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Discussion on Another termite...er...beaver...umm...wood chewing question
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Member:
Belhaven
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Posted on Thursday, Apr 8, 2004 - 5:50 pm:
I bought a 4yo TB mare in January. She is out 20/7 (comes in to eat and to be ridden). She does NOT chew in her stall...BUT once turned out she is KILLING my fences. The grass is growing and lush. She is on a low starch diet (chaff,oil, vitamin/mineral supplement, flax and black oil sunflower seeds). She has been properly dewormed and teeth recently floated.
In spite of large number of calories she is also not gaining weight-very let down from the track looking.
I would run a hot wire-there is one across one section and she just goes down on board and EATS...yes EATS that fence.
I have recently started her on ALLAY by Adeptus (magnesium carbonate/calcium carbonate supp) as it has helped with ulcers and cribbers-no luck yet on wood chewing.
Should I pull blood to see if there is a deficiency?
It appears to worsen when "things change"-as in if a horse comes in or goes out, or there is activity near her....we have painted the fence with paint+ cayenne pepper and she hates it-but just moves on to another area.
Can I put safe wood pieces in her field to chew on?
Is there ANYTHING that can be done? Am I missing something?
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Thursday, Apr 8, 2004 - 9:09 pm:
You can pull blood but it really does not identify nutritional deficiencies very well and certainly don't see what you are missing if there is lush grass available. Maybe try putting out a stemmy hay? Or perhaps one of the metal cribbing baskets?
DrO
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Member:
Hwood
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Posted on Thursday, Apr 8, 2004 - 10:57 pm:
I have not looked back over old posts to see if this product is mentioned . . .
In the latest SMARTPAK Equine.com catalog, there is a product guaranteed to stop wood chewing . . . It is by Farnam and is called QUITT. It's a daily fed supplement guaranteed to stop wood chewing in 7 days, and "is easier to use than paints, sprays and retraints." www.smartpakequine.com
Is there any member of the forum who can speak to this product?
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Member:
Caroltd
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Posted on Friday, Apr 9, 2004 - 8:34 am:
I have used QUITT for my Appaloosa mare. When I got her I was told she was a "beaver". She came to me from a herd of four where she was low man/mare on the totem pole (she's 22 years old) and was apparently pushed around alot.
I put her on the produce immediately since I didn't want a lot of destruction. It has been three months now. There is some evidence of chewing on the paddock fence but nothing in her stall. I have seen her exhibit chewing behavior since starting the product, but only when she is under stress, i.e., when she was first introduced to our barn and her new pasture mate, etc.
I'm not sure if it really works or not.Since the product is not inexpensive, and she still exhibits the behavior (even though its very limited) I have decided to take her off of it to seen if her chewing is only a response to stressful situations or a real habit. That's about all I can tell you.
Carol
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Member:
Belhaven
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Posted on Friday, Apr 9, 2004 - 9:09 am:
I have heard mixed reviews on Quitt-I have concerns because it has BHA/BHT in it.
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Member:
Cowgrl
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Posted on Friday, Apr 9, 2004 - 10:33 am:
I'd be interested to know if it really works. I had a filly that was a wood chewer but she eventually grew out of it (thank god). A friend of mine uses used motor oil on his fences. The horses don't touch it.
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Member:
Dres
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Posted on Friday, Apr 9, 2004 - 10:41 am:
isn't used motor oil toxic.. seems it should be..??
i would be interested in the product too.. i HAD one wood chewer... this winter, it spread to the other three.. now all my stalls look like i have beavers stabled in them... i have had to replace boards the original chewer twice this winter..
