I know I've seen this on here before, but I can't find it now. My horse just recently started eating poop. I was gonna get her pro Bios, but it says it stimulates appetite. I don't need her to eat more, she eats enough as it is. Is there anything out there I can give her that won't make her more hungry? Thanks for your help.

 Hmmm ... I hadn't heard about this in horses.

For dogs, there is a pill you can give them that makes poop "taste bad" . There is probably something similar for horses.

Any guess as to why she started doing this? 

Sometimes, horses eat their manure because it contains undigested grain. This can happen if the horse has teeth issues or is eating too quickly. I think the first thing that you should do is have her teeth checked. Also, does she bolt her grain? If so, try putting a few large rocks in her feeder in order to slow her down. It will also help if you give her hay at least thirty minutes before her grain. That way, by the time she gets her grain, she won't be so ravenous, so she should slow down a bit.

I've also heard of horses who are deficient in minerals eating their manure, so you might want to try some minerals, like Source or something along those lines.

Good luck. :-)

Frizzle:

I've also heard of horses who are deficient in minerals eating their manure, so you might want to try some minerals...

 Thanks guys. It is very gross, but I guess I have to deal with it. LOL

FloridaHorseman:

Frizzle:

I've also heard of horses who are deficient in minerals eating their manure, so you might want to try some minerals...

  In fact, old timers made a mash from healthy horse manure and fed it to ailing horses to freshen gut microbes. A poor man's probiotic treatment. ~FH

Oh yum, poop soup! 

Eeeeeeewww!

Didn't those kooky old-timers ever think of just cracking open a container of Yoplait? I think most horses would appreciate a yogurt over a manure-mash any day.

I would contribute it to boredom only if the horse is stalled a lot.  I say this because this is something that the horse didn't do normally.  You could try a mineral block or probiotics.  I agree that it's pbbably a mineral definciency or the horse is trying to replenish the bacteria in the gut needed for digestion health. 

 She has a mineral block. I don't want to give her porbotics because it stimulates her appetite, she is "meaty" as it is. 

I know it's gross, but pretty common actually.  Babies do it a lot.  You said she just started this recently, so what has changed?  Everything mentioned here are the most common known causes, also the need for forage and grazing can cause this - does she get grazing or plenty of forage?  Stress can cause this, has something changed that could be stressing her?  And something we don't always think about but boredom is actually a stress factor and can trigger stress responses, too.  Is she kept by herself?  Because that can cause all kinds of undesirable behavior.

All a probiotic does is help with digestion,  I suppose it would stimulate the appetite of a horse whose off their feed because of an upset tummy.

Nothing really has changed in the past month, except her back problem. She does get plenty of forage, she has the biggest hay belly I have ever seen, LOL. She is in a pen with two other horses. She could be bored. I haven't been able to ride her for a couple of weeks because her back. I do lunge her to try to keep her busy. That's all I can think of. 

Kat does that.  I thought hers was a mineral/supplement thing but she has been on supplements and a salt block since I got her and she still does it.  Kat gets plenty of hay and has toys and buddies so I think hers is just a bad habit she picked up from the BLM holding pens or maybe even before that.  I will be interested to see if anyone else has ideas as to what it comes from though.

Well it doesn't really sound like boredom then, in your case anyway Dukey if she's in with other horses.  We all know that a horse would lots rather hang out with their buddies than do anything else.  I would guess then it probably is some kind of mineral she's lacking, could be lots of other things besides salt.  I would check with your vet, tell him what you're feeding, maybe take in a bag label, and see what he says. 

Amber I agree with you I bet it is just a copycat bad habit - you know what copycats they are and of course they pick the worst habits to copy and learn!