More on Cecklist for Horses

Back from the barn folks. Now for more information on my daily check for horses. Believe it or not, we check the manure the horses leave in their stalls. Yes folks Skimbleshanks the Farm Cat is a “poop-oligist”. Manure can be your first clue for a sick horse. For my daily check I look at the manure from the horse to make sure it has a form and is soft and moist. Not loose. Not dry and firm. Both of these can be a sign something is wrong.

Dry, firm, separate manure balls might be a sign a horse is not drinking enough water. If the weather is cold that could be the case. Not drinking enough water can cause the horse to “colic” and can be very dangerous for horses. To keep this from happening in cold weather add a tablespoon of salt (even table salt) to the horses evening ration. It will help with this problem. Usually, at night the weather is cooler or even cold. Salt added to the evening ration can encourage the horse to drink more at night.

If the manure is very loose with little or no form to the manure balls the feed has passed too quickly through the horse. This could be an indication of bacterial irritation in the horse’s gut. Sometimes loose manure can happen if a horse is anxious or excited, or mares in heat may produce loose manure. It is up to the horse’s keeper to keep a watch to find out why loose manure is being produced.

Got to get back to the barn for now.

Skimbleshanks