Seriously? Horses eating birds?
“Why do horses eat birds?” might not seem like the most obvious title for an equine health blog, but we like to cover all bases. And this is indeed another base that needs covering. In order to understand this strange phenomenon, we need to look at the eating habits of horses at both a biological level and at a behavioural level. You’re maybe thinking it’s cut and dry; horses are herbivores, aren’t they? Well, it isn’t that simple.
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Why would they want to eat a bird?
Horses are indeed primarily herbivores, but they are also opportunistic eaters. They require a diet high in fibre and one that is densely packed with nutrients. When their diet falls short of these necessities, they are inclined to feel hungry, and when a horse feels hungry, they are quite capable of thinking outside of the box in terms of foodstuffs. Should the opportunity arise, this can mean chomping down on birds and even small mammals. This behaviour is however, not a normal one. It isn’t an acceptable means of a horse trying to attempt to correct the imbalance, and is only indicative of a deficiency somewhere within their diet. Most likely, if this is the cause, there is some mineral or nutrient that is lacking in abundance.
A bored horse might also eat a bird. Horses kept in confines too small or too uninteresting for them might turn to bizarre behaviours by way of keeping themselves entertained. One of the “five welfare needs” for all animals under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, is the need to exhibit normal behaviours. Normal behaviours for a horse include grazing, roaming grassland, and playing etc among others. One of the ways we potentially (often necessarily) limit their ability to ‘be a horse’, is to stable them. As custodians of these wonderful creatures, we must consider how long is too long to coop a horse up in what is a relatively tiny space for such a large beast.
Is bird eating a problem though?
Put simply, yes. But let’s delve a bit deeper. Firstly, as alluded to above, horses with pica (the tendency to eat non-food items) tend to do so in order to relieve something askew in their diet and/or life. For welfare reasons it is vital that we take steps to improve their situation. Secondly, eating such things is bad for their health. Damage to teeth, gastrointestinal damage, injury from birds/small mammals who fight back for reasons of not wanting to be eaten; this is simply not part of an appropriate diet for the equid.
Horses have a long gastrointestinal tract which is designed to absorb fibre and plant-based nutrients. Carnivores (meat eaters) by contrast have short gastrointestinal tracts suited to meat digestion. Horses also don’t have the teeth for it! Their teeth are shaped to graze and process grass and other forage; they don’t have the incisors or hind teeth required to chew flesh and bones into manageable pieces. ‘No teeth, no horse’ is a useful phrase to consider, because good dentition is vital for horses to sustain life. Wear and tear and outright damage to the mouth and teeth through abrasion from hard bones and the like, can be detrimental to their health. There are a whole host of reasons that horses must eat near constantly, from managing stomach acids, to preventing toxins reaching the bloodstream. But this is a large subject, for another day.
So, the bottom line…
Horses and birds is an interesting topic, and the crux of it is that if a horse is eating them (or small mammals, or indeed anything odd and unnatural), we must look for what is missing in their life in terms of nutrition, health, and welfare, and take immediate steps to fill that hole. Assistance from your vet can be invaluable in these cases as they will help you assess body condition, and the quality and appropriateness of their diet.
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