Rolling in Dirt

Almost every time we let our horses out of the stalls after feeding them, they roll. Why?
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

Q. Almost every time we let our horses out of the stalls after feeding them, they roll in the dirt, dust, or mud. Why?  

Mike and Sharon


A. Rolling associated with turnout after feeding is a slight variation on the more usual question of rolling immediately after a good grooming or a bath. Owners often ask why their horse "hates to be clean," or tries to "ruin his coat," and seems to roll deliberately to "spite you for grooming him."

The short answer to this question is that it’s normal horse grooming and social behavior to roll whenever a horse is turned out from the stall to an open area. But since rolling is one of the most interesting equine behaviors, I’ll take this opportunity to explain in greater detail how and why rolling is normal

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Sue M. McDonnell, PhD, is a certified applied animal behaviorist and the founding head of the equine behavior program at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine. She is also the author of numerous books and articles about horse behavior and management.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
312 votes · 312 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!