Aghh! Horses have suddenly started chewing post and rail fencing

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Ali27

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It was still light when I brought our two mares in today and suddenly noticed that they have been chewing the fence like mad this week! I poo picked last weekend and fences were fine then! My older mare started chewing wood years ago at one yard and stopped as soon as I put her on Bailey's lo Cal balancer! They are both fed pro balance off eBay as other mare can't cope with molasses or soya bean in feed. They have hay in field in morning and only tend to hang around gate at bringing in time! At 4.50pm today, they were still happily grazing. The fence chewing is up round by the gate. The only thing I have stopped this week is their daily table spoon of salt as I ran out and keep forgetting to buy it!
Any ideas for sudden fence chewing?
 
Oh I feel your pain, mine started about 3 weeks ago. Mostly the small pony, then the big one! They did the untreated posts for the electric first which were chewed quite comically like beavers in a matter of days!

IMAG3288_zps6cbf1728.jpg


(this post was actually chewed right through eventually!)


It got less comical as time went on! I criboxed those posts and they started on the post and rail. We have some new super creosoted fences which they haven't chewed but I have seen brown marks on my haffy's lips which is worrying as creosote is not good stuff to chew! They've done all along the older non treated post and rail, it is just the top layer but doesn't look great!

I knew I wouldn't have enough cribox to do the whole lot (plus it's expensive and hard to apply) so I went to the chinese supermarket and bought some mustard oil and extra hot chilli powder, I got a big jar and made a paste with a bit of water in and some washing up liquid, off I went with a paint brush and they don't seem to have chewed anymore where it has been done. They both cam eover to see what I was doing and there were lots of flehmen faces although neither of them seemed immediately horrified (seriously, it was HOT!) Unfortunately I could only do about 1/3 but hopefully it will put them off in general!

They have hay in nets twice a day (they live out) and they have grass, I've given them branches of hawthorn and other things that they have chewed the bark from, and they both have feeds. They have a mineral lick, the first of which they demolished in less than two weeks but the new one has been deserted in favour of the fence.

I started adding salt to their feeds about 4 days ago and haven't seen any new evidence but probably too soon to tell!
 
We have several trees that are being stripped of their bark, branches being chewed and fence posts eaten. One is actually now in two bits. Salt licks added to all fields but I can see us replacing a number of fence posts :(
 
I was always told it is a lack of fibre in the diet causes biting posts etc. but I always think some horses just enjoy doing it.
 
My Shetland started on her stable one year cribox it and she stopped. In winter they get turned into a yard and they occasionally do the same but straight out with the magic pot ! and soon stops.
 
My Tb mare used to do it, I think she did it out of boredom and frustration. At the time she was turned out 24/7 but didn't have a huge amount of space. She destructed the fences all round the paddock no matter what I tried. At one point someone told me to try chilli powder on the fence so I gave it a go, Piper followed me licking it off as fast as I could put it on. I'm sure she thinks I was seasoning the fence for her to consume!
She dosent do it anymore because we now live on a farm and she free ranges over many acres which keeps her very happy!
 
Sorry i disagree here, friend of mine has got 4 tbs and all her fences have been eaten and they are all painted with a mixture of creosote and old oil.
 
I'm sure if I put a round bale in there they wouldn't do it but I can't really feed my welshie endless hay, she's fat enough as it is! She already gets a bit more than she should as the haffy needs to have more and I don't want to make them even more bored by separating them.

I am only available twice a day, but I think I am going to invest in some smaller holed haynets, they have it in haylage nets tied to the fence normally.

I do think the salt is making a difference though :-)
 
My three are systematically eating through every rail on our farm, they have access to hay 24/7, himalayan salt licks freely strung around the yard and get fed on a diet balanced minerally to my hay with plenty of copper.

And still the darlings go round like beavers!!
 
Twirly said:
My three are systematically eating through every rail on our farm, they have access to hay 24/7, himalayan salt licks freely strung around the yard and get fed on a diet balanced minerally to my hay with plenty of copper.

