Knowledge
Nutrition Focus
Lorna Edgar – specialist equine nutritionist
Why Do They Eat That? Addressing annoying eating habits
I am often asked about some habits that horses may develop, why they do it and whether they can be reduced or stopped. Habits, those annoying habits such as wood chewing, eating and licking the soil or eating the bedding or droppings – any of these sound familiar? These, sometimes frustrating, habits we see our horses doing at times are called Pica – unusual eating behaviours. They are often triggered by boredom or curiosity but can also be triggered by a nutritional deficiency in the diet. Of course, they may not all be nutrition related, and sometimes they can become behavioural habits that, once started, are hard to stop! In my job, I am always trying to look at the bigger picture as to why they have developed that behaviour and whether I can suggest anything on a nutritional basis to possibly stop or reduce the behaviour.
Soil Eating (Geophagia)
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Polo Times, November 2021
Wood Chewing (Lignophagia)
This can often begin when there is a lack of fibre in the diet, either when stabled to imitate trickle feeding, or in the field when the grass is wet and they can’t consume enough fibre to satisfy the needs of their hind gut. So, whilst stabled we need to allow them more time to eat and chew by increasing their general fibre intake of hay or haylage. If the haylage is wet and they are chewing wood in the stable then increase the amount you are feeding or offer some hay with it to increase the fibre intake by counteracting for the high-water content in the wet haylage.
Photography by Polo Times
Horses that spend a lot of their time stabled or even those turned out to pasture can be seen doing this, and they could be doing it for different reasons. For those stabled and in work it would be worth ensuring their diet is balanced – sometimes analysing the forage can help to determine any deficiencies. Sometimes providing a mineral/salt lick to provide those extra salts that may be lacking can be helpful. If they are sweating regularly then adapting a programme to ensure they are receiving electrolytes will be necessary. If you give them a salt/mineral lick and you notice they are drinking a lot more and their bed becomes a lot wetter, I would suggest removing the lick for a time as they are over-indulging in and drinking more as a consequence as their salt levels are out of balance – this may happen if an individual is particularly greedy! You could instead add a tablespoon of salt in the feed every day if you feel the licks are being consumed rather rapidly! Eating soil whilst turned out can also be noticed at times which could also be a lack of sodium in their diet. As with the stabled horse,
Whilst turned out on plenty of grass, perhaps during their winter break, you may question why they would be wood chewing when there is an abundance of grass in front of them, but it is often natural for them to forage and nibble on bark in hedgerows for instance. They may also be excused if the grass is too wet and they are not receiving enough fibre in their diet as the water content of the grass is very high and not satisfying their fibre needs. To help with this during certain times of the year, offer some long forage, hay or haylage, to allow them to increase the fibre part of their diet. Sometimes a disturbance in the beneficial bacteria in the hind gut with the hind gut becoming too acidic can be a cause of wood chewing, and in this case, I will often recommend adding a pre/probiotic supplement to their diet to help restore the balance of hind gut bacteria, which may then help to reduce/stop the habit.
providing a paddock lick can help to provide those extra minerals that may be missing. Your horse suddenly eating soil in quite a significant way has been linked to gastric upsets – observing their droppings, forage intake, behaviour and talking to your vet would be suggested.
Wood chewing can be a result of a lack of diet fibre
Turned out with an abundance of grass, you may question why they would need to be wood chewing
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