How do you stop a horse

[Maple Hollow Farm]

I have one horse that insists on chewing on his wooden stall door. He has eaten through the top piece and now is about 2 in. into the second board. I am at a loss at what to do and he even has the filly next to him that can also reach his door helping him now. She never used to do it until I put her there! I have tried the No Chew sprays and have tried to discipline him when I see him doing it but he just goes at it again the second I walk away or turn my back to him. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated though! Thanks

 

[minih]

I don't know but I have one this year and he has taught the two younger ones next to him how to do it. I think once a wood chewer always a wood chewer.

 

[minimule]

I don't think you can ever break them of it but I would suggest getting some metal flashing and put it on top of the boards. I think you should be able to get it at a plumbing store or maybe a "home" store. Flashing is just a flat, very thin, metal that is flexible. If you got a 3" wide piece and bent it over the top of the wood to where he couldn't get a bite at least it would save the wood. It can be stapled down or use a brad nailer.

As far as a cribbing collar for minis they do have them. I had a stallion here for a very short time that was a cribber. He had his front teeth completely worn down but he didn't chew wood, he sucked air. The collar didn't stop him at all. He sucked air constantly.

 

[mad for mini's]

I don't believe that a wood chewer is a cribbing horse, it is two different habits and a cribbing collar will not stop them from chewing wood. When my mini's find a nice spot they like to chew on, I use a small spaced wire, like rabbit fence or hardware cloth and staple it across the wood, the metal flashing mentioned would work too.

 

[Riverdance]

First, cribbing is not the chewing of wood, but grabbing the wood and air sucking. Cribbing collars will prevent a horse from air sucking, not chewing on wood.

I have never seen a Mini crib, but I suppose if they are bored enough they will.

As for keeping them from chewing on wood, that is a hard one. I even find my newborns doing it at only a few days old. Sometimes sprays will help. One trick I used for dogs chewing on wood was to make a past of red pepper and water, then spreading it on the wood. I would suppose this would work for horses too.

I try to flash most eveything I can. The metal corners that one uses for wall board corners, work really well. After a few years they will rust and need to be replaced, but they work.

My show horses will wear grazing muzzels in their stalls if I catch them chewing on the wood. Some have stopped chewing as they do not want to wear the muzzels.

 

[mylilgirls]

When I was getting info on the best type of fence to use, I seen that chewing is one down side to using a wood fence. But I wanted wood fence. Now that I have my wood fence, we have not had any trouble with them chewing. Some ideas I came across while searching was, when they start chewing an area rub it with bar soap, another idea was rub the area with cooking oil. I have not had to try them. But they were the top 2 that I kept comming across. Just incase I needed to stop it I wanted to know how.

Hope thing work out for you

Have a good one

 

[Annabellarose]

He sounds like a wood chewer and not a cribber. WHICH IS GOOD! Cribbing is BAD. A cribbing horse can and often will do damage to wood, but a cribbing horse places his teeth on something (and it can be anything, not just wood) and bites down hard to grip and makes a deep, loud burping kind of noise. A wood chewer is often just that, a wood chewer. Does he get free choice hay? He is either bored or not getting enough fiber in his diet or both. Can you provide him with more turnout time? Can you put toys in his stall? A sealed plastic milk carton with rocks in it makes a neat, cheap toy. Sometimes horses just chew wood for entertainment and taste or out of habit. I have an American Paint Horse gelding that has 24/7 turnout on 4+ acres of pasture with one other horse for companionship and plenty of grass and a quality, nutritional diet and sometimes he would still chew our neighbors post and board fence until I ran a "scare wire" (electric) along the fence. The metal flashing is an excellent idea, but I strongly suggest that you take a look at his diet and his mental health first.

Edited to add:

This product is designed for wood chewers that chew wood due to nutritional deficiencies.

 

[Maple Hollow Farm]

Thanks for all of your suggestions!!! I will try to find something to put on the boards. He does have lots of toys that during the day I find all over the barn since he throws them! I do give him turn out time but I just put up a new roundpen and the grass is really thick and they arent used to it yet so I am having to slowly introduce them to it so they dont get sick, but eventually I will be letting him out for longer periods of time.

