I changed the pasture situation for my 2yo old colt this weekend. Previously he was pastured only with his 1yo pasture buddy, but I recently moved both of them to a much larger pasture with a few other horses. This morning I went to check on him and he was chewing on the fences non-stop, which I'd never seen him do. All the other horses were relaxed and grazing including his 1yo buddy, but my colt continued to chew. I removed the other horses and left him with just his buddy, but he kept chewing. He has free access to salt and mineral blocks and receives vitamin supplements. He is grained twice a day and has access to hay and pasture.
My question is what could be causing him to chew and how do I get it to stop. I've heard that chewing may indicate a mineral deficiency, but I doubt this is the case as he has mineral blocks and supplements. I'd welcome any advice you have as I've never had a chewer.
My question is what could be causing him to chew and how do I get it to stop. I've heard that chewing may indicate a mineral deficiency, but I doubt this is the case as he has mineral blocks and supplements. I'd welcome any advice you have as I've never had a chewer.
First of all, is your horse chewing wood, or is he cribbing? There is a difference, which some of your posters seem to forget. A horse that is chewing wood is doing just that, biting and chewing on the wood and breaking off pieces. A horse that is windsucking or cribbing is grabbing onto the fence with his front teeth, and then actively sucking in air. You can hear an unusual sound in most cases when they crib, it isn't just nibbling on wood.
If he is cribbing you could use a Miracle collar. But a collar will not solve plain old wood chewing, which is what I'm going to assume he's doing.
It does seem untypical for him to suddenly increase his wood chewing when he's in a large pasture with other horses. Most young horses do chew wood, but it noticably increases in the winter months when they have less grazing time and are bored. To be chewing for long periods of time when he could be grazing seems unusual.
Is there good grazing in the pasture, or just weeds? Is the grass good quality? Not everything that appears green is edible grass. So that would be my first question. A hungry horse could increase his wood chewing out of frustration and boredom.
If the pasture is in good condition, my next question would be - could he possibly be unwell? I think of gastric ulcers. There seems to be some proof that horses with ulcers will chew wood more, partly to increase their salivia which dilutes their accidic stomach. Does he appear a bit thinner than normal? Unthrifty looking? Does he seem to have any stomach problems that you can note? A good percentage of horses in active training have gastric ulcers, but it is much less common in pasture turnout horses, so I'm not sure what to think. What was your horse's living situation just before you moved to this pasture? Was he in a confined area? In active training? Was he under extra stressers? Perhaps he's developed an ulcer. If you think this could be possible, then talk to a good equine vet and go from there. Studies also seem to show that an increase in grain can increase the chances of ulcers, so I think I'd pull him off his grain asap. You didn't say how much he's getting daily, a cup or so wouldn't worry me, but if he's getting a large amount that could contribute to his problem. Also, for some reason large amounts of grain often go hand in hand with cribbing. Perhaps he's lost some weight and you've upped his grain supply and that is aggrivating his system.
I'd also want to have his teeth looked at. It isn't unusual for young horses to have a retained cap or other dental problem that could cause some discomfort. Babies like to chew on things when teething, this could be part of your horse's problem.
There are a few things you can do to stop the wood chewing even if you can't find the trigger. For example, there are some products out there that you use to paint your horse's wooden fences. They aren't cheap, but they do work. I have 90% of my wood painted with a product called "No Chew" and they don't touch that wood. The unpainted wood is chewed down like a beaver log! Also, you could buy some push-in electric fence posts and a solar power charger (posts are about $2 each and a solar charger is about $200) and set this up a few feet in front of the main fence. That way he can't reach the fence to chew.
But I think that finding the cause should be your first priority rather than just masking the problem. Since your horse is on a suppliment and has access to salt and mineral blocks he probably isn't missing any big elements. You could try an equine pro-biotic for a few weeks, that could improve the flora in his stomach which might stop him chewing, plus it would help if he's developing an ulcer. Good luck.
If he is cribbing you could use a Miracle collar. But a collar will not solve plain old wood chewing, which is what I'm going to assume he's doing.
It does seem untypical for him to suddenly increase his wood chewing when he's in a large pasture with other horses. Most young horses do chew wood, but it noticably increases in the winter months when they have less grazing time and are bored. To be chewing for long periods of time when he could be grazing seems unusual.
