Giving horses wood

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zoesophie

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Oscar is stabled in a very old style barn with wood beams which he seems to have taken a liking too
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He has been on lots of box rest this year so Im sure part of it is boredom (I have put crib ox everywhere to stop him now as I dont fancy the barn collapsing
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) I also think that his feed is balanced enough so he shouldnt be lacking anything but Im open to advise.

So, does anyone give their horse wood to eat???? He doesn't really have any in his feild to eat so Im thinking more a big stump or something in his stable
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Any thoughts????
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Hiya
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Never heard of giving horses wood... Personally I would creosote everything and make sure he has lots of yummy nice-tasting hay to eat instead!
 
Thats the thing - he has plenty of hay - even some left over in the morning.
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Ill speak to YO and see if I can creosote the entire stable at some point.

AmyMay - Might go log hunting and see what he makes of them!
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when I had a horse on box rest I would pull branches from the trees, for him to chew. I used to pull hawthorn and willow and he would have a nibble on them and really enjoyed it. He had his pile of hay and his feed but he really enjoyed his branches. I also would pull nettles and hang them up to dry and then hang them in his stable - those were wolfed down. Horses will always chew things - its exploratory and it keeps them amused, paint wood preserver on the wood you want to save and give him something else to keep him amused.
 
Our local fields mainly consist of grass sadly but Ill take a wonder in our local woods to see if I can find some appealing stuff.

*light bulb moment* Might even speak to the bloke who is a tree surgeon and stores stuff at the yard to see what he can offer.

Bosworth - that sounds interesting about nettles etc - Ill see what goodies I can find too!
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My wood chewer has a large ash log in his stable, he always prefers ash trees in the field.

Wood id a natural part of their diets.

There is a supplement called Quitt which is supposed to stop wood chewing, expensive and didn't work for me.
 
How interesting - wonder if Ill find Oscar has a favourite??

Do different woods give them different properties - you know like one thing may be good for digestion another for stress etc??? NB - they were my own examples and I have no idea if wood actually does that
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Apparently horses are 90% grazers, 10% browsers (so I've been told) so wood and other stuff is a natural part of their diet. Agree with most here, get him a nice log to munch on and creosote the rest that you don't want him munching down on.
 
I took Finn out to graze in hand in one of the rested paddocks yesterday where there is lots of nice grass. He went straight to a large fallen branch and took a chunk out of it. Good luck log hunting for Oscar
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Chancer loves to chew - and it is not a fibre thing as he does it in the field and in the stable with ad lib hay.

I got him a couple of logs and he loves to kick and chomp on them. Our old clydie also likes the occasional nibble and they both went mad for one that had been part burn in the bonfire - both had black sooty noses (which they rubbed off on me).
 
My lot love to eat the ash leaves and branches when we bend them down for them to eat giraffe style in the summer.

Mine took a liking to acorns though
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, fenced it off with electric and he still kept breaking in! Now I know acorns are not good for horses (but the old oak tree is beautiful) but it did make his poo brown and shiny for a while with all the cases!
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Thanks everyone - this is all very interesting!
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Thistle - thanks for the heads up on Willow
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Any other tree related info would be gratefuly received!
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Also, are there any trees/branches he shouldnt eat??
 
I don't know if they even grow in the UK but the wilted leaves (fresh leaves and wood apparently fine) of Red Maple trees can be fatal. (Trust me, you don't want to see it.) Other than the old PC warning about Yew I don't know if there are any other native trees poisonous to horses but it's probably worth doing a search just to be on the safe side.
 
Funnily enough there's something in Horse magazine this month about horses eating branches. I think it said Oak, Ash or something else are best (Oak without acorns, obviously!). I want to get some for Ronnie but feel a bit silly walking round a wood looking for sticks - without a dog! I also (embarrassingly) don't know what those tress look like
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(the shame!!)
 
[ QUOTE ]
Am I the only person sniggering to myself about the title of this thread?!
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[/ QUOTE ]

Oh thank God I am not the only one, I am literally in hysterics here
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[ QUOTE ]
Am I the only person sniggering to myself about the title of this thread?!
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[/ QUOTE ]

Sadly, not. It did make me snigger!

In answer to the OP, Beano has a log in his stable as he is teething, and he loves a good old gnaw on it.
 
I'd see if you can find someone with an apple pr pear tree in their garden because it tastes nice and you know it won't do them any harm. I wouldn't recommend getting a branch from the woods as you might get mixed up about what type of wood it is ( I know I would)
 
I had to do a double take the first time I gave my horse wood and remind myself of two basic facts:

a) I am not gay
b) It's a HORSE!!!!

I've since changed my brand of sheaf cleaner and the situation no longer arises.
 
I had a cribber on my previous yard. He tried to eat my stables, so cribboxed the stables, went out and found a large palatable log and placed it in his stable - he was perfect after that. He liked his log.

It really isn't that strange; people have done this for years and it's great for cribby-type horses.
 
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to all you rude minded people
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Funnily enough my mate has just offered to ask the tree surgeon bloke for some of his wood
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(hes quite tasty)
 
I give mine wood to munch regularily. My parents have a massive garden so are always chopping down huge branches which the horses absolutely go crazy for especially if they still have leaves on (safe ones of course). All mine will go straight for them, strip the leaves off, then proceed to knaw at all the bark until its bare.

I read its perfectly natural. I would hope mine arent lacking in anything as they have proper feeds all worked out for them with the right vits & mins etc. ! and they get loads of fibre.
 
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