aged pony eating manure

Question
hi,
i have 2 horses on about 2.5 acres of pasture. one is a 7 yr old warmblood/thoroughbred cross and the other is an aged pony (about 25) who is basically the pasture ornament.  he gets 3 scoops of equine senior(i know, we're supposed to go by weight) a day and i'm afraid to give more because of his chronic founder. anyway, this past week i've caught him twice eating manure. i read on another website where mature horses could do this due to low protein intake or where there isn't pasture/hay. the pasture is okay (here in va we've been in a drought) and they get hay everyday. he does eat his hay slowly though. i was thinking it might be due to he isn't getting enough roughage because of chewing difficulties. he is due to have his teeth floated and i am starting to soak his hay before feeding. i tried the bagged hay a couple of months ago (just because couldn't find baled hay) and he wasn't impressed with it and i thought he would be.

anyway, do you think that's why he's eating some manure. i read in equus magazine where it's still sort of a mystery why mature horses do this so any assistance is appreciated.

thanks!  

Answer
Pam,

I suspect that he may be missing some on roughage because of dental issues.  Or, he may need to replenish his gut bacteria because his digestive system doesn't work as well as it used to.  Another possiblity is ulcers.  

Ok, here are a few suggestions.  First off I would increase his roughage intake.  Add soaked beet pulp to his diet.  You could also switch him to another feed which might be a little better for him.  I just don't know where you'll find it.  It's a Pennfield product called Fibergized.  It's a high fat, high fiber feed which is ideal for a horse like you are feeding.  Low carbs so as not to increase his founder problems.   Anyway, try adding a pound (dry weight) of soaked beet pulp to his feed morning and night.  You can soak the beet pulp for the morning feed overnight and the evening feed during the day.  In the winter I dump straight hot water from the faucet on my evening feeds in the early afternoon and cover them with blankets on my porch.  Then everyone gets a nice, warm, wet dinner in cold weather.  This will give him some high quality, easily digested roughage for his gut to work on.  I will take him a while to eat at each feeding so  be prepared to have him take maybe as much as an hour to eat his feed.

You should also consider getting a tub of the ABC Probiotics and feed that to him until gone to help re-establish a good, healthy gut bacteria population.  

I also add a pound of alfalfa hay cubes to my horses' dinners that get soaked right along with everything else.  The soaking gets rid of any sugar problems from the alfalfa so don't worry, it won't hurt him.  I feed ponies too and understand your challenges with them.  I had one pony I lost just a couple of years ago that was 36.  Didn't have much in the line of teeth left so he got pretty much all his real food from his feed bucket at meals.  He didn't eat hay well, nor grass.  I am feeding a 23 yr. old pony now as well as a 22 yr. old horse.  The pony has some dental issues so doesn't do well with hay either.  I find quids all over from him.  

Feeding older animals requires some special considerations for them, just like people.  One other thing I would suggest you add to his feed is a good, all around supplement.  I use Source but there are other good ones too.  I also give all my old guys a joint supplement to help with arthritic issues.  

Yeah, my horses are spoiled rotten but they are all healthy and happy and look wonderful.  My 22 yr. old did several long distance trail riding competitions this past year.  A one-day 40 mi. CTR and a 50 mi. endurance race.  He's a real challenge because he also develops ulcers when he starts doing anything besides being a pasture ornament so I have him on aloe vera juice and papaya puree for his stomach.  

See if you can find the Pennfield "Fibergized" feed.  It's really great for the old guys.  It's sold as a feed for performance horses so it has a lot of extra stuff in it that really helps the older horses.  It's 10% fat, 12% protein and a low carbohydrate feed.  You don't have to worry about how much you have to feed him if it's the right kind of feed.  

See if modifying his diet doesn't stop the manure eating.  If he's just started doing it recently there has to be a reason for it.  Most likely he's looking for something he's missing.  Try and see to it that his diet meets his needs and he should stop.  If you don't see improvement let me know.

Lyn