Hello Coth
Long time lurker and second post. Help me!
The winter has been horrendous in New England. Bad footing, ice & snow.
My bored horses have decided to entertain themselves by eating down the barn. They’re chewing on everything.
I’ve tried. Stall toys and hanging treats ( one of which got shoved through the bars and broke the window) Are you kidding me, arrrgh.
Wiping everything down with soap, spray etc. etc. I need industrial strength people. What do you recommend?
I realize excersize cures most evils but it’s not in the cards right now.
No help here as I own one beaver. I just sprayed all the surfaces he finds tasty with Rap Last which I get from Smartpak. This stuff is foul . It should stop it.
Farnam 'Quitt" will help if they’re needing minerals.
Can you research what kind of trees grow local to you and are safe for horses to chew? Then just harvest some thick branches to put in the stalls for “enrichment activities”.
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No surprise that this is the second thread posted about wood chewing today! Tis the season!
I agree that tossing them safe branches can be super useful :yes: 
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I have ordered the Raplast. Thank You all.
Going out in the wood to harvest branches today. I’m just sad that my once pristine barn is now looking well lived in. Lol
My beaver and her buddy lifted the chewed gate off the hinges on Thursday, so I can only hope they don’t continue!
What about putting their hay ration in small mesh hay nets? They usually double the time it takes for horses to consume their hay and you can find them pretty cheap if you look around the internet. I usually find them for $9.99 or so.
Don’t have your horse in the stall when you apply it. Don’t apply in the wind. It is a super concentrated pepper base. Vicious! but you can use on wraps and blankets if needed.
Make sure any branches supplied are "safe"wood that won’t hurt the horses. Do you know your trees and bushes?
Black Walnut, Butternut, are both poison to horses because they contain jugalone. Any amount, even standing in their sawdust can be harmful to equines, causing laminitus and other issues. I would avoid fruit trees, they can contain cyanide naturally.
We provide logs for our horses to chew on, when thy get the urge. Willow is highly recommended and is a safe wood. Oak, hickory, cottonwood, have all been chewed here with no issues. Honeysuckle bushes are very popular for chewing. My brush pile from fence cleaning is gone quickly.
Perhaps a firewood supplier could provide some wood of known species for your horses. I avoid all Maple just on general principles, starting with the fact that Red Maple leaves can be toxic to horses. Checking sites listing poison plants, bushes, trees, can help you avoid bad trees.
Wild horses are programmed to eat brush this time of year to survive. Grass is buried under snow or grazed off, bushes stick up to be found easily. Domestic horses are still programmed to eat 'browse" now for survival. We can’t unprogram them, so providing safe woody stuff will prevent as much iwood chewing of the barn and fences.
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I’ve covered all chewable surfaces with rubber mats (I use the open kitchen kind because they are lighter and less expensive). They seem to stand up to chewing.
