My horse eats mud

[xitmom]

After a nice ride yesterday I took my guy out on the grass to graze and dry out from his sponge bath. I noticed that he kept seeking out clumps of mud and eating them. I had never noticed this before although I do not watch him that closely during his turnout (he's out on grass for about 6 hrs per day). I was pretty surprised at his mud eating and am worried that it might cause him to colic. I also wonder if maybe he is trying to make up for some mineral deficiency. Any thoughts?

[KnKShowmom]

We have a horse that will go out and lick the ground for 15 -20 mins at a time - we put him on SuperSal (John Ewing Company) and he stopped. It also slowed his termite tendencies so he is much nicer to have around.

So, yes, it can indicate a mineral issue.

[deltawave]

My horse only does this if she's bored or confined to a stall, usually at shows. She's used to 24/7 turnout and although she is OK being in a stall, she will occasionally lick and bite the dirt in her stall if she can. Does it for a few minutes, then stops, and usually doesn't do it again the whole weekend at the show. At home I've never seen her do it, although she does have a fetish about licking the ground by the auto waterer after I clean it--she likes the taste of bleach. :dead:

I'm sure it can indicate a mineral deficiency or stomach upset in some horses, but since mine only does it once in a blue moon and for a few moments here and there, I will take Ockham's razor and call it an occasional weird mannerism rather than some scary indicator of pathology. :)

[xitmom]

I'm guessing that it is some mineral that he wants but is not getting. The next question is how does one find out *which* mineral? Or maybe it's salt? Anyone how how to determine this?

[deltawave]

Rather than resort to a lot of expensive testing, needless worrying and fretting over something that may or may not even indicate a problem, I'd suggest buying a nice mineral supplement that includes all the typical trace minerals and offer that free-choice, or mix it with the feed for a few weeks and see what happens.

You could also look up what minerals are generally deficient in your area's soils, but that's going to be extremely general and IMO you're still better off just letting the horse have some extra minerals to choose from. :)

[KnKShowmom]

I'm guessing that it is some mineral that he wants but is not getting. The next question is how does one find out *which* mineral? Or maybe it's salt? Anyone how how to determine this?

My vet is the one who recommended the SuperSal