Question about Wood Chewing

Hi Beth Kay....Have a question for you....Do you have any remedies for curing a horse from chewing wood? We just built a new horse shelter and 2 of the 4 horses are tearing it apart. We even purchased a product that is guaranteed to stop cribbing and chewing and my husband applied it several times & they went right on back to chewing immediately after application. Their teeth are fine and they are more than adequately fed. I think it is from pure boredom right now, but thought you might have an idea. Thank you

Hi James - thanks for the question. Here are a few tips to try:

First - make sure they have a access to a salt lick. Sometimes chewing on wood means a lack of some nutrient.

Most likely it is being done from boredom. Here are a few ideas for low cost toys:

Take a clean empty milk jug or laundry detergent bottle and place a handful of small rocks inside. Replace the lid and thread some rope through the handle and hang the jug from a rafter inside the shelter. Many horses enjoy bumping the jug with their nose to make the rocks rattle. You will need to experiment to decide the right height. Make it high enough that they can’t injure themselves on the rope but still reach it easily.

I picked up a couple of heavy duty children’s tether balls at garage sales. I hung one in each stall. They are very similar to the pricey horse jolly balls – but these were a huge savings. Cody enjoys playing with his very much. They have handles on them, so if I put them out in the pasture Cody will even pick it up in his mouth by the handle and carry it around.

This may help alleviate the boredom, but if the chewing has become a habit, it will still need to be discouraged. Some more tips to try:

You can try making a “tea” of half a bucket of manure mixed with water to the top of bucket. Using a paintbrush, paint this tea onto any edges that the horses chews on. You will need to repaint when it wears off.

Or try taking soap that has a strong fragrance and rubbing it over the wood. (maybe try a few different brands)

You can string electric fence around the top edges of fencing that is chewed on.

If all else fails, you can also consider nailing metal edging over the edges of the wood surfaces they chew on.

Anyone have any other suggestions that might help? (Your tips will also get you entered in the book drawing!)