Is there good grazing in the pasture, or just weeds? Is the grass good quality? Not everything that appears green is edible grass. So that would be my first question. A hungry horse could increase his wood chewing out of frustration and boredom.
If the pasture is in good condition, my next question would be - could he possibly be unwell? I think of gastric ulcers. There seems to be some proof that horses with ulcers will chew wood more, partly to increase their salivia which dilutes their accidic stomach. Does he appear a bit thinner than normal? Unthrifty looking? Does he seem to have any stomach problems that you can note? A good percentage of horses in active training have gastric ulcers, but it is much less common in pasture turnout horses, so I'm not sure what to think. What was your horse's living situation just before you moved to this pasture? Was he in a confined area? In active training? Was he under extra stressers? Perhaps he's developed an ulcer. If you think this could be possible, then talk to a good equine vet and go from there. Studies also seem to show that an increase in grain can increase the chances of ulcers, so I think I'd pull him off his grain asap. You didn't say how much he's getting daily, a cup or so wouldn't worry me, but if he's getting a large amount that could contribute to his problem. Also, for some reason large amounts of grain often go hand in hand with cribbing. Perhaps he's lost some weight and you've upped his grain supply and that is aggrivating his system.
I'd also want to have his teeth looked at. It isn't unusual for young horses to have a retained cap or other dental problem that could cause some discomfort. Babies like to chew on things when teething, this could be part of your horse's problem.
There are a few things you can do to stop the wood chewing even if you can't find the trigger. For example, there are some products out there that you use to paint your horse's wooden fences. They aren't cheap, but they do work. I have 90% of my wood painted with a product called "No Chew" and they don't touch that wood. The unpainted wood is chewed down like a beaver log! Also, you could buy some push-in electric fence posts and a solar power charger (posts are about $2 each and a solar charger is about $200) and set this up a few feet in front of the main fence. That way he can't reach the fence to chew.
But I think that finding the cause should be your first priority rather than just masking the problem. Since your horse is on a suppliment and has access to salt and mineral blocks he probably isn't missing any big elements. You could try an equine pro-biotic for a few weeks, that could improve the flora in his stomach which might stop him chewing, plus it would help if he's developing an ulcer. Good luck.
Is he in a pasture with grass? If is bare land, he is bored/and or frustrated with not being able to eat grass which may be on the other side. This is a destructive habit.
He will weaken the posts over time. My best advice is to run several lines of hot wire to keep him away from the wood. He won't be any healthier for eating wood, anyway.
I had a mare that ate wood in the winter. She had been on a huge (5000 acres) ranch and she was used to eat tree branches, I guess.
He will weaken the posts over time. My best advice is to run several lines of hot wire to keep him away from the wood. He won't be any healthier for eating wood, anyway.
I had a mare that ate wood in the winter. She had been on a huge (5000 acres) ranch and she was used to eat tree branches, I guess.
This is called cribbing. It's caused when your horse is bored or stressed. You can stop this by putting a miracle collar around their neck.
You can get a miracle collar at http://www.doversaddlery.com/product.asp...
Hope this helps!
You can get a miracle collar at http://www.doversaddlery.com/product.asp...
Hope this helps!
Mare at the stable I ride at cribs
A lot of horses do itz just a boredom habit. get a hanging treat that he likes. like a pony pop. or a lick it. horses love those thingz. my horse cant walk away from them!
He is doing it because he's bored. Put some toys in the pasture!
SAMD
My mare chews on wood to. Which is also called cribbing.
I agree i doubt that he is doing this because of the whole mineral deficiency. Even though i have never heard of that before, (lol more reserach im gonna be doing :D )
But he may have seen another horse doing it, thats how one of my uncles started i think. any ways, it is a bored habbit that horses pick up. You could go get him a jolly ball, or one of those things you hang from a tree that he can lick to keep him busy.
Good luck :D but if you really dont like it, you can get this thing you put on them that doesnt allow them to crib. Im not sure what its called, i could google it if you wanted. Or you could ask your vet.
:D
I agree i doubt that he is doing this because of the whole mineral deficiency. Even though i have never heard of that before, (lol more reserach im gonna be doing :D )
But he may have seen another horse doing it, thats how one of my uncles started i think. any ways, it is a bored habbit that horses pick up. You could go get him a jolly ball, or one of those things you hang from a tree that he can lick to keep him busy.
