# Do Your Horses Have Weird Bathroom Habits?



## RedDunPaint (Aug 23, 2015)

Okay, to some people talking about horse bathroom habits could get a little uncomfortable. But, to me, it's really no big deal. I probably shouldn't generalize, but I'm going to :wink: I think, in general, animal people- especially horse people- aren't as affected about "gross" stuff as other people. For example, when my dog, Bella, had an abscess in her anal gland, I had to clean it out daily, soak it, etc. It didn't bother me at all. I have to clean Tessa's rump when she's in heat or, clean her udder if she has gunk and bug bites on it. I think horse people just have to get over themselves and deal with some "gross" stuff, haha. Like mucking out stalls, cleaning horse rumps, and all that jazz. This post is getting a little off track, so I'll go back to what I originally wanted to post about.

So, I was curious about your horses' quirky bathroom habits. My Tessa has A LOT. For example, she (and what seems like every other horse at my stable does when I muck out their stalls) will come and poop in the lean-to/stall she has in her paddock right after I'm done mucking it out. I know that has something to do along the lines of "marking" their stall or making it feel right at home to them:icon_rolleyes: But every time I think I'm finally finished mucking out the shavings, she'll waltz in, give me this look, and lift her tail. I've actually just held the pitchfork underneath her so I don't have to sift the manure out from the shavings. The other notorious one who does this at my stable is the only pony we have: Fernando. (Oh, I think others may know this already, but I work at my stable, so I muck out stalls, feed, turn-out/bring horses in, etc. so that's how I know about this :wink 


So I think many people may have experienced what I mentioned above, so I will share what sets Tess apart (well, one of the many things:tongue
Her more peculiar habits are as follows:

Whenever I tie her so I can brush and tack her up, she almost always poops right after the knot is tied. Then, she'll poop again when I lift up her left hind leg to pick out her hoof. I've had some _really_ close calls for being pooped on. Now, I pick up her left hind and then put it right back down and head for the pitch fork and manure bucket. Sure enough, by the time I turn back around there's a nice pile waiting there for me. It's like a direct response to lifting the hind leg and manure coming out. It honestly reminds me of The Buddies movies I used to watch when I was little. I think it was Budderball (?) that would always fart when you pulled his paw.

She's recently developed another habit. During the transition between lunging and riding (I always lunge her first to get her little bucks and spunkiness out before I get on, haha) she'll slow waaay down after I put the lunge line away and lead her to the mounting block. Each step, her hind legs spread wider.....and wider....and wider...until she's pretty much crawling and, finally, as we pass the same fence post, she'll pee. It always makes me and my trainer, when she happens to walk by, laugh. 

*sigh* Tess gives me so many laughs, I love my mare so much. I know this was kind of a different thread, but I'd be interested in hearing if any of your horses have similar quirks as far as bathroom breaks. Hope these responses (and my original post) will bring a smile to your face.


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## Kay Armstrong (Jun 28, 2015)

My yearling filly backs up to her stall walls (all four of them) and puts her hiney right on the wall and lets fly. So....every wall in her stall is covered with poo...so much so that sometimes I have to use a putty knife when I'm cleaning the stall to clean the walls too. UGH. Gross...but don't think there is any way to influence where she poos.


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## Woodhaven (Jan 21, 2014)

In all the years that I have had horses, when I call them to come into the barn, the first thing they do is urinate in their stalls. The mare I have now does not and then after they have been in for a bit, I tack up and go for a ride. The first thing she does when getting back is urinating. I often wonder if she needs to go while out but holds it til' we get back.

I have tried to explain to her that if she would just go when she first comes in this would be better for her but so far she is not listening to me.


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## JADIP (Nov 19, 2013)

Ours will also insist on providing a poo in a fresh cleaned stall. I've seen them make it a point to go in and do it. Our cats do the same in their litter boxes. 

Both my mares have to pee when they hear us grabbing their feed buckets. Currently we have a makeshift stall to separate the girls at feeding time. My mare is the one to be locked up so DD's mare can eat all her rations in peace. If I leave the gate open, my mare will go in to pee, only to turn around and meet me at the gate ... where I have to lead her back into the stall to feed her. I tell her to just stay put and I'll be there in a minute, but she doesn't listen. They're so goofy.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

My gelding loves to poop in a freshly bedded stall. He will pee when he hears me running water. 

