Pregnant mare eating wooden fencing

A

andreo

Well-Known Member
Joined
6 December 2005
Messages
368
Location
derbyshire
Visit site
Hi my mare who is about 3 months pregnant has started to eat at her wooden fencing withing the last 2 weeks. She and her field mate (who is also doing it) have plenty of grass in the field and she is fed plenty of good quality haylage. Does anyone have any ideas of why she has started doing this.Cheers
 
i dont have any idea but i know you can get a spray that you spray on fences, for crib-biters, and it doesnt taste nice so stops the horse doing this.. or you could cover top of fence in nail varnish remover or fly repellent.. these also dont taste nice, hope this helps..

xx
 
I am pregnant and get bad heartburn, do they not think crib biters chew because of acid build up? Could you try feeding a supplement to help this and see if there is any difference?
 
My two both love wood - they are given a few branches in the winter when in the stable or school to chew on. Given half a chance, they will devour the fence, hence they have an inner fence of electric.

Both are not in the family way - one is a gelding and they both have pure fibre diet, good supplements and ad lib hay.

Only thing that may want them to chew more than most is that they are both 4 year olds and are teething. That said, Cairo in his 20s still enjoyed chewing on a branch in winter with great relish.
 
All mine do it, pregnant or not, even the yearlings do it and they are in a different field. I think its bordom because they do it when they have had enough grass and are standing by the water or the gate.

We have now had to put a line electric fence along the rail, 1, because i have replaced them twice and it costs a lot of money on 45acres! 2, my Vet advised it as a slither of wood could get logged in a tooth or between the tooth and gum (major vet bill).

Also it can be related to worms?!? but mine are all wormed correctly so im not realy sure on that one.
 
Interesting about worms - not in my two's case as they are both worm free - I use counts regularly. Definately could be boredom, I put out two big thick branches in the field - they munch off the bark and then chew away all the thin parts and leave just a stump for me to replace.

I have not had any problems with splinters etc, but I am using branches rather than fencing which could splinter more easily. Their favorite log was one that had been part burnt from the bonfire - they ate all the sooty bits first - and then rubbed black faces over us.
 
Thats quite interesting with the soot as its an old remedie (in my book) to feed things like soot and burnt wood ash for stomach upsets, gas and over indulgence on apples. i dont know if it would stand up in these days but im pretty sure travellers would still use it!

my guys can still reach the holly bush (poor plant) it gets trimmed by them frequently and the babys run around the field with the holly branch in there mouth. the bark never seems to do them harm but our rustic rails have very sharp strips.
 
Still in use - I had a cat with a upset system and she had to have Charcoal and live yoghurt - looked like a horrible grey sludge but she ate it.

My two particuarly like ash and elder branches.
 
I remember reading once that horses chew fences because in their natural habitat they would have access to & graze on a variety of different things. the book mentioned 20 odd species of vegitation including bark. Now days horses are resticted to paddocks & therefore some resort to chewing the fence line. It made perfect sense to me!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top