defecating out of tension

Question
hello ma'am, in horse racing, when taking a horse for exercise, i found few of them defecating before the rider mounts. does it mean, those horses are tensed and perform badly while exercising it? yesterday, i found a 3 year old chestnut gelding defecting near the starting gates when being walked in circle. when the race started, he finished off the board.

Answer
Rohit,

Horses when nervous and apprehensive will defecate , often more often and often it is diarrhea.

Ridden horses, of course, will also defecate as a matter of course, but this will be solid and not often.

Often horses when being trailered will defecate as soon as they see the trailer.

I imagine if a horse is really nervous, and frequent and loose stools help to determine this, it could mean that they are using up a lot of their nervous energy, and this may deplete them in a race.

You are so very observant about horse for being pretty much of a novice. I congratulate you.

MItzi