TCJpart65 The Poo Edition!

THE IMPORTANCE OF 'POO WATCH'

The next time you poo-pick your field or skip-out your horses stable, have a good look at his poo.  You can tell a lot about his internal health and what he's been eating just by keeping an eye on his manure. 

Recognising when the colour or structure is different will give you a fascinating insight into their diet and health. 


For example, I rotate my fields so in turn they get a short week to recover from the rampaging and munching of Tom & Henry.  But this means every week they have access to lusher grass (but never too lush).  Their poo goes from a dull khaki colour with obvious bits of mixed forage where they've made regular trips to their haybars, to a very deep glossy dark olive colour when their primary diet is grass. 









Poo, can also tell you if your horse's teeth need attention.  You'll be able to tell if there's inefficiently chewed forage or lots of large bits of hay and grass obviously differently presented in the manure to normal

earning to recognise your horses 'normal' state of manure might help you recognise if he's not well or eating properly if you notice a change in consistency or colour that can't be easily explained like pasture change.

WORMCOUNTING:





4 times a year I send samples of  T&H poo to Westgate Laboratories for a complete parasite check - or worm-count.  Click on the button to the side of this blog to go straight to their website, and there you will find all the information you need, it really couldn't be easier. 

 












It's an amusing proceedure too.  I feed the boys thier dinners and follow them around thier fields waiting for the poo to drop. So I can be sure the samples are labelled correctly I collect the droppings straight from T&H's bottoms - all fresh.





This gives me a brilliant insight into their gut health and tells me whether they need worming or not, and since I've been doing it I haven't had to worm them at all.


Most times, I dont have to wait very long, but typically this time when we had our house photographer (John) with us, Henry took ages to do his poo!!!

What our neighbours must think I wouldn't care to imagine!

 So, poo is very important, don't just chuck it on your compost heap without a second thought, learn what's normal for your horse...

Collect from your horse, and place a small sample into the little plastic container they give you.




Have a system so you know which sample belongs to which horse.

I put Henry's sample in the right pocket and Tom's in the left.

Coco waited with me whilst the boys went about their munching.  Tom was quick to produce a sample, but we had to wait ages for Henry's...glad I had a cat with me for company...and John of course.

...and finally Henry was able to produce a very healthy looking pile I'm sure you'll agree!!

So. boxed up like before the samples went straight in to post to be analysed.

In a few days I'll get an email with the full results. 

So don't discard the poo without a second thought, you may discover more about your horse than you thought possible!

Plus, spending time with him is so worth while, no matter how bizaar the reason!

...now it's worth mentioning that as Tom and Henry have incredibly gorgeous bottoms, spending an hour watching them is an easy task!!

Posted on Saturday night to Westgate, the results are emailed to me by Tuesday, No eggs seen - no need to worm...again.