And he has pooped on my head. No word of a lie. I hadn't had him that long and was behind him, cleaning his feet, when I smelled the fart (now I know to get out of the way fast), and he let it all out, right in my hair. 

My mare makes a mess on the walls of her stall. Not as bad now, but when we first got her she quickly stained my brand-new walls. It was attracting flies so I had to clean it with a scrub brush and bucket and hose it down. 

Manure really doesn't bother me, but there's this horse where my daughter rides that has the stinkiest manure I've ever smelled! When he lets one go in the barn, we have to go outside for air. He eats the same thing everyone else eats, but for some reason, his poop is vile!


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

My horse peed in a ladies mouth. LOL


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## WhattaTroublemaker (Aug 13, 2013)

Trouble scared away my last farrier when he nervous pooped on him. Yep, runny, green nervous poop all over that guys neck and back. Now, he still poops when he gets his feet trimmed, but it's hard. 

He also pees when I curry him. Only when I curry. I can switch up the order and everything. It usually splashes me :-/ 

I cleaned his sheath last week and a non horsey friend of mine just HAPPENED to drop by right when I was arm deep in sheath. He wouldn't drop so I had to go in and find it. My mother told her I was in the barn and she apparently stood in the barn door listening to me tell him "gimme that you *****." (Pun intended) thankfully she laughed when I explained what I was doing, but for a moment she probably thought I was a sicko!


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

​


natisha said:


> My horse peed in a ladies mouth. LOL


I want details of this!


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

Well, my horses just refuse to use the bathroom!
Sorry, could not resist!
Stallions, have the instinct to form stud piles, as in the wild, so keep fairly clean stalls, pooping in one place. Out west, where you can drive, stud piles can be major speed bumps! It si how stallions mark their territory, versus peeing on stuff, like a male dog
Some geldings retain this instinct.
Mares on the other hand, can be real pigs, far as their stalls !
All horses will tend to poop if nervous, and I'm sure most here can identify with that urge, when frightened, but we don't just give in to nature, if we can help it!
Most horses don;t like to splash themselves, when urinating, and nothing like fresh shavings, to bring on that urge-works as well as hearing water run, when you have a full bladder!
When I am trail riding, can always tell if a horse wishes to pee, esp riding on hard ground, like a packed trail. The horse will start to slow, and try to edge towards softer ground, like grass
Those are all usual habits, but my one mare, used to protest being stalled, I swear, by backing up to her water pail or her feeder, and pooping in it
Since I have those flaps, on my stall fronts, that allow hard feed to be put into the feeder, without going into the stall, there were mornings I would just dump a dipper of beet pulp, or at one time , oats, into that feeder, only to get a ewww, I can't eat that!
I am sure she had a good laugh as I had to go into the stall, scoop out that mix of food and poop, wash that feeder, making sure all poo smell was gone, and then giving her fresh food


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

I don't know about the horses, they are kept in a pen and I clean at random times and they seem to poop randomly. But our two house cats on the other hand, ALWAYS seem to use the litter box right after I've cleaned it. Like they've been holding it just waiting for a clean litter box! :lol:

My mare will walk off-trail to find a place to pee in the pine needles but my gelding just stops and pees wherever he happens to be on the trail. Even in rocky areas or hard packed ground. I guess he doesn't mind being splashed but his momma will go out of her way to find the right spot. But she's a princess! :blueunicorn:


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

waresbear said:


> ​
> I want details of this!


Ok.
I was holding my horse & talking to a lady who was sitting in her car in the barn driveway. It was a really windy day & my horse decided to go pee & the wind blew the pee into the lady's mouth. After she spit & gagged she said it was gritty.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

That is too funny Natisha. Well, it is as long as it happened to someone else.LOL

A friend had a gelding that peed every time he did when we were trail riding.


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## Lazycob (Mar 20, 2016)

My horse poo's in one massive pile near the poo pile, he's pretty clever i think!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Oh my goodness @natisha LOL whattttt in the world haha! That's hilarious. Not for the lady, but in general.

