I have a TWH mare, around 20+, that makes a sucking sound when she is eating. I have never heard anything like it before. She is a rescue. She was underweight when we brought her home, but has gained since, and looks good overall now. She does not have any problems breathing that I have seen, not even when she runs around a lot. She comes into a stall morning and night for feed. The noise does not start right away, but when she gets close to the end of her feed. My perception is that the sucking is related to food anxiety. She tends to eat pretty quickly, which is not uncommon with horses that have been neglected. She is not aggressive or defensive about food. If I go into the stall with her, stand next to her and talk to her, she slows down, and the sucking sound slows down. Anyone have any experience with anything like this?
I am looking after a horse that does a sucking thing after a good treat or sometimes just out of nowhere. It seems like a self-soothing thing. Like she’s trying to nurse or suck all the peppermint off her teeth. I haven’t seen in while actually eating. I wouldn’t worry about it in your case.
We have one at work that does the same. It’s most noticeable after a treat, but he’ll do it after meals as well.
There’s a 25yr mare at my barn that does this when eating her Senior feed. She hardly has any teeth left, so that’s why I assumed she made this sound…
That is interesting. My girl gets Senior feed, but she has pretty good teeth. It may be something she learned to do when her teeth had not been taken care of.
