My horse is eating mud. There is a perpetually swampy spot near a pond between her pasture and the barn that we have no choice but to walk past. Every time we walk past, she puts her head down and goes at it. It’s like dirt candy to her. Shes obsessed with it. She’s like a truffle hunting pig. She lives out 24/7 on a great pasture with lots of grass so is getting plenty of forage, gets 0.75 lbs of ration balancer (Enrich 32) and a half scoop of Timothy pellets, twice a day (so 1.5 lbs RB total). She has a salt block in her run in. So my question is… WHY?? I don’t feel that she should be lacking in nutrients. Everyone comments that she has the best looking coat in the barn. Great feet, goes barefoot. She just had her spring shots and check up and the vet said her overall condition looked “absolutely fantastic” and said “whatever you’re doing, keep doing it. She looks great.” This is smelly, sticky, decaying vegetation mud. She finds a spot and intently and vigorously sniffs it, rubs her nose in it, licks, and then bites it. Then I pull her away so I don’t know how much she would eat if I let her.
Hahahah sounds like my boy!! Anything that’s smelly or nasty he wants it. I give him sandclear and a few supplements so the sand runs through him, but I can’t really stop him from eating mud or his poop. He’s perfectly healthy, so I just don’t let it bother me:)
You can google “Geophagia” in horses, and read a bunch of articles about the causes.
The theory is that Geophagia can be a symptom of a deficiency of “something”.
You can ask your Vet if you should try your horse on supplements like “Red Cell”, or a probiotic, or a specifically balanced electrolyte. The vet should know if horses in your area are prone to any kinds of deficiency (if there is anything common to your locality)…
The horse might not have a deficiency, and just like the flavor of that particular dirt.
my mare does this on trails where there are boggy spots, ideally when there are oaks nearby. Something about the oak leaves decaying into the mud? It doesn’t matter what vitamin/mineral supplement she is on.
I would have a CBC done to find out what deficiency she has.
There are particular muddy spots on my trails that both my boys want to eat. There must be something in the dirt there that attracts them. I even tasted it to see if it was salty but it wasn’t:lol:. So I doubt there is likely anything wrong with your horse; there is just something yummy (to horses) in the mud.
If she’s shiny and healthy I wouldn’t worry about. Mine eat mud and manure also & love eating the bark of the pine trees. When out riding the one will eat stinging nettle.
I wouldn’t assume there is anything deficient in your horse if they are otherwise eating a complete diet. I had a spot in my pasture that the horses would lick as well. And there is a spot in my yard that my dogs like to taste on occasion.
If it was a constant desire to eat random things - I would follow up on that. But an occasional taste of mud or dirt? Nah.
My horse has ALL of his bases covered from a nutritional standpoint, and still enjoys some mud once in a while. Some just do it. It does NOT always indicate a deficiency.
Also note, that while a blood test may be available for nutrient deficiencies, most are just a snapshot in time and don’t always indicate a true deficiency.
If you’ve covered all of your bases from a nutritional standpoint, it’s likely you just own a weirdo, like me.
