Peeing and Pooing

[bonnyben]

Sorry to be so vulgar.. but this has been concerning me for quite a while and now this colic has struck it is more pertinent. It is all about Ben's reluctance to pee and poo as the "call" takes him. Sounds daft? Yes well I am hoping you will tell me that!!!

He never poos when we are out hacking, whether it's 40 miunutes or 2 hours, and he pooed only once when schooling and that was when he saw something outside the school that was very scary at the last yard. He didn't poo at the two competitons either.

When I first bought him he was t/o overnight from say 5pm to 8 30 am so stood in all day, and he would not pee in his stable unless/until he was totally desperate. It became a joke that as I was leading him to the field he would stop to pee the minute his feet hit the grass. I used to shout to the others"Toilet break" so they'd stop and wait for us!!! I really worried about his kidneys, after all that doesn't seem natural standing for so long without passing urine.

At the new yard he is on saw dust and they clean them out totally every day, but his bed doesn't seem in any way wet when I get there...and I haven't seen him peeing since we moved there.

Do you think these traits could have anything to do with the colic? Does it seem odd at all to you? I mean, what is normal? Ronan did BOTH for Britain and probably Provence as well Rac so maybe Ben isn't so odd really but the girls at A'grange did say they'd never met such a clean horsey..

(Sorry I feel as though I am commandeering Care and Health at the moment...)

[haffyfan]

My old boy sunny would only wee in public (shows/RC/hacking etc) if very very desperate and did like to get well hidden...we use to joke about it but never had any issues pooing. Probably worth mentioning to your vet and checking with his old owner if he was the same with her.

Silly question now maybe regarding not going in stable but has he been potty trained?

I ask because I was on a yard with a girl who trained her boy to pee in a bucket on command to save her lovely shavings...he did go in the stable overnight but was one of those chappies who would pee the second he back inside whether he had been out for a ride/in field or just for two seconds so pottying him really did save her a lot of money in the long run.

[fimacg]

Brave, doesn't like to pee in his box, so I usually take him out just before bed for a pee, Chompy & Brave hate to pee when ridden and they have to be absolutely bursting, you know they want to but just wont.
in fact Chompy wont pee in public but as soon as you shut the door you can hear him!
Dexter only pees in his box... I catch him having a big drink the field as I am about to catch them and about and hour later its all in his bedding (disgusting horse!)

None of them have any qualms about pooing anywhere!

[brigadier]

Some horses are really shy about peeing as they have to be immobile to do it and therefor they feel more vulnerable. If you want to encourage them then it can help to get a handful of straw or old hay and shake it beneath their belly and whistle also, this seems to work with some.
Pooing is a bit different and if they are not pooing much then they need more bulk in the diet and ensure they have lots of fresh clean water.
horses will poo when nervous or excited as its a stress reaction. My previous trainer had this theory that if you were struggling to get past an object, the time to really press your point is at the moment just after the horse has pooed as they will usually give in at that point- I have no idea why but it seems to be true!

One thing I would check out thoroughly especially as youve had the bouts of colic is to ensure he has been completely and thoroughly wormed, i know you will have him on a program but as he is quite new to you you can never be sure what went on before. There is a school of thought that up to 90% of colic is down to worms or worm damage so its worth considering.

[fleabitten]

My cousins pony will only pee on grass. Kieran did it anywhere. Once, it was really embarrassing because we met neighbours out on a hack and he peed in the middle of the road - cringe!

Good on you for being vigilant BB. Funny though, we never worried about Kieran until he got sick and then we worried non stop - mum even strapped a wee pot onto a stick and got a pee sample lol! for the colic i think. and people said we worried too much but there was always something to worry about. i think people thought we were worrying unneccisarily.

Omg haffy, i just read your post and i cannot believe someone actually potty trained their horse. But suppose it did save her money lol!

[bonnyben]

Thanks all, seems it isn't all that uncommon then, the peeing thing.

He will pee on grass with me on him and he did a very long one standing in a pool at the beach - shows he isn't scared of water anyway!!! In fact I think he pooed there as well, must have been the excitement!! ;D ;D

Brig, he had a worm count taken in March last year which his former mum gave me with his paperwork and it was in the low bracket. He has been wormed twice since I got him. I think it might just be him, but that is a good idea, I will check with his old mum as to his toilet habits and I promise I won't share that with you!!!

Thanks again folks...

PS I like the "straw under his tummy while whistling," I'd love to see you at that brig....

[scattymare]

Sancy is the opposite and will pee as soon as she goes in the stable
I do see her pee in the field but you can guarantee that if I put her in for a bit she will wee straight away!
Patrick used to hold it for a ride and as soon as we got back to the field he would releive himself.
Myric also went through a funny phase of peeing in the same place on a hack - always about 10 mins from home, he would pull J onto the grass verge in exactly the same place.
Poops I would be more worried if I did not find evidence of it (wee can be hidden). Certainly no problems there for any of ours!

[racaille]

As has been said, some horses are really shy about peeing. P will NOT pee out hacking - in five and a half years he has only peed when out TWICE, and both times were on long rides so he didn't have a lot of options. And my old YO's horse (a nice Lusitanian) would only pee in his box.

Pooing should be pretty regular, but out of the eight boxes I used to clean regularly it was clear that some horses are 'cleaner' than others.

I'd have thought that as long as he is getting enough fibre and water he will be fine - but a little bit private!

[florence]

Mine will only pee in the stable and then as soon as I put a bucket under him he stops! He has only ever peed whilst being ridden twice (that's in nearly twenty years!) so he must have been absolutely busting. He very rarely pood whilst ridden either, which I always saw as an advantage in the manege as it meant I never had to get off and poo pick. Even on long rides he would't go unless he really had to.

[rainbow]

rosie pees for england! as soon as she enters her stable she goes. I dont knw weather she drinks whislt she is in the field cause she manages to drink 2 big buckets of water a night! She sometimes if desperate goes for a pee on the yard. But she does poop anywhere.

[solomon]

We used to have a pony that would never pee in his stable, ever. We ended up having to take him out two or three times a day for toilet breaks! Easy to muck out tho'.

[mossh]

Mattie will pee in his stable or in the field but never on concrete!!!
He will poo anywhere and everywhere. (4 times on the yard in an hour!) and he likes to hide it in his bed so even though I have mucked out fully I will find bits under the edges the next day or in the middle but at the bottom so he's covered it back over with clean straw.
I once found a rug under his bed so nothing surprises me!