chewing wood

[PREconvert]

My super easy keeper started chewing wood when he went on his diet. I got him a nylon webbing slow feeder by Derby that is safe to put on the ground if your horse doesn’t have shoes. That helped a lot because he could flip it over to keep looking for the “good part”, which slowed him down and kept him busy. Also when he could still afford the calories, a lik-a-ball with alfalfa pellets kept him busy for a good 2 hours. But when the feed consultant assessed his condition and pointed out that you can only feel his ribs “with a running start”, that bit of fun ended. He isn’t interested in any toy that doesn’t dispense food - except whatever blanket he can snatch off his rack and then that’s super entertaining to shred.

Once he got out of the habit of wood chewing, I put his webbing slow feeder on a hay hoop. It’s probably less fun for him since he can’t flip it over, but it’s much easier to fill and close. He seems to be ok with it since his stall is still standing.

[Outyougo]

Check for ulcers. When my guy chews a bit and drinks lots more water when hit tummy acts up. Had good success when vet prescribed Sulfracate.

[RutlandH2O]

I have 2 nine year old Shire geldings, 5 weeks apart in age (my breeding). The boys are monster termites! None of my other horses have ever chewed wood, but these boys make up for it. We tried everything: Tabasco sauce (which works for a day or two) soap, Vicks, dog anti-chew, you name it, nil. Creosote works for a few days, then…In desperation, I went out to the farm shop and to the store that supplies all manner of steel to industry, and bought 5 & 6 foot lengths of angle iron. When that ran out I ordered aluminum angle strips from eBay and we screwed them to every corner, every upright, and every window edge of their pole barn and field shelters. It works. But, they will occasionally rake their teeth along the boarded walls of the pole barn, which is massive. It’s 90’ x 45’ which has been divided into 3 30’ x 45’ section. The boys live together in one section. Their area looks so tatty, while the other 2 sections are virtually pristine. The girls know how to keep house!

[PaddockWood]

I noticed my mare chewing on wood and was bothered by it and wondered about testing the hay and making sure the minerals were sufficient. Did that and now supplementing what’s missing (while also taking into account her 1 lb of Enrich Plus per day) BUT coincidentally also had her scoped for ulcers and she had terrible ulcers. Treated for a month with Gastroguard (full tube) along w Equisure just to be sure hindgut was in good order AND seeing this thread made me realize I have NOT seen her chew on any wood - not once.

[pony_baloney]

Years ago mine did it briefly when he was waaaay overdue for a chiro/acupuncture treatment. Vet confirmed that he had been uncomfortable and out of whack and he stopped soon after the adjustment.

[StrawberryFieldsFarm]

How much hay is your horse getting? You mentioned that it was in a hay net. Have you tried soaking the hay? I use a muck bucket and soak it for an hour at minimum. If you do this, she could have as much hay as she likes. Soaking it removes the sugar according to my vet. Good luck!

[4LeafCloverFarm]

While soaking hay for long periods (more than 12 hours), can reduce NSC 25%-35% depending on the hay, I’ve never heard that it completely removed ALL the NSC from the hay. Soaking hay for less than an hour takes out a minuscule portion of NSC (5% maybe) - but for some horses, even 5% is better than none at all.

For an overweight or laminitus-prone mini, free choice hay, soaked or not, would not be something I’d do.

[CL_Moonriver]

The Irish Spring soap worked for me too. My mare took one lick at the place I was trying to stop her from chewing on, got a rather disgusted look on her face, and she never chewed on it again.

[CHT]

We have wood chewers on the mare’s side. I think one with health issues started doing it as a distraction, and the others picked it up. One obnoxious draft cross would rather chew wood than hay sometimes. interestingly, since we started adding pea straw to their diet (a flake in the morning and one at night, in conjunction with their hay), they have completely stopped eating the wood. Pea straw doesn’t have much for nutrition for horses, so not worried about it adding weight.

[CHT]

One thought on the muzzle: I don’t know that they can access salt/minerals with one on, and they fill with mud/snow easily. My Shetland wears one so she can be out with the big horses, but she comes in for 5 hours a day to be able to take it off.