Redz on Saturday, he took a poo as I was cleaning one of his back hooves. I was like THANKS BUDDY! Almost took a poo on my head! LOL glad it missed me!


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## george the mule (Dec 7, 2014)

My guys all poop when they are loaded into the trailer. I've tried leading them up to the ramp and letting them stand for awhile before loading, but nope, not until they are in the trailer, and the butt-bar is in place. They _are_ good about picking up one foot, then the other to allow me to clean it out; if I don't they really make a mess during the ride.

Poop seems like an important resource to my equines, and I allow them some say in it's managenent. My herd is on 24/7 turnout, with a nice barn/stalls to go into if they want. I don't know it it's because of this or not, but they rarely go potty in the barn, and only occasionally in the paddocks. They are all good about using the same general areas in the pasture to poop, probably 90% of the time. This makes it convenient for me to use the tractor to clean it up, oh yay! They also cultivate a community "Poop Pile" which is the preferred place for nappies, particularly in cooler weather; deep, soft, probably a bit warm from fermentation, and it smells right ;-) I'll loosen this one up with the harrow when I drag the pastures, but I don't pick it up.

I have been using a manure spreader, but I have seen no benefits from this activity other than it disperses the waste. Over the winter I am going to build compost bins. This should simplify the manure chores, and I will either give the compost away, or spread it in the pasture.

Steve

Foto: "Nappies in the Poo"


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## carshon (Apr 7, 2015)

My gelding learned to walk off the trail to pee- when he was very green I rode with 2 friends. One of these friends had a mare that only peed off the trail. After a summer of following Katie my gelding Steve also picked up that habit. He was also SUPER clean in his stall. 

My husbands new horse does not pee away from home. This is not a good habit we are trying to break. We were gone over 12 hours on a ride in WI and the mare did not pee the entire time we were gone. She did when we got home but WOWZA! that was a long time to hold it.


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## Werecat (Aug 23, 2015)

My horse can be a total and utter PIG! Morning mucking has been awful since I pinched that nerve in my back again, so I'm extra slow, but I have to go digging in his shavings. He kicks it around EVERYWHERE and as a result it gets buried in the bedding. I am lucky only once in a blue he'll leave me neat little piles that aren't kicked around. He generally doesn't pee a whole lot so cleaning the urine soaked bedding out is generally the quickest and easiest part. I'm also OCD and can't handle leaving tiny flakes of broken fecal balls his stall, so I've mastered the corner of the pick trick to lift those up into the muck bucket. I've also bare handed grabbed stray fecal balls that were missed when mucking the stalls out, to toss outside.

The funniest potty thing he's ever done, was when he was was in the pasture that has the muck pile along one fence line, he'll hop onto the muck pile (BO flattens it whenever he feels like it, though lately it's getting kind of high), stare right at you, poop, then walk a few feet, and then pee on it. It's hilarious and I WISH I could train him to do that all the time, as well as just poop on top of poop in the stall... makes it so much easier. *sigh*. I think he likes to pee on the muck pile because it's mixed with bedding since it's all from the stalls and it doesn't splash on him. He's clever, and generally very clean about himself as far as not getting urine on him or poop caught in his tail, etc. He just is always rolling so he's perpetually dusty.

Like all horses, he'll poop in the trailer but he's really good usually and wont pee in it. However I've not taken a long trip with him since he was delivered, so I can't say how anything over an hour would be, but for local trailering, I'm happy it's not a wreck when we get to where we're going.


To the people that have been pooped on, especially in the hair; I've had nightmares about that!! I so much as catch a glimpse of a tail shifting when I'm picking feet and I pull back just in case lol.


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

My one son't former girl friend, taught me a neat way to get most of that poop out of shavings
You throw that forkful of shavings, with some balls in it, against the stall wall. Poop falls tot he bottom. After all dirty shavings, except the wet areas and definate piles, which are immediately placed in the poop cart, have had that wall toss, easy to pick up that poop, and I leave the shavings like that, allowing any wet spots to dry, putting stall dry on them, until ready to use stall again, and spread those shavings then again
Mares in heat, geldings around, sure to have a urine soaked stall!


