Has Your Horse's Tongue Gotten Stuck on Frozen Metal?

[PeteyPie]

I put that title as a specific incident but more generally, has anyone ever had a problem with a horse getting a tongue or lips cut or injured on cold metal in the winter?

This occurred to me when I was re-reading a thread about best fencing in a close-quarters situation. I said galvanized welded pipe fencing was my favorite, but then I was thinking about how this would be regional. Metal is great in California, but in Edmonton in the winter? Maybe not so much.

So the question is, in your cold region does anyone have metal fencing (or siding) and if so, is it sometimes a problem in the winter?

[saultgirl]

No, I haven’t experienced this as a problem, nor have I ever heard of it being a problem. I’m in northern Ontario, Canada, so I have plenty of winter experience.

[Mukluk]

Well, if my mare lived in the cold I think she would be stuck out there- just like the kid in A Christmas Story. Her name is Angel but she could easily be called “Tongue Action” or “Oral Fixation”- Always with the tongue!!!

[LSMarnell]

Yes. But not the tongue, his lower lip. It actually turned a little serious as that area is impossible to keep clean and it did get infected. A course of antibiotics cleared and healed it up, but we all couldn’t believe it actually happened.

What we pieced together by the evidence was that during one of our -20 degree nights that winter he got a drink from the heated stock tank and then brushed his lip against a metal beam above the kick wall. (Its a large metal barn, he was loose in there, and there is wood up the walls to a certain height.)

We found the spot he got “attached” as there was some hair and flesh

Even the vet had never seen one actually do it for all the joking about the possibility…only my horse.

[CHT]

I had a horse get her eye frozen to a water tank in winter. It was pretty gross and required considerable care. She managed to regain some of her vision though.

I have no idea how it happened.

I have never had a horse’s tongue get stuck though.

[CrowneDragon]

[QUOTE=CHT;7823399]
I had a horse get her eye frozen to a water tank in winter.[/QUOTE]

:eek:

That is an awful visual!
Thankfully I haven’t seen horses get anything frozen to metal in the winter here. Me, on the other hand…

[morganpony86]

Yep. I’ve seen one of my Morgans get his tongue stuck twice, so who knows how many times he’s actually done it. He’s always very mouthy and one of his favorite things to lick is metal.

Anyhoo, the most memorable time was when I was out in his paddock chipping frozen manure in sub-zero temps (I think it was close to -15oF) and he started idly mouthing the metal gate. His lips got kinda stuck a few times, just briefly, then I watched him lick the gate and got his tongue stuck. Ripped it back. A bit of blood, but nothing dramatic. I saw him do it again the following year on a not-as-cold day (still below freezing, but not sub zero), so he obviously never learned his lesson. Now we live on the gulf coast so no opportunities here.

[spotted_draft_x_fill]

I’m surprised neither of my horses have managed to do that since they’re both the curious types. My mare when she was younger had learned another important lesson, that’s it’s not a good idea to sniff the electric fence after taking a drink of water

[QM2]

Great thanks guys for MORE things to worry about.
Ugh! The stuck eyeball. Blaaaah!

[jherold]

I used to worry about it with my cribber. (He’s allowed to crib on one metal gate. Everything else has electric). I’ve had him in Indiana for 12 years and so far it hasn’t happened!