From: Carla
I just subscribed to Horse Sense. I looked through the archives for information on chewing and found some previous questions on cribbing. I have two horses that are not cribbing, they are chewing wood fencing and trees. Immediately after finishing their hay they begin to chew. I suspect they are chewing out of boredom since I do not have grass in the paddocks in the winter months. I can't give them more hay than they are getting since they are not working much. I've tried various products such as Chew Stop and Rap Blast but it does not discourage them. Is there some old fashioned remedy that I can put on the fence to stop them? I've lost three beautiful Birch trees and I'll be replacing fence boards all summer!! Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Carla
Hi Carla, welcome to horse-sense! I think you are on the right track when you say that your horses aren't cribbing, but there is almost certainly more to this than boredom. Horses are grazing animals; it's their nature to eat all day and most of the night, nibbling constantly at their natural foodsource: low-protein, high-fiber grass. We can keep them in large fields, large paddocks, small paddocks, or stalls, we can feed them grain at regular intervals, we can give them treats and supplements, but we cannot change their basic nature OR the fact that their digestive system is designed to function non-stop, around the clock, processing small amounts of low-protein, high-fiber food.
You don't mention how much hay your horses are given, but I'm going to guess that it isn't enough, especially since you say they begin chewing the fence as soon as they finish their hay. It would be best if the hay were always there, so that "finishing" it would not be an option. It's best if horses can always have some source of fiber in front of them: grass when there is grass, hay when the grass is gone. I know you are worried about overfeeding your horses, but please talk to your veterinarian about this! Horses that are not in work can often do very nicely without grain, but they need their hay, and not just for its caloric value. Feeding free-choice hay won't necessarily result in hugely fat horses; the process of digesting hay uses up calories and produces heat. This is why horses in cold climates are usually offered MORE hay in the winter: the process of digestion is what keeps them warm. You should be able to offer your horses, if not free-choice hay, at least a large quantity of hay, several times a day, so that they are never without hay for very long. Grass hay is best -- lucerne is too high in protein to be a practical option for ad lib feeding. Again, your veterinarian will be able to advise you about the types of hay available in your area.
Be sure that your horses have constant access to salt! If horses are salt-deprived, they will sometimes chew on any surface that presents itself. Putting a 50-pound mineralized salt block in their field shelter is a good idea: it may help solve the chewing problem IF salt deprivation is a factor, and they need the salt in any case.
As for the property damage, there are ways to protect your trees and fences. You can protect your trees by enclosing them in small fences, or by wrapping the trunks with chicken wire -- both of these are common practices on horse farms. The fence should be less attractive to your horses when they get enough hay to satisfy their need to chew. If you find that they eat the fence even when they have hay available at all times, you can also cover that top board with chicken wire -- this, too, is done on many horse farms. Another option would be to attach a single strand of electric wire just inside the top rail. This discourages chewing, as you can imagine. It also discourages horses from leaning against the fence in an effort to reach the grass on the other side.
Jessica
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