Q: I have a very athletic 10-year-old, 17-hand Warmblood gelding who is very well-behaved. He doesn’t bite, doesn’t kick, and is the most passive horse in the field. He is ridden five or six times a week for training (jumpers). That said, he likes/needs to lick everything or have food in his mouth all of the time. He goes through his salt lick every few weeks; he has a Nibblenet slow feeder for hay, but he consumes it faster than other horses do even without the net. He drinks tons of water and pees a lot, too. While I’m within reach (grooming, tacking, washing, etc) he is licking any and every part of me–clothes, skin, hair … nothing is off limits.

I have a hard time keeping his weight down, as his heart rate is very slow and he is always munching in the field/stall and the grazing muzzle really irritates his skin (even with sheepskin covering the edges).

Bottom line, what causes this quirk? If he were a person, I’d say there was a lot of anxiety and insecurity