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Discussion on Stop Wood Chewing
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New Member:
Gingerd
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 5, 2003 - 1:39 pm:
A couple of years ago, I had a problem with one of my horses chewing the wood in my pole barn. Especially the support posts in the center. I covered the posts with an inexpensive piece of brown indoor/outdoor carpet from Home Depot. He never bothered those posts again. So I covered other areas that he seemed to favor for chewing with the same carpeting, and he gave up on those too. My vet asked me why I was using the carpeting around my barn and when I explained it to her she was amazed! Since that time I have made a few other equine friends aware of my discovery and they too have been able to curb the chewing in their barn. Try it! It really does work!
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Member:
Juliem
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 5, 2003 - 5:01 pm:
Does anyone have a receipe to stop fence chewing? My two year old is gnawing the round wood rail fence around the large dry lot where he is boarded and the owners are NOT happy! I've run an electric wire along the top rail, but he moved his chewing to the next rail down. When he's turned out in the pasture next to his lot, he chews the other side. His pasture is also next to the arena, and he chews that fence. This is a new facility, so I need something that won't offend the owner's sensibilities or change the color of the fence. Help, I don't want to be evicted!
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Member:
Hwood
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 5, 2003 - 6:40 pm:
Hi, Julie,
How 'bout one of those new soft nylon grazing muzzles? Just a thought.
Holly
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Member:
Paul303
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 6, 2003 - 1:47 am:
Julie: Berber or cut-pile fencing? Darn! I just couldn't hold that in! One of mine started chewing when I couldn't put in enough time working him. He seemed to be bored silly. My farrier said that if he wanted to chew that much, get him his own fence posts to chew. We threw a couple cedar posts in and he loved them. Left the run in shed and fencing alone.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 6, 2003 - 6:10 am:
Julie, does he have hay to eat while out there? If so, time to run a second wire.
DrO
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Member:
Chrism
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 6, 2003 - 10:26 am:
Or offer to get the galvanized mesh wire and run it around the fence to protect it.
I vote for more "scratch" too - hay to nibble on. To simulate grazing, put it in several locations (away from the fence). He also may be gnawing because he is kept alone and other horses are in his vision that he wants to be with. If he is turned out with a buddy does he still gnaw?
You can try buying a lot of the Bitter Apple at your local Petsmart. People use for discouraging dog chewing and perhaps it would break the habit if you treated the fence with it.
Also make sure his food is balanced and he has adequate salt ... does he have salt block? You may want to consider adding a daily supplement such as Equi Min, too.
Just some thoughts. Chewing on the fence isn't very good for him either. Especially with the concerns about pressure treated wood and arsenic.
If you come up with something that works, let us know.
Love the carpet idea, too for indoors.
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Member:
Juliem
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 6, 2003 - 11:27 am:
Wow, thanks to all for the suggestions! What a great resource you all are! He has free choice hay and pretty good pasture. I feed salt and a vitamin/mineral supplement. This colt does have extra permanent incisors--two in front coming in above the standard two! I don't know if that could be an inciting factor, or it just makes him better able to go through wood!
Christine could have hit on something. He is alone, separtated by a hot wire from the other two horses. Despite being across a fence from these two since last June, they both attack him viciously given the chance. Maybe I should bite the bullet and let them work things out, but my vet refers to this colt as his "401K" plan. He's had a lot of bizarre things happen and I'm trying to avoid any more vet bills! Thanks again for all the help!
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Member:
Conniep
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Posted on Friday, May 16, 2003 - 2:26 pm:
I have got to get in on this one. My bucking horse, the one that everyone has gotten in on the discussion of what makes him buck, was a chewer. We kept him in a seperate pen due to his mental problems. Finally, had to turn him out with the other horses due to pasture conditions. After the first week of establishing who is the boss (he won, by the way),he hasn't chewed anything since.
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Member:
Jvinoly
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Posted on Friday, May 16, 2003 - 2:55 pm:
Connie - Does this mean your horse is a Dominant Little Bucker?  Sorry, I couldn't resist.
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Member:
Conniep
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Posted on Friday, May 16, 2003 - 3:01 pm:
Jim, go to the basic riding menu, I think that is where I posted, and read all the post. Got quite a discussion going about the Dominant Little Bucker!!!! I say he has mental problems because he is an EX barrel racer. Been told that all barrel horses are crazy.
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Member:
Sumnera
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Posted on Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - 9:41 am:
One of the boarders at my stable uses diesel fuel to stop chewing. He paints the bare wood with diesel, lets it dry, then paints the wood with latex paint. His horses who was an avid chewer, won't touch it.
I wonder if the diesel soaked wood could be a fire hazard? hmmmm....
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Member:
Mszoey
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Posted on Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - 3:45 pm:
I have had persistent chewers in my all wood barn, I tried all of the commercial products, "that are guaranteed to work", LOL. I went to using water and cayenne pepper and painting it on the wood, it worked but it promotes human sneezing when mixing and it is not real pretty, even though it does work. I was tired of sneezing and was washing my hands with some dishsoap that i had in the barn and one of the horses reached over to see what i was doing and was extremely digusted by the soap. A light came on, I used a pump dispenser, clear "cheap" soap and pumped on soap wherever chewing was going on, it stopped immediately and completely, I keep my pump bottle in the barn and use it once in a great while.
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Member:
Tangoh
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Posted on Thursday, May 22, 2003 - 1:08 pm:
My husband has used 'used' crank case oil on our wood fences. I don't think it's much of a fire hazard. It's been there for 5 years now, and the horses are still alive too. The horses leave it totally alone. Some will say that you shouldn't use anything toxic on the fence, but the horses never chew where we've used the used crank case oil, so in our case, it works great, but it may not be the best thing to do in every case as some horses may like the taste?
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New Member:
Msellie
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Posted on Saturday, Aug 30, 2003 - 8:33 pm:
Here's a couple of chewing remedies: Duct Tape for one, they hate the feel of it against their teeth.
The other one is the metal corners that are used for dry wall. They cost only pennies each, and come in lengths like eight feet and longer. I used them in our pole barn and they work great. They are soft and easily cut too.
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