Horse raking teeth on stall grill - tips to mitigate?

[carmanah]

My 3 yr old lives in an in and out 24/7 with a huge attached paddock so is never locked in a stall… but when he does come in he loves to do this. I suspect he like the noise effect more than anything. No other horse on the property does this so he picked this up all on his own. Drives me nuts but am more worried about potential damage to his incisors. I think it’s impatience more than anything. (Grills are two feet tall on top of the plank stall divider.

Has anybody been able to prevent or at least reduce this behaviour? I was thinking maybe PVC pipe or perhaps rubber horse split and fitted around each bar? Opinions on this option or other suggestions? TIA!

[jvanrens]

Irish Spring soap has been very effective in keeping my mare from doing that on the stall walls if she thinks her being out of hay for 15 minutes is too long. Guess it doesn’t taste too good if the smell doesn’t turn her off.

[beowulf]

What is he coming into the stall for, grain?

Feed him outside in a rubber bucket on the ground.

[frugalannie]

I have a cribber, so the edge of the grillwork is an attractive nuisance. I zip tie rat wire on the inside of the grillwork. It’s a wire mesh with about 1/4" squares. I cut it the length and the width that I need. There have been no cuts or abrasions in the two years I’ve been doing it. (Except on me when I was cutting it with tin shears.)

I think that there’s a plastic version too.

[clanter]

@frugalannie

It’s a wire mesh with about 1/4" squares.

I think you are referring to what is actually called hardware cloth?

[frugalannie]

Yes I usually call it that, but I’ve also heard it called rat wire. I asked someone to get me hardware cloth once and they came back with those red towels used in mechanic’s shops.

[jvanrens]

Guess you need to send better instructions with that person!! LOL Personally, I’ve never heard of rat wire.

[carmanah]

I’ve tried Irish Spring Soap and does not seem to reduce the behaviour unfortunately!

[carmanah]

He is not being fed grain at all. He comes in to drink and has hay 24/7 available.

[jvanrens]

@carmanah

I’ve tried Irish Spring Soap and does not seem to reduce the behaviour unfortunately!

Damn, that’s a disappointment! It’s usually a quick fix for most of them!

[mmeqcenter]

Pool noodles?
Or as others said, block the bars with a wire mesh or something.

[amandaw]

I use Cribox (made by Hydrophane) for my cribber’s metal stall door. Or Raplast. Irish Spring unfortunately didn’t last for me either.

[Mcl1]

Along with blocking the bars, you could try giving home something he is allowed to play with right in front of them. My horse thinks he needs something in his mouth 24/7 and will grab onto my pipe fencing when I am tacking him up. I hung a jolly ball and a rope dog toy right in front of where he stands and it is fairly effective. You could also try hanging a slow feed hay net there. My guy always has free choice hay available but will choose to eat from a slow feed hay net vs. loose hay - I think he enjoys the “game” of pulling hay out and swinging the net around.