Wood Chewing, is it always cribbing???

[shalakominiatureshowhorses]

Well, Devil and Jazzy are just DESTROYING one of the stall boards. I would post pics but its almost 9:30 lol. I dont know if its cribbing or they are really upset they are locked in! I dont think that its a deficiancy of any kind, as they all have a mineral block.............ill post pics soon......what do yall think?

Cribbing or something else. I havent seen them chew it so i dont know exactley when they do this!

 

[disneyhorse]

Cribbing involves the sucking of air. Wood chewing is just that... But no sucking of air. Lots of horses do it for fun or when they are bored. We have two horses at work that chew wood the second they are tied up in the wood barn... So I think it's just something fun and interesting.

My coworkers hate my joke...

Why do horses chew wood ?

To get the grain out!

 

[wildoak]

LOL Disney....

 

[shorthorsemom]

I have one horse.part beaver. Not cribbing..no windsucking..just nibbling the edges when he think he needs more hay.

 

[Carolyn R]

Y'ep typically boredom,sometimes a response to pain. Since both are doing it, I would say boredom, have you tried a busy snacker bag or two, slows down their hay consumption to a nibble, gives them something to do and reduces boredom.

 

[kay56649]

My big horse chews on wood too, but we haven't worried about it much since she isn't in te barn much. If it is a problem for you (if you put them in often) I

Would cover the wood they chew with some stinky spray (like for dogs) or cover it with hard plastic material!

 

[Kim~Crayonboxminiatures]

I would echo using a slow feeder hay bag to slow down eating and help fight boredom. I also "paint" the chewed area with hot sauce, if a light coating doesn't work I do a heavier coating, best way I've found to discourage chewing on wood and cheap.

 

[Jill]

I agree. It's not cribbing if they are not holding the bite and sucking air. It is CONTAGEOUS! Monkey See / Monkey Do. Horses learn this activity from others, especially if they are bored with their enviroment (ie stalled for long periods). If possible, I'd get on this behavior and correct it asap (by enhancing the horse's lifestyle or with a cribbing strap).

 

[targetsmom]

Our minis don't chew wood normally but after a heavy rain it seems the barn is especially tasty. We keep the Stop Chew handy (the one in the dark blue can) and spray. We only found one kind that works. Our stalls all have heavy metal strips along the areas most subject to chewing.

ETA: If you have ever seen a windsucker, you will know the difference. There was one in our boarding barn that would latch onto anything handy the second her cribbing collar was removed and start sucking in air.

 

[Hosscrazy]

I've found it a lot easier to build my barns/mini pens out of pretty much any construction material except wood! LOL! My old barn was made of wood and my mini beavers made sure to do as much damage as they possibly could when I wasn't looking. I ended up putting metal flashing on the corners, which really helped a lot. We've got oil well piping for all our corrals and the trees are wrapped in chicken wire so everything is now safe from those little mouths!

Liz N.

 

[muffntuf]

Boredom, because they can, because they are missing something in their diet, because its new, because they are frustrated, because its easy to do, because they are teething.......lots of reasons. I don't worry to much unless they are eating it.

 

[HGFarm]

Many years ago on the ranch, we had wood boards on corrals. We would take the used motor oil from the truck or tractor, and paint the wood with it. It does NOT smell attractive to horses at all and never had to replace a board due to chewing.

 

[AnnaC]

Do they have a mutual wall - are they in stalls right next to each other? Two of my boys will have a go at the division between them if we put them next to each other, but if we separate them and move them around next to other boys they are fine!

Just a thought - if you have them next to each other?

 

[Matthijs]

I have to react to HGFarm's solution (Laurie?) of using used motor oil, this practice was banned 50+ years ago in Europe as it is very toxic... ever wander why your horses do not live past 12 years old???? Maybe in those days we did not know any better, but in this day and age we have to look further for proper solutions as well for the equines as our environment.

I agree, look at diet, teething and boredom first and in the meantime little harm is done with a little soap on the wall, we used a little cheap shampoo we did not like on our heads, worked like a charm

 

[kassierae]

We've always used motor oil on the boards. They don't go near it. Both my mares are turning 20 and neither have ever gotten sick from it. Generally they go to take a.taste, realise it's horrendous, and don't touch it again. Except my paint mare. She's a beaver if she's in the barn too long.

 

[HGFarm]

No they do not touch the motor oil, and most of my big horses lived well into their late 20's, or passed from other causes not related. I never had a case of colic, nor any other problems.

 

[shalakominiatureshowhorses]

Im not sure if i can convince my mom to get moter oil for me lol. I think hes just chewing and spitting out the stuff he bites off because little wood chips were in the bottom of his water bucket tfor the past 3 days...im thinking soap can do the trick untill we get the barn renovated this weekend with either more wooden slats where they cant take a chunk out of the corners of it or put small stock panels of some sort. What kind of soap do ya'll recommend? i have lots of Dove bar soap things, or do i lather upp the wood with shampoo?

 

[HGFarm]

The oil we painted with was used oil- not new. It smells bad, and they dont like it.

 

[chandab]

Im not sure if i can convince my mom to get moter oil for me lol. I think hes just chewing and spitting out the stuff he bites off because little wood chips were in the bottom of his water bucket tfor the past 3 days...im thinking soap can do the trick untill we get the barn renovated this weekend with either more wooden slats where they cant take a chunk out of the corners of it or put small stock panels of some sort. What kind of soap do ya'll recommend? i have lots of Dove bar soap things, or do i lather upp the wood with shampoo?

As far as soap goes, I was told Irish Spring bar soap, just rub it on dry; it didn't work for us, my AQHA gelding thought it was tasty (others were mildy detered by it). I've had the best luck with Crib Halt wood treatment, it comes in brown or clear, the brown seems to work better, but the clear looks nicer if that matters. I get if from local place, but you can probably find it on line, somewhere. http://www.nextag.com/crib-halt/products-html

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

As far as soap goes, I was told Irish Spring bar soap, just rub it on dry; it didn't work for us, my AQHA gelding thought it was tasty

LOL, thats how my mares reacted when I tried hot sauce. I could almost hear them saying"oooh look she's giving that bland old wood some real flavor. I just love a bit of spice in my meals" I swear they went at it worse than ever. The only real cure I've ever found is a barrier, metal works well and for the pitas that want to chew on flat walls I use sheets of corrugated plastic on the stall walls. Works well and actually protects the wood walls from urine etc. nice to wipe down too when I do my spring cleaning.