Re: Eating Habits

["Annette Gordon" <agordon@worldofwonder.net>]

Hi Trish

I can't speak for anyone else but personally if either of my two horses
started to eat their own droppings I would be worried. I would take it as a
sign that they are lacking in something in the mineral etc. department
rather than bored. 

I would call my vet and discuss it with them. 

Good luck. 

Annette


----------
>From: Trish Grant <grantt@unbc.ca>
>To: "ridecamp@endurance.net" <ridecamp@endurance.net>
>Subject: Eating Habits
>Date: Sat, Dec 5, 1998, 10:22 pm
>

>Hi Everyone,
>
>A quick question here for you all here, I remember something being on
>this list before but I can not remember what was said. I recently had to
>put my horse into a 90' x 40' paddock, he used to be in pasture. What he
>is doing now is eating his droppings, chewing the bark from trees and
>nibbling on the fence and fence posts. I have seen this in other horses
>before and never paid a whole lot of attention to it(I am talking about
>eating his droppings), but now it is my horse and I just want to make
>sure all is fine. I am comfortable in saying that I feel his diet covers
>all his necessary nutrients and minerals. I would like to think he is
>not lacking anything, but I could be wrong. When I have seen or heard of
>this in the past, I summed it up as the horse simply being bored! I have
>to be honest in that he is not getting the exercise he may need, so this
>may make him extra bored, but he is so lazy you would think he would be
>happy. Anyway I thought I would just send this out to ridecamp with
>hopes of some replies. I really do not think I have much to worry about
>here, but sometimes some confirmation and or advise is nice.
>
>Thanks in Advance
>Trish
>