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## Prairie (May 13, 2016)

Since our TWH’s have 24/7 pasture with free access to theirstalls, they rarely poop or pee inside and will go out to the rough areas totake care of business. Unfortunately,the 2 minis seem to think that their stalls and feeding area are the only placesto poop and pee. Of course all 4immediately lift their tails as soon as they’re in the trailer.




The worst horse I’ve ever had for weird potty habits was DD show mare whowas a light grey. That mare had a talentfor pooping and then laying on it, managing to get her blanket totally disgustingwith huge spots all over her, including her face. She’s the only horse I’ve ever had that needed a bath every morning at a show.


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

george the mule said:


> My guys all poop when they are loaded into the trailer. I've tried leading them up to the ramp and letting them stand for awhile before loading, but nope, not until they are in the trailer, and the butt-bar is in place. They _are_ good about picking up one foot, then the other to allow me to clean it out; if I don't they really make a mess during the ride.
> 
> Poop seems like an important resource to my equines, and I allow them some say in it's managenent. My herd is on 24/7 turnout, with a nice barn/stalls to go into if they want. I don't know it it's because of this or not, but they rarely go potty in the barn, and only occasionally in the paddocks. They are all good about using the same general areas in the pasture to poop, probably 90% of the time. This makes it convenient for me to use the tractor to clean it up, oh yay! They also cultivate a community "Poop Pile" which is the preferred place for nappies, particularly in cooler weather; deep, soft, probably a bit warm from fermentation, and it smells right ;-) I'll loosen this one up with the harrow when I drag the pastures, but I don't pick it up.
> 
> ...


Want any more free composed manure? Maybe we could start a business, and bag them! I clean my dry lott daily, and take that poop out to a big pile I have in one pasture. It is a becoming poop mountain, with the older stuff being completely broken down. I have had it compacted, with a bob cat, but after 6 years or more, need to find a way to dispose of it!


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

@*Smilie* , not sure if this would work where you live since it sounds like it's farm country, but in our area, the barn I boarded at found someone who wanted the contents of the manure pit to use in their landscaping business, so he came to get it for free. They found him by posting an ad on Craigslist. Since the barn is home to a therapeutic riding program, when he bagged and sold the compost, he promoted the therapeutic riding program. It was a win for the program, as the pile got picked up at no cost (the property was not big enough to leave it there forever, it had to be removed roughly every 6 months or so) and they got free advertising. Unfortunately that nice landscaper passed away earlier this year, and now the barn is paying another farmer $250 to come remove it as otherwise it would become out of control.


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## Jan1975 (Sep 7, 2015)

These are funny stories! My favorite poop story from our barn was when I was having a lesson and we noticed that a wad of poop was stuck on the wall of the indoor arena. Like several balls stuck on the wall. We cracked up thinking about how that happened. (I mean, I know HOW but the fact that it stayed up there instead of falling.) They use the indoor for turnout sometimes and obviously someone did some very precise pooping. 

Our horse is a complete and total pig in all ways. His stall is gross within an hour of being cleaned. He poops every time he's in the cross ties and usually pees after a ride. We've gotten to where we put him either in the wash rack after a ride or in the stall, because cleaning pee off the concrete floor isn't a favorite of anyone's. One of the barn workers says it's because he's a TB but I'm not sure if it's that or he's just a pig!


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## GracielaGata (Jan 14, 2012)

@george the mule- mine love napping on the manure pile! I always figure it's because it's warm from fermenting, and for us, it is also the softest spots and has a thick layer of protection from the rocks and boulders that we have ALL OVER. Get rid of a bunch, new ones crop up... never ending battle.
We have 3 horses, one was a crypto stud until 5 years of age, so I think his stud potty habits helped teach the other 2 to potty in specific locations only. And I have reinforced that by removing any mis-pooped poop to one of the 2 poop piles in their pasture. They only poop properly on the front half-ish of the 2ish acre main sacrificial living pasture... but since that is the only spot they get their hay, it works for us to keep poop out of food. The rest of it gets dragged.