Good luck :D but if you really dont like it, you can get this thing you put on them that doesnt allow them to crib. Im not sure what its called, i could google it if you wanted. Or you could ask your vet.
:D
I would still consider the mineral deficiency as a possibility and either have a vet or a nutritionist look into that for you. I took a course on equine nutrition at university and one of the things they stressed to us was even if you make a mineral or salt block available to your horse, they may not necessarily be using it or getting as much out of as they need to. There are also a lot of different kinds of mineral blocks, with different colors often representing different minerals, so perhaps he needs a different one. There may still be something that he isn't getting between the supplements and the block he currently has.
It may still be boredom. I've had chewers and given them toys and they still prefered to eat away at their stalls and paddock fences, but we never found a nutritional cause for their preference of wood. They just liked chewing wood better than their toys. My youngest used to chew A LOT and I got him a jolly ball that he ended up having absolutely no interest in whatsoever, and we tried tweaking his nutrition, but there was no difference. That was a year ago. Now he still likes to chew on the cross ties when he's being brushed and chew on the lead when he's being walked, but he doesn't chew his stall anymore. I think he'll end up growing out of the chewing altogether, he just gets bored and likes to have something to focus on. When he's on the lunge line he doesn't chew the line and when I've been on him, he hasn't tried to chew the reins, so I think he just entertains himself with chewing when he's not preoccupied with something else. He seems to be growing out of it though. He doesn't do it nearly as much as he did a year ago, so if you double check the nutrition and everything seems to add up right, then it might just be boredom and he might grow out of it as he starts to transition into regular work and his focus shifts. I've seen a lot of changes in his behaviour since he's been in training. He likes having something to do, so training has really evened out his behaviour and he's grown up a lot in the last year.
It may still be boredom. I've had chewers and given them toys and they still prefered to eat away at their stalls and paddock fences, but we never found a nutritional cause for their preference of wood. They just liked chewing wood better than their toys. My youngest used to chew A LOT and I got him a jolly ball that he ended up having absolutely no interest in whatsoever, and we tried tweaking his nutrition, but there was no difference. That was a year ago. Now he still likes to chew on the cross ties when he's being brushed and chew on the lead when he's being walked, but he doesn't chew his stall anymore. I think he'll end up growing out of the chewing altogether, he just gets bored and likes to have something to focus on. When he's on the lunge line he doesn't chew the line and when I've been on him, he hasn't tried to chew the reins, so I think he just entertains himself with chewing when he's not preoccupied with something else. He seems to be growing out of it though. He doesn't do it nearly as much as he did a year ago, so if you double check the nutrition and everything seems to add up right, then it might just be boredom and he might grow out of it as he starts to transition into regular work and his focus shifts. I've seen a lot of changes in his behaviour since he's been in training. He likes having something to do, so training has really evened out his behaviour and he's grown up a lot in the last year.
this isnt good, dont panic but it isnt good
my horse did this at 4 years and it scarred his throat and now he cant eat hay unless soaked and oaten (cant eat grass hay or lucerne/alfalfa) because he grabs mouthfuls and the scar tissue in his throat doesnt have enough room and hay gets stuck
yea i know wierd but thats what the vet said
(he is now 18 and still cant be fed hay)
only thing i can think of is electric fence would stop him, he may touch it a few times and chuck a tantrum at it (it doesnt hurt, its a really weird sensation that makes you shy away from it) but he will learn not to touch the fence, my agist has eletric fences around every paddock/yard, yea my horse chucked a tantrum the first time but hes learnt since
hope i helped
my horse did this at 4 years and it scarred his throat and now he cant eat hay unless soaked and oaten (cant eat grass hay or lucerne/alfalfa) because he grabs mouthfuls and the scar tissue in his throat doesnt have enough room and hay gets stuck
yea i know wierd but thats what the vet said
(he is now 18 and still cant be fed hay)
only thing i can think of is electric fence would stop him, he may touch it a few times and chuck a tantrum at it (it doesnt hurt, its a really weird sensation that makes you shy away from it) but he will learn not to touch the fence, my agist has eletric fences around every paddock/yard, yea my horse chucked a tantrum the first time but hes learnt since
hope i helped