Ann
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Member:
Eoeo
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Posted on Friday, Apr 9, 2004 - 11:19 am:
We have found a solution to the stall chewing. We have covered 20X20 pens that we line with 4X8 3/4 inch plywood. They were chewed to shreds in a fairly sort ime and needed replacing every year or so. This last time, with plywood at $26 to $30 a sheet, and the aggravation of redoing the pens we ordered some 3 sided metal to cap the plywood. We had to order it special through our local lumber yard but it was worth it. It is about 1/2 inch on each side and then wide enough across the top to fit snugly over the top of the plywood. We anchored it with small screws to keep it from popping off. The metal cap came in 10 foot lengths and we just cut it to fit the length of plwood we were covering. Not a smidgen of wood is gone, we covered any exposed area with it. EO
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Member:
Jewels
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Posted on Tuesday, Aug 24, 2004 - 10:14 pm:
I have also heard the used motor oil cure and would like to know from the Doc himself if it would be toxic? I have a couple of beavers and they are chewing the place down I have even bought them expensive toys with mineral licks in that cost me $5-6.00 (Canadian) that they go through in one day!! These two are on cubes and when they are finished they are bored and trying to satisfy their chewing needs by chewing anything they can get ahold of. Please help!!!
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Member:
Dres
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Posted on Tuesday, Aug 24, 2004 - 10:33 pm:
Julie, i ended up putting in wood chew toys in their stalls... i put a 1/2 post in each stall, they chew on them all night long now.. and more or less leave the stall walls alone...
i would be interested in knowing the answer to motor oil too..
give the log a try.. Ann
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, Aug 25, 2004 - 6:36 am:
Yes, all used motor oil is toxic (~2500ppm lead) and mutagenic (unknown chemicals). With different oils there may be other factors, and there may be differences if the oil is from a diesel or gas engine. Also different gas additives may have different effects.
Saying something is toxic however does not make it dangerous: the dosage received is an important factor that we cannot estimate here. Many have used it on fences and stalls to preserve wood and prevent chewing but I cannot attest to the safety of this practice. There are no reports of toxicity in the literature for this type exposure. Where I have seen it used it leaves an unpleasant greasy residue that rapidly becomes dusty and has an unpleasant odor.
DrO
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Member:
Cowgrl
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Posted on Wednesday, Aug 25, 2004 - 10:28 am:
I put used motor oil (from gas and diesel engines) on some of the beams holding up my barn and my horse leaves them alone now. I would think that the horse wouldn't ingest enough after the initial taste to make it dangerous. And, I'd rather have an unpleasant odor than a falling down roof!
I know some people who put cottonwood branches out in their paddocks for the horses to chew so they don't eat the fences too.
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Member:
Mszoey
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Posted on Wednesday, Aug 25, 2004 - 4:22 pm:
I use liquid detergent, it smells good, it is harmless and it works. I put detergent in a used candle jar, one that has a lid. I keep a 2" paint brush with it and use as needed.
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Member:
Sunny66
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Posted on Thursday, Aug 26, 2004 - 10:05 am:
I was told to use detergent, mixed with cayenne pepper...haven't tried it yet, but she swears it works!
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Member:
Mrose
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Posted on Thursday, Aug 26, 2004 - 11:32 am:
We used to use creosote, but of course can no longer get it. Aside from leaving them turned out or riding them almost all day, I haven't discovered a good way to keep chewers from chewing. A cedar log in the pen helps, but doesn't stop it entirely. Hot pepper sauce, various bought solutions, etc. they seem to feel were put on the wood for flavoring. I had one horse that used to follow me around licking stuff off as fast as I could put it on. I think the solution is a metal barn! (and then horses will lick it!)
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Member:
Mszoey
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Posted on Thursday, Aug 26, 2004 - 12:11 pm:
I sprinkle Cayenne pepper when they are abit more persistent and it "does" work
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Member:
Beasley
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Posted on Friday, Aug 27, 2004 - 10:34 am:
I also have a chewer....he ripped up the leather padded guard in the front of my trailer and apparently ate it. He also chews his stall whenever he is in there, which is seldom, and anything else within his reach. I read to try duct tape and was very pleased for the repair and prevention. Of course you apply the duct tape to the objects....not over the horse's mouth!
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Member:
Mrose
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Posted on Friday, Aug 27, 2004 - 12:58 pm:
I dunno....over the mouth might solve several problems at once!
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Member:
Suzeb
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Posted on Friday, Aug 27, 2004 - 4:34 pm:
Geez Sara,
Still rolling on the floor laughing! I know I have been down to the hardware store once looking for "Duct Tape" to wrap a horse's hoof so it will stay on never mind buying it by the caselot to wrap his entire paddock and shelter.
Still howling with laughter and thanks for that!
Susan B.
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