chewing wood...?

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oliviacharley

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Does anyone elses horse just chew wood...??
I have a 5 yr old who has chewed away some old wood around the side of my barn and noticed he has done it on the wood fencing around the field...
Just moved him to a new field which has some post and rail and he has also chewed away at that too!! Dont know what I can say to the owner the field as he has only been in there 4 days!! He is not wind sucking he just seems to enjoy chewing the rotten wood away but it leaves the fencing looking awful and you are left having to fit new panels to the barn....
Anyone else have this problem...? Is it something lacking in his diet...?
He has plenty of licks and is on alfa a, horse nuts, garlic powder....once a day and seems quite happy....lots of grass too...
 
Ellie does this all the time, much to the dismay of my OH! He built us a lovely stable and post and rail fencing, and she is slowly chomping her way through it! She likes to lick/chew anything though - plastic, metal, leather!
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We have a youngster who chews at my yard and I think its down to boredom, only worry is that they might start to windsuck.
 
Frankie does this all the time - even if I just halt at the side of the school he sometimes sneakily takes a chunk out of the fence!!

I would be interested to hear if there is any particular reason for it. he is quite 'babyish' and chews lead ropes as well!

Someone said to me that it could be because he is anxious......
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my youngsters both chew wood to varing degrees, one would eat his way out of stable given half the chance, he is better than he was when i got him(poss diet) the other just nibbles out of being bored, am not really worried, but we do have a cribber on the yard and i do get concerned that mayb this could be copied, would be very interested in views on this???
 
Mine chews leaders as well....doesnt seem to be too bothered in his stable, its more around the field...thought about putting a ball or something in the field to keep him interested, but he would prob eat that as well!! there is loads to look at, horses the other side of the bridleway and people walk on the foot path, so has loads to look at yet still chews on wood!!
 
Just found this actually...but its not true with my boy as his teeth were done last month, all fine, and he is ridden weekly..he is also so chilled out that you could push him over....
Wood chewing - usually caused by boredom, lack of exercise or nervousness. Wood chewing can also be associated with dental problems, parasites or mineral deficiency. Wood chewing causes abnormal wear of the incisor teeth, causing problems with grazing. Cover any wooden surfaces with metal or rubber sheeting or apply unpleasant tasting liquids/pastes to wooden surfaces. Electric fencing can be used in the field, on the top rail.
 
My mare (and her gelding friend) do it, theres nothing wrong with it at all, its quite natural. My mare actually loves it, and has happily chomped through a nice set of post and rail, shes always done it, and never windsucked! (and ive had her 12 yrs now)
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Have to agree.....I think it is normal behaviour for a number of horses. Don't think my boy is bored, anxious and he has had his teeth done recently. It is just him, he chews the bark of fallen branches in the field and has almost knawed a hole in the front of his stable door.
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Think it is easy to always look for a reason, when sometimes, that's just what horses do !
 
Try giving him cider vinegar. Never had the problem myself but I remember reading that chewing wood is a sign that there is something lacking in the diet and cider vinegar will help.
 
I look after a horse who will chew absolutly anything if you give it to him. He's a carriage horse and we do have to sometime stand around for long periods of time so if he's being a bit fussy we unhook his curb chain on one side and he puts it in his mouth and sucks/plays with it. Luckily he doesnt try to bite through it! He bites lead ropes tho and I've seen him try and get the rein guard on his buxton bit....
 
Maybe weaned a bit early - that can make them 'mouthy'. It's suggested that cribbing and wind sucking may be sometimes due to a digestive problem so it could be that - although the other day my mare bit the shed door because she was in a bad mood!
 
My youngsters are doing a lot more chewing that I would normally expect, and the only explanation I can find is that my haylage is rather 'better' than normal. My supplier usually makes my haylage from rather more mature grass so it's stemmier - my horses are all good doers and I don't want top feed quality - but because of the bad season he was grabbing cuts whenever he could. They're a bit lacking in COARSE fibre.
 
Be interesting to see if they stop doing it as much once the grass starts to come through properly. Just a thought...
 
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