Pica: your experience, input?/FINAL UPDATE (1st post)
Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2018 4:51 pm
In the last few weeks I've witnessed my coming 27 y.o. gelding eating dirt in the pasture. Recently, I caught him with a chunk of decayed wood hanging like a cigar from his mouth (from one the dying trees in the pasture). And this weekend, he managed to slice open a chunk of the inside of his mouth near the lip line, which I presume was due to his penchant for rock-crushing or his "I'm a lumberjack.." attitude. He does not crib, never has.
Apparently, pica isn't always due to nutritional deficiencies. Since my retiree is alone (since Feb 2014) I'm not ruling out a behavioral, or boredom origin to this. In a couple weeks, vet will be out to give vaccinations and to take a blood sample to check whatever it is that might provide clues to the problem.
My oldster's weight is really good (finally), his coat shiny, all shed out for the summer, UTD on dental work, appetite/thirst healthy, receives daily pasture turnout, and despite "old horse teeth" he manages to consume the fluff hay he gets back in the barn. Acquiring a buddy once again is not an option, so I'm almost hoping there is a fixable nutritional answer to his pica.
Anyone experience this in your horse? Did you remedy the problem with diet, change of feed, supplements, etc? I'd like to hear about some personal experiences, if any.
FINAL UPDATE: The "Equine Geriatric Profile Lg. Animal Panel, T4, CBC Std." results were all within normal limits. There was even a "new kidney test" called SDMA, which is apparently used to assess some level of kidney function--also normal.
And now: remainder of my oldster's bloodwork (mineral, vitamins) was normal. Everything looked good. I guess I should be thankful that from that standpoint my horse is healthy. Vet suggested I could go ahead and make a mineral block available to him, free-choice, as an alternative to 'putting his mouth on something else'. I asked about eating too many minerals and vet said that the salt in those blocks is a limiting factor, I guess meaning unlikely that my horse could ingest too many minerals from the block. So, off to the feed store today, and the hay man this week to hopefully get more fluffy hay. These old guys
Apparently, pica isn't always due to nutritional deficiencies. Since my retiree is alone (since Feb 2014) I'm not ruling out a behavioral, or boredom origin to this. In a couple weeks, vet will be out to give vaccinations and to take a blood sample to check whatever it is that might provide clues to the problem.
My oldster's weight is really good (finally), his coat shiny, all shed out for the summer, UTD on dental work, appetite/thirst healthy, receives daily pasture turnout, and despite "old horse teeth" he manages to consume the fluff hay he gets back in the barn. Acquiring a buddy once again is not an option, so I'm almost hoping there is a fixable nutritional answer to his pica.
Anyone experience this in your horse? Did you remedy the problem with diet, change of feed, supplements, etc? I'd like to hear about some personal experiences, if any.
FINAL UPDATE: The "Equine Geriatric Profile Lg. Animal Panel, T4, CBC Std." results were all within normal limits. There was even a "new kidney test" called SDMA, which is apparently used to assess some level of kidney function--also normal.
And now: remainder of my oldster's bloodwork (mineral, vitamins) was normal. Everything looked good. I guess I should be thankful that from that standpoint my horse is healthy. Vet suggested I could go ahead and make a mineral block available to him, free-choice, as an alternative to 'putting his mouth on something else'. I asked about eating too many minerals and vet said that the salt in those blocks is a limiting factor, I guess meaning unlikely that my horse could ingest too many minerals from the block. So, off to the feed store today, and the hay man this week to hopefully get more fluffy hay. These old guys