Thoughts of putting grazing muzzle on youngster/end of my tether...

[Cedars]

Hi all, Hoping for all thoughts here.

My youngster wood chews. She ate about £200 worth of rails last winter, and her box, and now she's started again on her current field fence.

I KNOW that it is not her teeth - she is seen every 6 months bang on, we check for sharps every day, and I check her mouth for any loose baby teeth (she's at that age) every day. Basically, when she runs out of easy grass, she eats wood.

This fence is a nightmare because its very rotten in parts so it will need to be totally replaced, not patched up. I do not have £400!!!!!!

So the only thing I can think to do is put a grazing muzzle on her. I'm worried about putting a fieldsafe on a youngster (although she is now near as damn it 2 and built like the proverbial...) firstly because I don't want her getting caught on anything, and secondly, I'm worried it might restrict her food intake too much?

She is on a supplement (youngstock), with pony nuts, and a handful of chaff. So I don't think she's lacking. Her feet are in good condition, her teeth grow like a bat out of hell (as in, she has a full adult electric rasp every 6 months).

Help? =[

 

[c2b]

Leccy fencing round the inside of the rails?

 

[Shearer]

Put a line of electric fencing round the field?

 

[Cedars]

There is electric fencing on the top rail - its a HUGE stretch, far too much to put extra tape and stakes inside the fence line - apart from my worry about her and stakes because she got wrapped up last winter and by the grace of god didnt spike herself...

Its driving me mad.

 

[freckles22uk]

I have the same problem with mine, and fencing is a fortune here in Spain... mine do it when there is no grazing and their bored, I put the thin electric wire on the poles using ring insulators.. pain to do but worked, I also put salt/ mineral licks on the fencing and gates and they tend to lick them now instead.. Stallion had a new gate 6 weeks ago when we moved house... and hes chewed it like it was a Marsbar... aghhhh.... even after creosoting it.. love him really but it is frustrating, so going to creosote again and sprinkle with chilli powder or something similar..

 

[Tnavas]

I'm having the same problem with my 2½yr old. She does it when she is on her own - paddock mate is stabled at night (is also her mum) and she must stand by the fence and chew it during the night. I've bought a spray that I've used on the fence and also on her mums tail which mysteriously vanished in the summer. It's not growing back as fast as I'd have expected.

Someone also gave me a recipe for a deterent - 1 Large pot vaseline and 1 packet Cayenne Pepper. Warm Vaseline till runny, stir in the Cayenne Pepper. Apply to rail.

Can you creosote the rails?

I'd be inclined to attach electric wire to the top of the posts - I've put some on my fence - just waiting for the YO to have the power connected. Hopefully madam will then stop.

Also have a large multi mineral block in the paddock now so also hoping that will stop her.

 

[cptrayes]

Every young horse I've ever had chewed wood. I think it is their teeth, (I know you don't) purely because they stop when they stop changing teeth. Screw in electric insulators and plain wire/thin plastic electric wire (sheep stuff) aren't that expensive. That's what I use.

 

[Revena]

Was about to say exactly the same thing as cptrayes! Please don't muzzle your youngster.

 

[Tnavas]

This is the first of my youngsters that has chewed the fences. I've not had any problems with the others.

We've just moved grazing - all beautiful post and rail fencing. At her last paddock there was only one rail near the gate and I'd had to replace it twice in the past year - chewed through but I was never able to work out who ate it until we moved.

 

[eggs]

Completely agree with Revena nd cptrayes. Youngsters chew wood - fact.

I bit the bullet and put electric standoffs all round my youngster's field and used a Wolsley solar powered charger. Our field is about 750 m long by 400 m wide so a lot of electric tape needed!

 

[Cedars]

What I meant is, I'm sure it is her teeth/baby need to put stuff in mouth, but its not something that she needs to see a dentist about if you see what I mean!

I don't even know how we'd power that many strands of wire/tape - and if it wasn't on I can see her slicing herself on it....

I have tried EVERYTHING. Not willing to try creosote (or whatever its now called) because it says its highly toxic if ingested - and she just carries on eating right through anything. Before I made her box chew-proof, she had on her walls: washing up liquid, two types of spray on no-bite stuff, both of these I painted on with a brush to ensure they were saturated. Also vinegar, everything that I sprayed on her I sprayed on the wall too!! Fly spray etc!! She just carried on eating through the fecking thing.

Oh, and I put 3 layers of duct tape on one corner - she went straight through that to the wood, ended up with the duct tape remains stuck everywhere!!

I'm getting to the point where I'm feeling she might need to go back. I just can't think of what else to do. Is creosote totally horrid?

 

[Cedars]

Oh, and she has a himalayan salt lick.

 

[Bryndu]

STOP...EVERYONE....!
I can't for the life of me remember what...but it is a lack of........arrrgh....I can't think.....in the diet.....maybe google it?
Sorry to be so twp!!

Bryndu

 

[eggs]

I don't even know how we'd power that many strands of wire/tape - and if it wasn't on I can see her slicing herself on ?

As I wrote, I am running over 2 mm of electric fence using a solar powered charger so it is always on.

 

[Tnavas]

Cedars - creasote has been used for decades to stop horses chewing - they only have a go at it a couple of times before deciding it doesn't taste nice and then they stop.

It is toxic but not in the small amount your horse will initially chew.

 

[Cedars]

Evelyn - is it substantially more disgusting than cribbox/crib stop? Because she just ate right through that...and the soap...and the vinegar...and the fly spray...and the.................................!

 

[Tnavas]

Evelyn - is it substantially more disgusting than cribbox/crib stop? Because she just ate right through that...and the soap...and the vinegar...and the fly spray...and the.................................!

Yes definately

 

[Maesfen]

There is electric fencing on the top rail - its a HUGE stretch, far too much to put extra tape and stakes inside the fence line - apart from my worry about her and stakes because she got wrapped up last winter and by the grace of god didnt spike herself...

Its driving me mad.

It just sounds to me as if you're looking for the easy way out because £400 worth doesn't sound very long to me.

You don't need stakes to go inside, you need the screw in tape holders on each post, screw them in and thread the tape/wire through.

 

[Apercrumbie]

I think someone on here suggested putting horse poo in some water and painting it on. Not nice, I know but apparently it works. Sorry, can't remember who did it though.

 

[zachary]

Does she have access to any bushes/trees? We have had a few ponies that love to eat sticks, brambles, leaves etc etc, I think given a choice most will browse as well as graze. We have cut brambles, branches (safe & non-toxic obv.) etc when they have been in fields without, gives them something to do picking off the good bits too! Worth a try?

 

[cm2581]

Get a shires grazing muzzle and make the hole into a long slit around 1 inch wide all the way accross the bottom of the muzzle. This way you will limit the wood munching capability but not really the grass munching capability!! Bloody horses eh?!!

 

[SpruceRI]

I used to mix chilli powder with English mustard and paint that on the tops of the stable doors, as Cribbox didn't stop my chewy one chewing either.

I'm sure you could try chilli powder and something else equally revolting and runny to spray on your fences. Though if your horse rubs his face on the fencing, that will be 'ouch'!

Definately go for electric fencing added to your existing. Just add insulators, like any of these http://www.horsejumpsforsale.co.uk/insulators-115-c.asp

and run rope/tape or wire through it. It MUST be electrified to work though!!