Why do horses p**p in the same place?

Question

I walk on trails that are used by horses. For some reason the horses often go in the same place. Anyone know why?

Answer 1

Some horses where I ride at will p**p in the same corner or place in their stall or field but some won't. It all depends on the horse.

Answer 2

so that they have a place to sleep.

Answer 3

Two reasons.  It is a resting place they spend a lot of time at.  The second reason is that by keeping their piles to a few small areas the spread of worms is reduced.  This is less important if your horse is wormed regularly.

KB I actually didn't know about the king of the hill thing.

Answer 4

THESE HORSES ARE AWESOME! haha...when horses p**p in the same spot it saves bedding...and you don't have take a long time to find all the balls of p**p spread all over the place!

Answer 5

Horses don't alway go in the same places. It is nice when they do though. I particularly appreciate when a horse picks one corner of the stall and puts all his contributions in one place. Makes my life easier! We also have a mare who's day is not complete unless there is no 'road apple' left unturned and ground into every piece of bedding available in the stall.

Then tops off her masterpiece by dropping a load in the water bucket. Yeah, she's a joy! lol!

When outside, much of this behavior is territorial marking. Kinda like the equine version of "said it last".

Answer 6

Sort of like a dog marking his turf and letting others know he has been in the area.

Stud horses will pile it up on the borders of their area as a warning to others that they are comming in to a stallions territory.

Answer 7

It is called roughs and lawns.  Most horses naturally learn to p**p in certain areas and eat out of other ones.  It is natures way of keeping down the spread of worms.

Some horses display herd hierarchy by who's p**p is on the top of the pile.  Males are really prone to do this.  Whomever gets there p**p on the top of the pile is king of the hill.