Sudden onset wood chewing

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Noticed the other day my pony has decided to nibble the tops of a couple of bits of post and rail fencing. Then last night i found a load of bits of chewed up bits of wood around the upright wooden post which forms the corner of his electric fenced field. Tonight there was even more there and he has somehow managed to eat almost the entire circumference of the wood - if he eats much more the thing will snap and he'll escape - perhaps that is his plan!

He has never been a wood chewer before and has been on individual turnout after an injury for nearly a year now. He gets a treat ball full of fibre cubes every night, plenty of hay, a high fibre dinner and TopSpec so I dont think he's lacking in anything. He's ridden 5 times a week although only doin mostly walk and a bit of trot so far.

Any ideas? Also, anything I can paint on there that's cheaper than buying loads of crib-ox?
 
Mine have just started too!! Suspect it's boredom in the field as it's completely bare despite feeding haylage!! I'm afraid I was out there this evening with my pot of Crib-Box. They will not win!!!
 
Hi my horse has started to do this, i looked in his mouth and his trying to pull off front cap, and when i had dentist he said is he chewing wood.
 
Have you had the Dentist out recently and how old is your horse? Ive read before that horses chew trees in the wild when their teeth have grown in order to wear them down. If its a youngster, is it a teething thing?

If its nothing to do with teeth, then maybe hes in need of company after being out solo for some time.
 
fairy liquid has managed to deter my youngster wh obroke his jaw a few weeks ago from chewing on anything whilst his jaw heals, well so far so good anyway :)
 
he had the dentist a few weeks ago - his teeth are in perfect condition.
he's 9.
he cant have company because he chases other horses, kicks out, does gallop to sliding stop and is trying to recover from a cruciate ligament injury. he can talk to the others over the fence and they quite often play games over the fence and he can groom them etc but he cant be turned out with others.
i doubt he's lacking in anything dietary as he's on TopSpec Comprehensive - it should be giving him absolutely everything he needs.
 
A splint coming up can cause wood chewing,as a craving for minerals .In cattle ,chewing wood is a sign of possible Phosphorous deficiency,though this has not been proved in horses.(probably only because no one has done the research).Of course the most likely thing is that Llewy is a vandal.
 
My TB has a spate of this every spring again is on a complete Multi vit/mineral supplement so didn't suspect he was lacking anything and has ad lib haylage with around 8/9 hours of turnout a day . I eventually bought some of the Farnam Quitt and it stopped him within about 3 days. I now buy a tub around this time of year and feed him a tub and it totally prevents it for him .
 
toomanyhorses26 said:
My TB has a spate of this every spring again is on a complete Multi vit/mineral supplement so didn't suspect he was lacking anything and has ad lib haylage with around 8/9 hours of turnout a day . I eventually bought some of the Farnam Quitt and it stopped him within about 3 days. I now buy a tub around this time of year and feed him a tub and it totally prevents it for him .
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that sounds worth trying. where do i get it from?

Mike - no sign of any splints - not doing enough work for that really anyway! Quite possible he is just a vandle.
 
My mare did this for a few weeks whilst she was on box rest last year. I put it down to she used to have ad-lib hay, I had to start to weigh and soak her hay so she was only getting the correct amount. The wood chewing stoped after a few weeks and she has'nt done it since.
 
star said:
that sounds worth trying. where do i get it from?

Mike - no sign of any splints - not doing enough work for that really anyway! Quite possible he is just a vandle.
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I've always believed that it's caused by a deficiency or that they are craving a particular type of mineral- if we've had a horse on the yard do that a vit/min supplement of some description in the feed and also a mineral block in the stable has always sorted the problem out..... so you would think -like you say- he is getting everything he needs from the topspec! could just be he likes the texture of the wood! or teeth sharp?

Quitt- http://www.saddlery.biz/supplements...s/general-horse-supplements/farnam-quitt.html

Also Mcnasty spray is v good too for chewers http://www.tds-saddlers.com/ProductDetails.asp?PCLinkID=15059
 
I wouldn't worry too much. There probably is not much grass in the field at thge moment and he is looking for something to chomp on. Horses will naturally munch on trees.

Mine started on the only bit of p&r that doesn't have an electric standoff on it about 10 days ago.
 
star said:
Noticed the other day my pony has decided to nibble the tops of a couple of bits of post and rail fencing. Then last night i found a load of bits of chewed up bits of wood around the upright wooden post which forms the corner of his electric fenced field. Tonight there was even more there and he has somehow managed to eat almost the entire circumference of the wood - if he eats much more the thing will snap and he'll escape - perhaps that is his plan!

He has never been a wood chewer before and has been on individual turnout after an injury for nearly a year now. He gets a treat ball full of fibre cubes every night, plenty of hay, a high fibre dinner and TopSpec so I dont think he's lacking in anything. He's ridden 5 times a week although only doin mostly walk and a bit of trot so far.

Any ideas? Also, anything I can paint on there that's cheaper than buying loads of crib-ox?
Click to expand...

I've heard that wood chewing can be due to lack of fibre in the diet. If you want to paint or spray something on the fence to stop the behaviour then if you go to a pet shop you can find a bitter apple spray similar to this on ebay http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bitter-Apple-...upplies_Dogs&hash=item3a6320ff42#ht_740wt_905

People tend to use it to deter puppies from chewing chair legs/cables.
I used it to spray into my horses mane to deter his field mate from chewing his mane.
 
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