And still the darlings go round like beavers!!
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stick some branches out for them -or logs. its perfectly natural for them to want woody fibre. I have Exmoors, they will always seek out really rough fibre and a lot of hay just isn't stalky enough for them by itself.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions :) I have put my mare back on Bailey's lo cal, reintroduced a tbsp of salt into feed, reduced hay intake at night slightly (good doers) so I can put more hay in field! I have also read that the metal, plasterboard mesh can be put on fencing so will look into that! I am taking them some branches which have fallen into garden so they have something to nibble on! I confessed to our lovely yard owners yesterday but feel bad as post and rail fencing was only done in August! Flipping horses! I poo picked today and their field is surprisingly green so grass is definitely starting to come through despite the mud!
 
MotherOfChickens said:
stick some branches out for them -or logs. its perfectly natural for them to want woody fibre. I have Exmoors, they will always seek out really rough fibre and a lot of hay just isn't stalky enough for them by itself.
Click to expand...

We have natural cover of trees, bushes and hedges around half the boundary, and after the storms we left the half a tree that came down in the field for them......they spend all day snacking on that too!
 
Twirly said:
We have natural cover of trees, bushes and hedges around half the boundary, and after the storms we left the half a tree that came down in the field for them......they spend all day snacking on that too!
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Same here - they have preferred trees, they like the beech especially. None of our fences are touched, but all the fallen branches have been stripped of twigs and bark nibbled off. They have pretty much ad-lib hay in the field, and plenty of grazing on winter grass, so the appetite for branches and bark is just a winter thing. It's not boredom, and it's not a mineral deficiency (they get a mineral supplement balanced against what's in their forage) - it's just a normal winter appetite. Same as we tend to like to eat fattier foods in winter and more salads in summer.
 
When I first got my last horse, the first night he was in he attacked his stable and ate loads of wood - could not believe the damage the next morning. It was definitely diet related as I immediately increased his haylage, but in smaller holed nets, gave him a salt lick (the first of which he ate in literally a few days) and introduced lo-cal balancer. Within a week or so he had obviously ingested whatever was lacking in his diet and I never had this problem again.
I would definitely look at salt intake as a minimum as this could easily be lacking and is a cheap problem to resolve.
 
In cattle ,this is has been shown to be due to a lack of phosphorous (or a serious calcium / phosphorous imballance).The relevant research has not been done on horses but to my mind it is a good place to start.
 
Just checked the ingredients of Progressive Earth's pro balance and it has calcium and phosphorous in it! The only thing it doesn't have is sodium (salt) so have started giving them that again (only been off it a week) and they now also have rock salt lick in stable. Hoping this might stop them especially if i give them some big branches for the field!
 
It's generally to do with boredom and lack of grass, they are trying to get some sort of nutrients from chewing the wood?


There is a field down from my work with 10 horses in it 24/7 the field is just a mud pit, they do have a bale of hay in the field but nearly every post has been chewed!
 
One of mine has not only started on the fences / gates but any wood around the yard! Has anyone else been asked to pay for this kind of damage? Its a "pretty" yard, designed to look nice from the house and isnt really horse proof. He has taken a chinf from the woindow frame, the door frame and the weatherboarding where hs is tied up. I am leaving in a couple of weeks anyway since YO cant cope with us but think I will go sooner. She says I am not to tie up anywhere excpet in the stable and not use the stall chain but have the door closed. He has never done it before. Adlib haylage when is in, limited grass due to mud when out, but a tree to chew if he felt the need! (not sure what sort of tree though!) Worried he will do it at new yard but I think its better designed with no availble chewing places! he has never done it before. I have started calmer (not what I really agree with but any port in a strom) but will add salt from tonight. They get fill vits and minerals supplements
 
MotherOfChickens said:
stick some branches out for them -or logs. its perfectly natural for them to want woody fibre. I have Exmoors, they will always seek out really rough fibre and a lot of hay just isn't stalky enough for them by itself.
Click to expand...

Ours have 3 copices in there winter grazing but I too have noticed little nibble marks on the fence. I'm going to try uping hay and some salt licks
 
MotherOfChickens said:
stick some branches out for them -or logs. its perfectly natural for them to want woody fibre. I have Exmoors, they will always seek out really rough fibre and a lot of hay just isn't stalky enough for them by itself.
Click to expand...

This! They are bored, they need to chew, so give them something to do! Place a few branches along your fence line to tempt them instead of your nice fencing, plus an extra coating of cribbox on the fence posts/rails to make them less inviting than your twiggy offerings!
 
Mine all do it at this time of year. They have adlib hay and the fences are all creosoted.. It seems to be pnce the wood is saturated that they start.
 
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