bolting feed - trouble

Question
hello ma'am, why "bolting feed" is said to be a stable vice? what happens if horses bolt at feed? do they have any digestive problems

Answer
Hi Rohit,

Thank you for your question.  A horse who 'bolts' his food is one that eats too quickly.  The concern over bolting feed is 2-fold.  Firstly, horses run the risk of choking if they eat too quickly, as the food can become lodged in the horse's esophagus.  Because the esophagus of the horse is uni-directional (food can only move down, never up) the blocked food is not easily dislodged and often requires veterinary attention to be removed.  Secondly, bolted food is often not chewed sufficiently.  The failure to minimize particle size can interfere with digestion of the food, as it will then take longer for digestive enzymes to penetrate the food and begin the digestive process.  Further to this, the lack of chewing means that less saliva is produced and saliva is an important part of the digestive process.

Thanks, Corlena