Horse eating poop???

[myvwranch]

the 12/12 minerals is the way to go... purina makes a loose mineral that you can put in feed each night.
we also have salt and mineral blocks hanging in each stall, but a horse would have to lick for 2 days to get enough minerals from the mineral block.. if a horse is eating poop he is missing something in his diet..
you can try the loose minerals/salt that you just leave out if you have a very dry place to keep it. the dew even will get it wet, so we just do this.  i used to use a mineral.salt./vitamen supplement called grow more,  i think by nutrena, but it was too hard to get, so i switched to the purina 12/12/  hope this helps..

[the_jersey_lilly_2000]

Also if you are buying the purina 12:12 that's for horses that comes in the plastic tub...your payin three times what you'd pay for a 50 lb bag. I've been buying MG 12:12 Cattle Mineral and it's even less than the purina. But the same formula almost to a T. I asked at a purina equine seminar I went to if the 12:12 mineral they were puttin in the buckets was the same as what we fed our cows and they said it was. It's just marketed for horse owners and they know that they can get more of your money that way.

[Pam Cantwell]

Pls watch what you are feeding when it comes to minerals for your horses. Too much copper can damage their kidneys and cows need it more. Research everything and make sure the ppl that talk to you are in the know.

[wendyb]

I am so glad I read this - we have a 40-ish y/o gelding that eats poo...  I am going to get him some yougurt and then some loose minerals too.  His could be nutritional issues as he HAS NO TEETH!!!  We feed him rice bran pellets and MG 12-8 which he somehow eats just fine... if he starts to get down a little, we wet it a little to make mush.

He can't eat any grass or hay - he chews it and spits it out.

[the_jersey_lilly_2000]

Thank you Pam. I read your reply and did some research on the guaranteed analysis between Purina 12:12 horse mineral and the MG that I'm feeding. They are very similar in all aspects except the copper level is a little more in the MG than the Purina.

But still on the $ saving end of things. The tub purina sells for horses is 8 or 12 lbs I think and was 19.95 the last time I looked. And a 50# bag of the same mineral for horses was $22. That's a huge difference in amounts for basically the same money, it's just not dressed up in a nice bucket.

[the_jersey_lilly_2000]

Wendy....do you give him beet pulp? That'd help with his roughage since he can't eat hay. I feed beet pulp to everyone here, and wet it too till it soaks up as much water as I can get it to take.

[wendyb]

We do sometimes, but he doesn't seem to like it very much...  when we first got him he was skin-bones and was on beet pulp and All-N-One for a year or more.

[fawna lee]

I was a given a good tip, Moor Mans has a 100# tub of Mineral/vitamin, supplement. My old blocks sit around and finally disintegrate, before they eat them. But they will eat, the mineral in the green tubs, even if it rains, they drink the water off and keep eating. About 1/2# a day per horse. 4 horses go thru one in a month. The foals are much bigger and stronger at birth, as well.

[the_jersey_lilly_2000]

What about adding alfalfa pellets to his feed? I'd first and foremost tho be giving him probiotics. That alone could help him digest and utilize his feed better. 

[wendyb]

He really looks remarkably well for almost 40 - and he was a calf roping horse for years.  Not a easy breezy life.  Always the first to the barn and has the run of the roost.

I am going to get him some probiotics though and see if that helps him to stop the nasty poo eating habit.

[Pam Cantwell]

My old stallion cannot eat coastal because if no back teeth. He does get leafy alfalfa which he mostly wads up. For his 2 meals a day he gets beet pulp, flaked barley, rice bran, a pinch of sea salt, a cup of flax and Equine Senior on top. All soaked in water for fifteen minutes until thoroughly soaked and soupy. It's quite a bit of feed but keeps him looking good.

[charliehorse]

OK my 11 yo gelding doesnt EAT his poop, but will shove it all around with his nose lookin for grain that he didnt digest the FIRST time!  yuck...then he wants to give you a BIG KISS!!!  i run away then!  lol   

[flyinglow]

I don't have a horse that eats poop, but do have a friend that does.  She has done the minerals and probiotics with no change, he still eats his poop.  She now shrugs and says at least she doesn't have to clean his stall and run.
For those with older horses try the chopped alfalfa, soak in water and top dress your feed with it.  My 30 year old gelding loves his alfalfa and pellets. I also add corn oil to the 14% Equine Senior pellet to add enough fat to him.