My mare makes me wonder sometimes if she isn't sick as she seems to tie her peeing to me feeding. I hay them 3-4 times per day, I'd say 80% or so of those, she stops to pee before she comes over to dig into the hay. 

Everyone poops upon getting on the trailer. 

Not much else odd for my 3, I don't think.


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## Greymark (Nov 16, 2016)

When we used to stall we have a mare that would only poop near the back wall of her stall. We would make a straw pack in stalls so by the time it was ready to clean out it was a pretty significant height difference from the front &#55357;&#56834;

Another mare I sold to friends of mine took a liking at her new home to hang out on top of the manure pile.


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## cbar (Nov 27, 2015)

Mine don't really have any odd bathroom habits...they poop when nervous and poop on the trailer like most horses. 

My least favorite is when they poop in water buckets. I had Tiger on display at Stampede this year - tourists can come meet the horses and pet them, etc. He crapped in his water bucket. It really sucked having to carry that full water bucket all the way across the venue through hordes of tourists (who aren't horse people) to dump out. It was like poo soup.


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## planta (Aug 23, 2015)

My horses are being locked in paddock for the night. In the morning there is one nice line of poops along two sides of the fence.
One of horses, gelding, prefers open barn to do his business there in pine shavings. When is more than one, he tries to cover it with these shavings! And then I have to dig out for all the balls...

For small single pieces I suggest using dog poop set, with small rake, something like this,https://www.amazon.com/Spotty-Metal...518668&sr=8-5&keywords=poop+scoopers+for+dogs , so I dont have to pick up whole big manure rake.

Strange for me is that one of my mares, the alfa one, always seeing me starts naying (louder if is time to feed with sore of urge in her voice ), and then picks up tail and pees! 8 times on ten. I don't understand that...


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## jgnmoose (May 27, 2015)

It isn't really weird, but my Mare grunts when she poops. I haven't heard many other horses do this. Must be a an immature guy fart joke thing, it is kinda funny to me.

She is very regular about going while being tacked up and as soon as you ask for anything more than a walk. Not stopping to poop is actually something I've had to train.

A Gelding I am very fond of is very regular after a ride. As soon as his eyes start to droop, grab the shovel.


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

jgnmoose said:


> It isn't really weird, but my Mare grunts when she poops. I haven't heard many other horses do this. Must be a an immature guy fart joke thing, it is kinda funny to me.


I have one of these too. It's always right when she's finished, makes me laugh too I'll admit. :wink:


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## RedDunPaint (Aug 23, 2015)

First off, thanks to everyone who's posted so far! These stories have given me (and I'm sure many others) many good laughs!:mrgreen:



WhattaTroublemaker said:


> I cleaned his sheath last week and a non horsey friend of mine just HAPPENED to drop by right when I was arm deep in sheath. He wouldn't drop so I had to go in and find it. My mother told her I was in the barn and she apparently stood in the barn door listening to me tell him "gimme that you *****." (Pun intended) thankfully she laughed when I explained what I was doing, but for a moment she probably thought I was a sicko!


Haha why I have a mare and not a gelding:lol: Just kidding, I chose to have a mare for many reasons...and I still have to clean her udder, it's just easier than a sheath, haha.



Smilie said:


> Those are all usual habits, but my one mare, used to protest being stalled, I swear, by backing up to her water pail or her feeder, and pooping in it
> Since I have those flaps, on my stall fronts, that allow hard feed to be put into the feeder, without going into the stall, there were mornings I would just dump a dipper of beet pulp, or at one time , oats, into that feeder, only to get a ewww, I can't eat that!
> I am sure she had a good laugh as I had to go into the stall, scoop out that mix of food and poop, wash that feeder, making sure all poo smell was gone, and then giving her fresh food


Well luckily none of the horses at my stable poop in their food bins or water buckets. We have slow-feeders for all of the horses and they double as feeder and toy (or at least they're treated as such by the horses over here:mrgreen They like to knock them over and roll them around. This is all good, but the one pony, Fernando, (I mentioned him when I first started this thread) seems to always roll his into a fresh pile of poo! It's so much fun to grab the handle and immediately pull your hand back because it's mysteriously squishy...:sad: 

Oh, these are the slow feeders we have. Excuse my Tess-Mess rolling in front- it's the cylinder tan thing behind her.








