roughage is easily solved by providing more of it. More roughage also ensures that more vitamin B and K are produced by the gut flora.

A deficiency in minerals and vitamins can also be solved by feeding a balancer/vitamin snack or by providing seawater concentrate.

But as a result of stress or boredom, it can sometimes be a more difficult task to stop eating manure. Ensure an adequate distraction, companionship, and nutrition so that the horse has no reason to develop stress or boredom.