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Discussion on Constant eater
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Member:
Letizia
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Posted on Tuesday, Dec 7, 2004 - 4:56 am:
I don't think I can ignore the fact any longer that my 6-year old Missouri Fox Trotter mare may be deficient in some nutrient. She tries to eat constantly. She vacuums every last bit of food, her head is always down looking for that last remaining scrap. She is always the first one done with her meals. When I put her out in the sand arena with other horses, she is the only one who doesn't kick up her heels unless I encourage her along. She has her nose in the sand looking for anything edible. She rarely socializes with the other horses and prefers to be away from the action and be left alone in her neverending search for food.
She is on half alfalfa and half grass hay. I had to remove her salt blocks from her stall because she would go through a 50 pound block in a few months. I had to clad her stall with sheet metal because she was eating through the siding. She even ate the corner trim after it was painted and coated with a product that deters horses from eating wood. It didn't even slow her down. She has been known to eat manure, but I haven't seen her do this lately.
I have been given her a vitamin and mineral supplement daily until just last week, because I determined that they were too high in Vitamin A and D (based on your recommendations). She also gets 1/2 cup of ground flaxseed, 2-cups of oat hay pellets, Source (seaweed), and biotin mixed in All-in-One mostly as a daily treat. She gets carrots and apples when I see her. I have never grained her because I am a timid rider and didn't want her to be extra energized. Also because I didn't think you had to grain horses. She looks very healthy. But she definitely doesn't get enough exercise. I ride her a few hours a week, but make sure she at least gets turned out about 3 times a week. However, as I mentioned before, she dosen't move much on her own initiative.
She has always been a sluggish horse which was fine with me, but I'm wondering now if there is something amiss. It's like she doesn't have an off button. I know horses are meant to graze all day, but her behavior is noticeably different from all the other horses at the barn. I talked to the people who bred her and they said her mother was the same way.
Should I have bloodwork done on her to see if something is missing? What should I do?
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Member:
Shirl
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Posted on Tuesday, Dec 7, 2004 - 12:37 pm:
Letizia, I'd go for the blood work. She may be insulin resistant. My horse was and always wanted to eat anything and everything. Worth a check.
Something must be amiss. Best of luck, Shirl
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Tuesday, Dec 7, 2004 - 7:26 pm:
Hello Letizia,
I disagree with Susan above: the key to your post is that the horse is healthy, though constantly hungery. Though more hungery than the others, this is not that uncommon a behavior for horses and I don’t think you will find any benefit from blood work. Insulin resistance in horses is often not so much a disease as it is the metabolic state of a easy keeper. In short, even if insulin resistant, there is nothing to treat you just manage it.
Best would be to find a low calorie forage: a very stemmy but clean hay and allow her to munch to her heart's content.
DrO
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Member:
Alden
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Posted on Wednesday, Dec 8, 2004 - 11:56 am:
Hello Letizia,
I would suggest replacing the oat hay pellets with a hay, either oat hay or a low grade grass. You didn't say how much hay she gets but I'd make sure she is at 2.5-3% of her body weight. If she starts to get too fat at that level I wouldn't decrease it rather I'd find a lower quality hay. With your mare wanting salt so badly I wouldn't deprive her of it, I'd use a mineral block rather than straight salt. She may find what she is looking for in a mineral block.
Another thought; how long have you owned this mare? I have a mare (MFT to) that didn't get enough to eat before I got her five years ago, she was very worried about food for some time and hasn't entirely gotten over it yet. Of course she was in foal then too.
DrO, I'm be mistaken to say a horse will regulate their own salt intake if it is always available? Before my horses were on mixed grass pasture they used the mineral blocks regularly, but now they hardly ever touch them. I figured they know best and hadn't worried about it.
Good day,
Alden
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Member:
Letizia
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Posted on Wednesday, Dec 8, 2004 - 4:10 pm:
I want to thank everyone for their ideas on this.
I have a few more questions about this matter. But first the answer some of Alden's questions. I have had her since she was 2 1/2. For several years she was on all alfalfa and she was huge. Two vets told me she was overweight. She is my first and only horse and I knew next to nothing about horses when I got her. So I finally figured out that all alfalfa was not a good choice and started feeding her half grass hay. She DrOpped all the excess weight and looks great now. She weighs just over 1000 lbs (15.2 hands)and she gets about 10 lbs of alfalfa and probably 8-10 lbs of grass hay (I don't give her oat hay because where I board doesn't allow it due to mice issues). Also, I am not the who feeds her, so I can't guarantee exactly how much she actually gets. As for salt, I have read that there is the rare horse who will overeat salt. I truly believe she is one of them since the 50-lb blocks disappear in record time. Her dentist told me her tongue was very rough/tough probably due to how much salt she eats. Right now I just give her 2 oz of salt(no iodine)whenever I see her.
Now as to low quality forage. There is not a huge selection of grass hays to choose from and I was told that all grass hays are bout the same (8-9% protein) but no one can give me any information on how many calories are in the hay. I know Timothy is supposed to be one of the lowest in proteins, but at $18/bale, and the way my mare eats, it could get pretty costly. However, if this is my only option, I would buy it. DrO, do you mean that I could just put a bale of hay in her stall and let her have at it? Will she get sick if she overeats? I can try it over a weekend when I can observe her most of the time. What red flags should I be looking for if I free feed her?
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Member:
Quatro
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Posted on Wednesday, Dec 8, 2004 - 10:00 pm:
Hi Leticia, Levi is a food hog as well. My other horses will eat for a while, then put the butts to the wind and hang out. He just stands over the hay pile and munches till it is gone. He will play and run around though. My concern is that he is such and easy keeper, and now I am dealing with this club foot coffin bone rotation thing. I have been advised to keep his weight down, so I was wondering about the grazing muzzles? Anyone have any experience with those, and do they work or just annoy the horses. He will eat as long as there is food, does a little wood chewing, we finally put steel channel on the top rail of his stall. Just wondering if the grazing muzzle would limit the satisfaction the horse gets in eating constantly and maybe redirect them into horse hanging out activities?
suz
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Member:
Quatro
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Posted on Wednesday, Dec 8, 2004 - 10:06 pm:
Hi Leticia, Levi is a food hog as well. My other horses will eat for a while, then put the butts to the wind and hang out. He just stands over the hay pile and munches till it is gone. He will play and run around though. My concern is that he is such and easy keeper, and now I am dealing with this club foot coffin bone rotation thing. I have been advised to keep his weight down, so I was wondering about the grazing muzzles? Anyone have any experience with those, and do they work or just annoy the horses. He will eat as long as there is food, does a little wood chewing, we finally put steel channel on the top rail of his stall. Just wondering if the grazing muzzle would limit the satisfaction the horse gets in eating constantly and maybe redirect them into horse hanging out activities?
suz
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, Dec 8, 2004 - 10:41 pm:
It is not true that grass hays are all pretty much the same. They vary greatly in both protein (from around 4 up to 12%) and just as variable is the amount of calories (.5 to 1 Mcal per lb). Don’t worry so much about the type of hay as its maturity level: the more mature the fewer the calories, for more on this see the Overview of Forages. Just as the odd horse might over consume salt I can’t say your horse might not impact herself. I would make the additions slowly and be sure water is always available.
Alden, the vast majority of horses do a good job of self regulating the intake of salt. Occasionally you do run across a “salt-aholic” horse. These horses will consume salt to the point of salt toxicity where the kidneys wash out and can no longer concentrate urine.
DrO
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