Haha one time when I wasn't paying close attention, I was mucking out one of the horse's stalls. I had the muck bucket right next to the water bucket, and instead of putting the pile of dirty shavings and poo in the muck bucket, I put it in the water bucket. Oh boy was that fun to clean out.

This past summer when I was interning under my trainer, she was having me get a little paint gelding ready. He was still pretty green so he was a bit nervous about being tied. Something spooked him from outside and once I calmed him down again, he pooped. Completely normal when they're a bit nervous, and I was completely fine with it. What I was not fine with was that he had pooped in the grooming bucket full of brushes, towels, and various sprays. I had put them on a mounting block a little ways away but somehow he had positioned himself just right and turned the poop into a projectile. It was all very runny and what was worse was that they weren't even my brushes! They were his owner's! I cleaned it out best I could, but...



PoptartShop said:


> Redz on Saturday, he took a poo as I was cleaning one of his back hooves. I was like THANKS BUDDY! Almost took a poo on my head! LOL glad it missed me!


One time my mom was at the stable with me and I was picking out Tessa's left hind hoof (this was shortly after I got her and before I learned her bathroom secrets lol). The tail lifted but I hadn't noticed. I heard the first noise that signals something's coming out the back end so I got out of the way just in time.  I was like, "mom! You saw her tail lifting up and you didn't tell me? I almost got pooped on!" She wasn't very apologetic....I think she was hoping to see me get pooped on haha.


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

LOL oh no! :rofl:
Whew! You got lucky haha. Well, we both did. He did it again this weekend I moved outta the way real fast. Ah!


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## Luce73 (Dec 7, 2012)

My boy will poop in the wash rack after a ride, but ONLY if its a warm day and I'm giving him a full bath. As soon as the water comes up higher than his shoulders he'll lift his tail and go... Of course it then mixes with the water and turns into a mushy soup :icon_rolleyes:

He also snacks on his poop in between meals. Ewwwww.


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## Change (Jul 19, 2014)

My mare always - and I mean always - pees a little just as I'm bringing the food in. I figure she's just making room for the meal! 

When I lived in the high desert in CA, my geldings would consistently pee in the same spot, creating a nasty ammonia pit. I'd have to add lime and put old car tires over the holes they created... just to have them make another (or three).


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## Captain Evil (Apr 18, 2012)

Nemo pees every time I come to the barn. At first, too, he pooped everywhere, and he pooped constantly. It was the talk of the neighborhood. When my hay guy brought in a load of hay, it was downright embarrassing. All Nemo did was poop; big piles of fine looking poo. I finally said something like, "My horse sure poops a lot," and all the hay guys started talking at once, like they had been choking it back... 

"My goodness, yes, he sure does, I've never seen a horse poop so much, why we've only bee here, what, forty minutes? and he's already pooped ten times, does he have a name yet? you should call him "Baker" cause he makes the buns, you should call him "Dingleberry" you should call him "Turd Burgler, oh, I like that one, you should call him "Apple" for road apples, you should call him (name of our governor)..." and on it went.

He is on a diet now, so things have improved.


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## george the mule (Dec 7, 2014)

Hi All!

Well here is a really weird one from yesterday. At dinner-time, Georgie T. came up to me with his back splattered with poop; it looked as if he was lying down and somebody backed up to him and let fly :-(

"Your misfortune and none of my own" would be the usual response, except with snow and severe cold in the forecast, I was hoping to install his turnout, and so had to put the shedding rake to work to get down to mule. Fortunately for his human servant, it was cold enough that the splatters had frozen, and so cleaned off with little effort.

This was a new one for me; anybody else ever see anything like that?

Steve (And George_the_potty_mule ;-)


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

Captain Evil said:


> you should call him (name of our governor)..." and on it went.



I just have to say, having been watching the antics of your governor from across the border for months, this one made me spit out my afternoon coffee. Sounds about right to me! What a trip that guy is...my husband and I sure do like to give our friends and colleagues in Maine a hard time about that, although we certainly have no shortage of dummies here in our 400-person NH legislature!


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