Paco eats everything - the bark of trees, dirt, manure, fence posts, hair, and the list goes on and on. If Paco can manipulate it with his lips and tongue, he’s likely to execute a taste test. Is this abnormal? Does this reflect a nutritional imbalance, some vitamin or mineral deprivation? Yes and no. Horses typically do not wander about eyeing up odd things to munch on, but boredom or curiosity does induce some horses and ponies to investigate their surroundings a bit more thoroughly than perhaps necessary. Pica is the term used to describe a depraved or abnormal appetite that results in the ingestion of items not normally eaten, such as those listed above. With the exception of water, salt, and dietary energy, horses are unable to distinguish when body reserves of a certain nutrient are waning, and thus do not have a true appetite for anything else. Therefore, horses do not consume protein, vitamins, or minerals (excluding salt) according to their needs, but rather taste preferences.
It’s not uncommon for young horses, particularly foals, to practice coprophagy, or manure eating. Some horsemen believe it is a normal developmental milestone, and the practice may jumpstart the establishment of the microbial population in the intestinal tract. These bacteria allow the foal to switch from a milk-based diet to a forage-based diet as they are imperative for the proper digestion of fibre. Foals will normally eat only fresh faeces from their dams. The threat of parasite infestation is rare as most endoparasites require an incubation period in the faeces to become infective.
In the adult horse, coprophagy may be caused by a lack of dietary fibre. Horses thrive on diets rich in forages, and such feedstuffs are typically high in dietary fibre. With the advent of “complete feeds,” some horses do not have the opportunity to consume fibrous forages. In an attempt to fulfil dietary fibre needs, horses may practice coprophagy. Maintaining a portion of the diet as long-stem roughage will likely alleviate this problem.
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