Also I guess I didnt realize the difference in cribbing and just chewing but it is good to know he isnt doing the cribbing that sounds kinda freaky and I would not want to walk in and find a horse doing that lol!

 

[LAZY J MINIS]

TRY A LITTLE HOT SAUCE AND PAINT IT ON THE WOOD. IT HAS WORKED FOR ME.

 

[Carolyn R]

I wouldn't use the flashing because it is so thin, if it peeled back the raw edge is like a razor. I would suggest "L" or "U" shaped angle iron or "L" or "U" shapped aluminum from Lowes, Home Depot or Tractor supply. It is mch thicker, can be cut to side with a reciprocating saw, jig saw with a metal blade, or a hand saw. It is much thicker, will hold up much longer and can go over the top edge of the top board. I just edhe the top of the wall or door with white pine 1x4"s or 2x4's (untreated) and replace them as needed.

 

[Deb E]

The best solution is putting the metal strips around the stalls. Rubbing Irish Spring soap on the wood works for some but not all.

 

[Sterling]

Things that have worked for me:

Change of scenery - Rotate into different corrals/pastures

Change of hay...sometimes they get bored with the "hay of the season" especially if it's first cut and stemmy

Soaping the rails with Irish Spring Soap

Things that did'nt work for me:

Sprays and such for chewing...might as well have just thrown the money into a water hole.

Hot sauce.....one of my guys that I used to have actually liked it and took to it like velcro.

 

[mydaddysjag]

Where I board rubs the boards down very generously with irish spring soap. It works for almost all horses. When that dosent work, its L chanel over the wood.

 

[Basketmiss]

Use bar soap. They say irish spring, but I used ivory cause thats what I had on hand and it stopped him from chewing on his stall door...worked great..

 

[Maple Hollow Farm]

I just happen to use Irish spring soap so I went out and rubbed it all over his door on both sides (for the filly too) now I guess it is just wait and see if he gets through the next board tonight....

darn horses! Gotta love em though!

 

[Coventry Lane Farm]

I use ZEST liquid body wash soap and that solved it, its easy to smear on the boards, I swear I had a beaver in the barn. After applying it, she quit chewing the boards in half.

 

[nbark]

I have one horse that insists on chewing on his wooden stall door. He has eaten through the top piece and now is about 2 in. into the second board. I am at a loss at what to do and he even has the filly next to him that can also reach his door helping him now. She never used to do it until I put her there! I have tried the No Chew sprays and have tried to discipline him when I see him doing it but he just goes at it again the second I walk away or turn my back to him. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated though! Thanks

One word, Icthamol, we use it and they hate it. It does however, make a mess. We spread it where they chew with a spatula. Ah to have creosote back.

 

[georgiegirl]

I have one horse that insists on chewing on his wooden stall door. He has eaten through the top piece and now is about 2 in. into the second board. I am at a loss at what to do and he even has the filly next to him that can also reach his door helping him now. She never used to do it until I put her there! I have tried the No Chew sprays and have tried to discipline him when I see him doing it but he just goes at it again the second I walk away or turn my back to him. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated though! Thanks

Try dribbling dish soap where he is chewing. You could also try Tabasco sauce from the grocery store.

I have had very good luck with the dish soap. Either one should , hopefully, do the trick.

 

[Paradise Ponies]

I have wood-chewing horse problems too....would Dawn dishsoap work???

 

[targetsmom]

I have had some luck with Chew Stop in a spray can, which smells awful. But I don't like using it in stalls or where they eat.

I have also had great luck with the metal chew guards my builder used on the edges of stall doors, etc.

And one other thing I tried that worked pretty well was screwing pieces of THIN rubber mats onto the areas that they chew (e.g. stall door). We have also covered stall doors with 1/2" square metal mesh with the edges covered with duct tape but I really like the rubber mats much better. They can be ripped but still offer protection. We get the mats from Tractor Supply (they come rolled up) and use them for all kinds of things, although most stalls have the regular heavy stall mats.