English
![Why is My Horse’s Appetite Decreasing or Increasing? [Top Reasons]](/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Low-Appetite-in-Horses.jpg)
Have you noticed changes in your horse’s appetite and eating behavior?
Perhaps your horse has gone off their feed or is no longer interested in eating as much forage as usual. Or maybe your horse’s appetite has increased, and they are going through their hay faster.
Your horse’s appetite can change frequently and for a variety of reasons. While short-term fluctuations are nothing to be alarmed about, longer-lasting changes can impact body condition and overall health.
Equine feeding behavior is complex and affected by many different factors. Your horse’s appetite is affected by temperature changes in the environment, activity level, gut function, reproductive status, feed composition, dental health, psychological well-being and more.
It’s important to know what is normal for your horse’s appetite and eating behavior so you can monitor for changes. Sometimes changes in appetite can signal a problem with your horse’s physical or mental state.
Feed Intake in Horses
Your horse’s appetite is primarily dictated by their energy requirements and their metabolic rate. [1]
When given free-choice access to feed, horses will spend 60% or more of their time on feeding behaviours. [1] Their time spent feeding will increase or decrease to maintain calorie intake.
Typically, horses consume between 1.5 to 3% of their body weight per day in feed and forage. This means that a 500 kg (1100 lb) horse will consume approximately 7.5 – 15 kg (16.5 – 33 lb) of dry matter per day.
If your horse is growing, gestating, lactating or exercising, their appetite will increase to supply the additional energy, protein and other nutrients required by physiological demands.
In healthy horses, how much forage they consume can also be influenced by forage quality. In general, mature forages with higher neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and lower crude protein are associated with lower intake. However, this is not always the case as some horses adapt to lower quality forage by increasing their intake. [24]
Therefore, it is critical to identify whether forage changes are the main cause of changes in appetite as these are typically only transient changes. Submitting a hay sample for analysis will help you determine if the hay has changed significantly and could explain altered intake.
Appetite Regulation
Appetite is controlled by hormones that are responsible for maintaining homeostasis within the body. Homeostasis refers to a steady state of internal, physical, and chemical conditions. [1][2]
In particular, the sensation of hunger is influenced by the hunger hormone ghrelin, which is produced by the ghrelinergic cells of the stomach. [3][4]
This hormone drives feeding behaviors, such as foraging and lowering the head to smell, taste, chew, and swallow food. Ghrelin is also involved in food selection. [1][5]
But many other factors can affect how much your horse is eating. Horses that are sore or unwell often lose their appetite as one of the first signs of an underlying problem, which is why it’s so important to keep a close eye on your horse’s eating habits.
Signs of Abnormal Appetite
Wild horses constantly seek out food to survive. Horses evolved to forage for 16-20 hours a day, consuming a variety of low-calorie roughage as they grazed large grasslands.
Under normal circumstances, horses will eat whatever feed is available and take any opportunity to consume extra calories. If a horse is not consuming the feed provided, there’s often a reason why.
Signs of an abnormal appetite and potential health issues may include:
- Weight loss due to inadequate feed intake when feed is accessible
- Increased appetite and excess weight gain if insulin resistance is present
Diagnosing a Change in Appetite
Whether your horse has stopped eating, reduced its feed intake, or increased feed intake, a veterinarian should be consulted to rule out any potential health problems.
To diagnose a problem with your horse’s appetite, your veterinarian will investigate for any medical conditions such as illness, pain, dental problems or metabolic irregularities.
Other important factors to assess include your horse’s exercise routine, living environment, feeding situation and the types of feed provided.
Why Has My Horse’s Appetite Decreased?
Have you noticed that your horse is dropping body condition or has lost interest in their feed?
A lack of appetite can signal gut health issues, dental disease, stress or problems with the forage or feed provided.
Sometimes, these changes are temporary and resolve on their own. Other times, veterinary intervention is required to address underlying health problems.
Gastric Ulcers
Inappetance may be a sign of Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS). Gastric or stomach ulcers are common in horses, occurring in 60-90% of performance and pleasure horses.
Horses can develop gastric ulcers for a number of reasons, including dietary factors, exposure to stress, high-intensity exercise, environment, medication and more. [10]
Horses that have ulcers may show a wide range of signs including loss of appetite or anorexia (feed refusal). Other signs of ulcers include pickiness when eating, teeth grinding, weight loss, nervous disposition, dull coat, poor condition, recurring colic, poor performance, and aggressiveness. [10]
Hindgut Dysfunction
Ulcers can occur along the entire digestive tract, including in the hindgut. Ulcers that form in the hindgut are referred to as Right Dorsal Colitis (RDC) or colonic ulcers.
Hindgut ulcers are primarily associated with improper use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, but can also be caused by excessive acidity in the hindgut.
The hindgut can also be affected by a condition known as dysbiosis, which refers to a general imbalance of the microbiome of the gut.
Horses with hindgut dysfunction often go off their feed and may experience weight loss if they are not able to properly digest their feed.
Oral Ulcers
Some unprocessed feeds contain rough components (ie. hulls or seed heads) that can irritate your horse’s mouth and reduce feed intake. Hay may also be overly coarse or contain weeds with thorns or bristles that cause lesions in the mouth. [11]
These abrasive ingredients can contribute to inappetence by causing inflammation of the mouth and lips, ulcerative lesions in the mouth, drooling, and an overgrowth of gum tissue around the teeth (gingival hyperemia).
Have your veterinarian look inside your horse’s mouth to check for damage to oral tissues and consider using a different type of feed to prevent the problem.
Dental Disease
Various dental issues can cause pain and lead to reduced appetite and reluctance to eat feed.