HOW well do you know your horse’s poo? Do you know how often they produce droppings each day and what they look like? A horse’s poo can tell you a lot about their health and well-being and act as a red flag when something isn’t right.
Signs of dehydration, infection, and impaction colic can all be detected through droppings so it’s important to be attentive and know what is normal – or abnormal – for your horse so you can recognise when something is wrong.
If your horse experiences a change in routine, a degree of variation in droppings is to be expected, but if there is no reason for the change or the change is prolonged then you should seek veterinary advice.
“Make any dietary or regime changes gradually – sudden changes can result in alterations in horses’ droppings. Owners are well drilled in making any changes to hard feed gradually but may not realise this rule applies to forage too,” says Sarah Nelson, product manager at Spillers.
The transition from living out to living in may provoke a change in droppings.
“In the wild, healthy digestion is associated with walking, so stabling – when a horse is walking less and often standing in front of a haynet for hours – is a challenge to the horse’s digestive system. Adding a gut supplement to their diet can help,” says Kate Hore, senior nutritionist at NAF.
You may also see a change in your horse’s droppings if they are on antibiotics or medication, or when you take them to a competition or new location.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 07, 2023-Ausgabe von Horse & Hound.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 07, 2023-Ausgabe von Horse & Hound.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Jappeloup
A small horse who looked like two halves put together’, Jappeloup nonetheless proved to have a big heart and a huge talent”.
Collett takes two
A bumper fixture hosts 12 intermediate and open intermediate sections, as Paris contenders blow away the cobwebs
Capitalise on buyers' remorse
Equestrian properties might be in short supply, but prices are back to normal after the Covid frenzy as the capital lures buyers again
Games making
Equestrianism will be in the thick of the action in Paris, but the logistics of hosting Olympics in the heart of an iconic city are a challenge. Kate Johnson asks organisers, riders and grooms for their memories of urban Olympic sites
On the bench
Being picked as the \"fourth man\" to support a three-man Olympic team, ready to step in at any moment in the competition, requires a resilient and unflinchingly sportsmanlike mindset.
A brush with the Games
Want to know what really goes into preparing an Olympic campaign? Bethany Stone speaks to top industry grooms with star-studded CVs for the scoop
One moment in time
The Olympics is the zenith of an athlete's career but precious few scale those giddy heights. Sue Polley asks four British Olympians about their most memorable experiences
'Pride? I just felt relief
Blyth Tait on jumping barn roofs, \"freezing\" in the Atlanta heat and the day his eight-year-old prodigy won Olympic gold
Mental health advocate
Harry Dunlop retired from training in 2022, having held his licence for 16 years. He founded the Trainer Support Network in 2023
Hugo Simon
The six-time Olympian tells Bernard Bale about his \"extraterrestrial\" string of horses, changing nationality and his success at the boycotted Games