Abnormal Eating Behaviors: Your Horse Ate What?

Anytime a horse is consuming unusual material, a thorough review of the diet is a good idea.
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Abnormal or unusual eating behavior is not uncommon in horses and might be of concern to a horse owner.

Foals frequently nibble at manure, which is one way the microbial population of the gut is established. It might not look attractive, but is normal investigative behavior. Other unusual eating behavior includes chewing on fences or stall walls, eating bark off trees, chewing on stablemates’ tails, and eating dirt. In some species, the term “pica” is used to indicate consuming unusual food.

Except for salt, and perhaps phosphorus, there has been limited information to document that horses have nutritional wisdom for selecting nutrients. Horses can select and consume plants that taste better than other plants.

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Written by:

Roy A. Johnson, MS, is an equine technology manager for Cargill Animal Nutrition. In his role, he is responsibile for the development of horse feeds for U.S. business, including feeds for Nutrena, ACCO, Agway, and private label brands. A former professional horse trainer, farm manager, and horse judging coach, Johnson was an assistant professor in the Agricultural Production Division at the University of Minnesota-Wasecae before joining Cargill. Johnson has also participated in a successful Thoroughbred racing partnership._x000D_

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