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It is natural for a horse to eat off of the ground, as they are grazing animals. However, the domesticated horse faces more challenges with eating off of the ground than their wild counter-parts.

Feeding hay on the ground in a sandy area can cause a horse to ingest the sand, which does not pass through their digestive systems. This can cause an impaction (blockage), making the horse quite ill and may even require surgery to correct.

Also, feeding off of the ground in a small area where manure is not picked up on a daily basis can create worm problems within a herd of horses.

Because wild horses keep moving for miles a day while they graze, they leave their manure behind them and never eat grass or forage out of it. Also, given that the general landscape where their food grows is not often sandy, the problem of sand colic isn't a large problem for them either.

If you are feeding a domesticated horse their hay off the ground in a clean, non-sandy area, it is perfectly safe and quite healthy, as it is how the horses body was meant to eat.

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13y ago

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