Pony eating young tree branches and stripping bark....why?

T_K

T_K

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My 13yo NF mare likes to eat young branches and strip bark from trees, any idea why she would be doing this?

She also likes eating brambles and thorns and has a special way of picking them without hurting her lips!

Is she lacking in something or does she just like the taste? She very occasionally eats older dead wood (fences etc) but she doesn't actually crib bite.
 
It's possible she is lacking something in her diet however could be just down to boredom. She could be doing so because horses like to be constant grazers. They mentally and physically prefer to be chewing and eating 16 or more hours per day! I'm not 100% and stand to be corrected! :)
 
My NF youngster does this too he has a feed balancer for good doers, he leaves the fences alone but has stripped all the lower bark off the trees that are in his field. It did not stop when I fed more fibre he just got fat, so now have started to fence off the tree,s. Luckily none of the tree,s are poisonous as this was my worry when I caught him doing it.
 
The_snoopster said:
My NF youngster does this too he has a feed balancer for good doers, he leaves the fences alone but has stripped all the lower bark off the trees that are in his field. It did not stop when I fed more fibre he just got fat, so now have started to fence off the tree,s. Luckily none of the tree,s are poisonous as this was my worry when I caught him doing it.
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I was thinking it could be some kind of evolution thing with NFs! She is very adept at picking thistles and I've always put this down to her breed...she is also very good at stealing sandwiches, crisps etc!!
 
I've got a native cob x and he's very into a lot of the tree and weed stuff like brambles and thistles. Native breeds graze and browse selectively and would have found all sorts on their former mountain and moorland homes to feed on so the rough stuff is what they would have evolved to eat across centuries before we gave them lovely lush paddocks to graze on. There's one tree trunk in the summer field that I've seen several of the more native types my pony is out with chew on. Mine also adores willow, hazel, bramble, thistles, nettles. They will get minerals from some of these things too. A woman I spoke to once who studied New Forest ponies in the forest said she did sometimes see them eating holly too!

Many native pony breeds are used as conservation grazers now as they can put them into areas of land that need managed and tidied up.
 
It could depend on the tree, but some horses apparently chew the branches of trees because some of them have natural painkilling properties. It's more likely though that he's lacking something in his diet. Xx
 
T_K said:
I should add, she lives out 24/7, has plenty of grass to eat and 2 field companions.
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I discovered Poppy had done this on Friday morning, but must have got some bits of wood stuck at the back of her mouth and was dribbling . Got the vet out and he cleaned everything out of her mouth and then filed her teeth down.
 
My NF used to be a terror for this, despite having constant access to mineral liks, water, grass and/or plenty of hay and regular visits from the dentist and a regular worming programme.

Out of two Mini Shetlands and a BSP, she was the only one that stripped the bark.

She still does it now but not to the degree she used to. :D
 
Mine do it too, (despite mineral licks, ad-lib hay etc) I actually give them lengths of apple tree branch to chew, it saves my fences. I don't have ANY grass for 5 months of the year, sucking up hay doesn't equate to grazing.
Personally, I think it can be put down partially to boredom, lack of fibre and actual lack of the physical act of grazing/browsing (with hay they don't really have to graze)

Horses are naturally browsers, put any horse (native or not) in the position where they can pick at herbage and shrubs or trees and they will pick what they want and need, not just eat grass.

All you can do if you want to save your trees is to fence them off, or move your horse.
 
My NF likes a bit of tree too - he has grass and playmates and has a hardfeed that includes all his vitamins - he also prefers to drink out of a muddy puddle than the water trough with clean water in it.

I think they like the sweet sap that is under the bark and that is what they are trying to get to.
 
Yes, I think they love bark/trees. I popped our NF in the garden this afternoon, the aim being he'd strim the edges and round the shed where it's long, so it'd save getting the edge trimmers out, but he did half the job then decided he was going to nibble the cherry tree instead
 
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