CONSULTANTS

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BEHAVIOR

Why horses eat soil

Q: My 9-year-old gelding constantly licks one spot in his paddock. As far as I can tell, there’s nothing unusual about this spot---it has the same clay-like soil we have everywhere in this area. My horse is otherwise healthy and well-behaved.

I’ve had people tell me that my horse is seeking some particular nutrient that his diet is missing, but he’s on a well-regarded commercial feed and gets lots of grazing time in spring and summer, and hay in winter. He also has access to a salt block.

Other people have told me that soil eating is a stereotypy like cribbing, but he doesn’t seem stressed out to me and he doesn’t have any other undesirable habits. The dirt patch is in the middle of the field, so it would be hard to fence off. I suppose I could get a giant boulder to put over it to deter him. Is that necessary or is there something else that I should do?

Cindy Dietrich

Ames, Iowa

A: Your horse is most likely licking/eating the soil (also known as geophagia) due to boredom. He doesn’t need to be stressed or unhappy to develop this habit. This type of behavior is similar to nail-biting in people---they aren’t necessarily unhappy or stressed but simply develop this habit over time.