Quidding is when a horse drops partially chewed food from its mouth during eating. You might notice small clumps of grain on the ground near the feed bucket, or larger balls of wadded-up hay left behind in the stall. These soggy, cigar-shaped wads of forage are the hallmark sign. The term comes from the word “quid,” referring to the bolus of food a horse forms while chewing but can’t break down enough to swallow.
What Quidding Looks Like
Quidding can range from dropping small bits of pelleted feed to spitting out large, tightly packed balls of hay. Dropping forage material generally signals a more severe chewing problem than dropping grain, because long-stem hay requires extensive grinding by the back teeth (molars) before a horse can safely swallow it. If the horse can’t complete that grinding cycle, it rolls the hay into a wad and lets it fall out.
Other signs that often appear alongside quidding include slow or stop-and-start chewing, tilting the head to one side while eating, excessive drooling, bad breath, facial swelling, and whole grain passing through in the manure. Weight loss is common when quidding goes on for weeks, because the horse simply isn’t processing enough food to meet its caloric needs.
Dental Problems Are the Most Common Cause
The overwhelming majority of quidding cases trace back to something wrong inside the horse’s mouth. Horse teeth erupt continuously throughout life and are ground down by chewing. When that wear pattern becomes uneven, sharp points, hooks, or ridges develop on the molars. These irregularities cut into the cheeks and tongue, creating painful ulcers that make the horse reluctant to chew normally. Instead of grinding hay into a fine pulp, the horse forms a loose ball and drops it.
Cracked or fractured molars are another frequent culprit. A fracture can expose sensitive tissue inside the tooth, making every chewing motion painful. Infection can follow, sometimes producing a foul smell from the mouth or visible swelling along the jawline. Misaligned teeth force the horse to work harder to chew, and trapped food between teeth can develop into abscesses on the gums or inner cheek.
In older horses, a degenerative condition called EOTRH (equine odontoclastic tooth resorption and hypercementosis) is increasingly diagnosed. This disease causes the roots of the incisors and sometimes canines to break down and become brittle, often leading to fractures and infection. Horses with EOTRH may refuse hard treats, become head-shy, resist the bit, and quid regularly. It tends to appear in aged horses and progresses over time, sometimes requiring extraction of affected teeth.
Non-Dental Causes
While teeth are the usual suspect, quidding can also result from problems with the tongue, throat, or nervous system. A sore or swollen tongue makes it difficult to move food around the mouth properly. Foreign objects lodged in the gums or cheek can trigger the same response. Neurological conditions that affect the nerves controlling the jaw, tongue, or throat muscles can impair a horse’s ability to chew or swallow, though these causes are far less common. Nerve damage from toxin exposure, for example, has been documented to cause paralysis in structures of the throat, which could interfere with the normal swallowing process.
How Veterinarians Diagnose the Problem
A basic oral check involves gently pulling the tongue to the side so the vet can get a look at the molars. This quick assessment can reveal obvious issues like sharp edges or missing teeth, but it isn’t thorough enough to catch everything. For a complete dental exam, the horse is lightly sedated and a full-mouth speculum (a device that holds the jaws open) is placed so the vet can inspect every tooth and the soft tissues of the mouth.
During that exam, the vet looks for sharp molar edges, cracked teeth, signs of decay or infection, gum inflammation, retained baby teeth that are blocking adult teeth from coming in, and wolf teeth that could interfere with a bit. If EOTRH or a root problem is suspected, dental X-rays help determine the severity and guide treatment decisions. Each affected tooth can be staged from no visible abnormality to severe destruction, which helps the vet decide whether a tooth can be saved or needs to come out.
Why It Matters Beyond Mealtime
Quidding isn’t just messy. A horse that can’t chew properly can’t extract the nutrients it needs from feed, which leads to gradual weight loss and declining body condition. Poorly chewed food also raises the risk of choke, a condition where a mass of feed becomes lodged in the esophagus. Choke is a veterinary emergency that can cause tissue damage and aspiration pneumonia if not resolved quickly. Stemmy hays like alfalfa are especially problematic for horses with poor dentition, because the coarse fibers are difficult to break down and more likely to form a dangerous plug.
Feeding a Horse That Quids
If your horse is quidding while you wait for a dental appointment, or if it has permanent tooth loss that limits chewing ability, adjusting the diet can prevent weight loss and reduce the risk of choke. The goal is to replace long-stem hay with feeds that require less grinding.
- Soaked hay cubes or pellets: These soften quickly in water and break apart easily, delivering the same fiber as regular hay without demanding heavy chewing.
- Chopped hay: Pre-cut into short lengths, chopped hay is easier to manage than full bales but still provides forage fiber.
- Beet pulp: Soaked beet pulp is highly digestible and a good source of calories. It works well as a base ration for horses that struggle with any form of hay.
- Complete pelleted or extruded feeds: These are formulated to serve as the entire diet, combining forage and concentrate in one product. They’re designed for horses that can no longer handle traditional hay at all.
The right combination depends on how much chewing ability the horse has left, its age, and its overall health. Some horses do fine on soaked hay cubes alone, while others need a fully softened diet of complete feed and beet pulp.
Routine Dental Care Prevents Most Cases
Most quidding is preventable with regular dental maintenance. A brief oral exam twice a year lets your vet catch sharp points, hooks, and early signs of disease before they progress to the point of causing pain and food dropping. Routine floating, the process of filing down sharp enamel edges, keeps the grinding surfaces even and comfortable. Horses that wear bits benefit especially from regular checks, since wolf teeth and sharp edges near the front of the mouth can compound performance issues on top of chewing problems.
For older horses, dental exams become even more important. Teeth that have been erupting for 20-plus years are running out of reserve crown, and the remaining tooth structure becomes more vulnerable to fracture and disease. Catching a cracked molar or early EOTRH before it turns into an abscess means simpler treatment and less time spent struggling to eat.