Why does my horse inflict pain on himself???

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RunToEarth

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My coloured chews the insides of his cheeks and lips. I've had his teeth done and I am putting Bonjela and piles cream on as advised, which makes it better but whenever he is being ridden he nibbles away at himself, which sometimes causes his mouth to bleed. Whilst it doesn't appear to cause him any pain and he looooves having bonjela on, I wondered if there could be anything I could do to stop him doing it!
 
WEll I hack him in a different bit to fast work, snaffle mouthpieces, but TBH he was worse in the Pellham, and being a very strong horse I thought the English Gag offered the best solution, being snaffle mouthed, as it all started when I rode him in a waterford.
 
ERm, short of a time machine and going pre waterford, the only other thing I can suggest is give him a holiday until the sores have completely healed, he could be chewing on the swellings he has already caused, (like when you mess with a dodgy tooth yourself).
 
Well yes I did think this, however last year he had a tooth out, 2monthes unridden work where the sores healed completely, and ridden in a hackamore for a couple of weeks after, but then all of a sudden they appeared again, I don't know whether he does them in the field as well, as he has had a sore mouth some days when I havnt ridden him
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Could it be a food reaction? We have a dog that has eaten a complete food for years and then became 'frightened' of it. Now feeding very bland old fashioned meat and biscuits and she is fine again, we think it was'burning' her mouth. It could be something of a similar nature, a bit like urticaria in the skin, but in the mucus membranes (what is it like under his tail and up his nose?)
 
Honest opinion?

Its a habit that im not sure you'll break. Reason i think this will possibly make me sound crazy. I have a cousin who has ALWAYS done this.

She bites at the inside of her own mouth or on the inner edges of her lips. It frequently results in her making herself bleed. She does it more often when nervous or when in an unfamiliar situation but its not purely nerves as she'll do it when at home or just sat watching the tv
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Shes given herself ulcers and all sorts and she knows she does but cant stop it
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Shes done it since we were kids and shes now 32 and still does.

No clue why, no clue where it came from but it doesnt appear to be stopping.

Very random message i know
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I picked it up a little bit when in my teens and still do it when i get nervous (ive noticed id bitten the inside of my lip when my silly horse was throwing me around earlier), but again, no where near the amount she does.

I think its just a habitual thing that would take a LOT of breaking and while i spose a person could possibly condition themselves to (on the basis that it kinda hurts if you bite too hard), i dont see a horse managing or having the motivation to do it!
 
I'm sure you've checked this already but what plants are there in his field? My pony was chewing the inside of her right cheek when I bought her - she moved in with my mare and after a day it stopped. She went back into her old field last week and it started so she went into the one next door and it continued. We found there was a plant in the hedge - not sure what it is but the others eat it without a problem.
 
I do the same to myself as Tierra describes her cousin do, and I simply cannot stop it. Learned habits are hard to break but I found my horse doesnt grind his teeth as much when he is in a cavesson or drop compared to flash or grackle.
 
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