Poop Eater

Question
Hi,

I have an 11yr old OTTB gelding who eats poop. He has done it for the 3 years I've owned him. He seems to do it more in the winter than the summer but that doesn't stop him in the summer. Just last week when my bale was just scraps left he took a whole day to go around and eat manure before he ate the stem-y hay. He is on a ration balancer and flax seed from Brooks. He is regularly dewormed, shots, you name it, he gets it. Someone told me once it might be a habit he picked up when he was young and never stopped. Should I be trying something with him? Or just let him eat poop?

Thanks

Answer
Hi Aly,

Thanks for your question.  It is normal for young horses (about a week old) to eat manure and it is in fact an essential part of their digestive health.  They consume mare's manure in the early stages of their gut development, in an effort to get the sloughed-off bacteria from the poop into their hindgut which helps establish a healthy cecal microflora of their own.  They have to do this early in life, before the acidity in their stomachs becomes too low and destroys the healthy bacteria.  

Adult horses will sometimes pick up the habit again later in life, and it is often thought that it is a sign that they have a digestive upset they are trying to fix themselves. Unfortunately, its one of those activities that starts out of necessity that can turn to habit even after the original stimulus has passed.  They may start coprophagy (poop eating)when they experience a diet that lacks sufficient forage or because they have an imbalance of good bacteria in the cecum.  Having purchased him with the habit you may never know what the original stimulus was and now that it has become a habit, you may not be able to get him to stop.  

I would suggest that you try feeding him a quality prebiotic (try Lifeforce Formula from Alltech or SmartDigest from SmartPak Equine) to improve the health of his hindgut and ensure that he has lots of grass or hay to eat all the time.  I don't know that either of these suggestions will stop him from eating poop, but they will address the stimulus that may be driving the habit and at the very least make sure his gut is healthy despite his habit. If he keeps up the habit, you are going to need to stay on top of his deworming program and exercise some good pasture management practices to keep him healthy in his habit.

I hope that helps.

Thanks, Corlena