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Wood chewing is a common horse problem which not only damages wood but can also injure your horse. The splinters can get stuck in the teeth or gums of the horse. If swallowed, they could puncture the stomach or intestines. Consequently, to protect your horse and your property, one should correct this habit as soon as possible.

One should first check that the problem is actually wood chewing and not cribbing. The two are sometimes confused as both result in wood damage and both involve the horse biting wood. However, they are very different problems. Wood chewing is simply that the horse chews on wood. Cribbing doesn’t involve chewing the wood but rather the horse firmly griping the wood with its teeth, then arching its neck and swallowing air. If you happen to see a horse performing either of these activities it should be apparent which is the problem, since they are very different. Looking at the damaged wood will also likely determine which problem the horse has as in one case it will be nibbled away whereas in the other it has been firmly gripped and pulled.

Wood chewing is a habit which usually results from boredom. One finds it most often with horses which are confined to their stalls much of the day, who start chewing wood as there is nothing else to do. A less common cause is stress or nervousness, again most common with boxed horses which do not have sufficient exercise or space to work out nervous energy and consequently start chewing wood to distract themselves. A third cause is nutritional deficiencies; if a horse is not getting all the minerals they need

It can be difficult to know which of these three possible problems is the cause of wood chewing by an individual horse. In this case, the simplest approach is to address all three possible causes. Give the horse as much pasture time, exercise and mental stimulation as possible. Try to provide it with grass and hay rather than grain or muesli, so that it gets more food stimulation and satisfies its natural drive to chew. Try to identify any causes of stress (such as bullying by another horse) and fix the problem. Ensure that the horse has good access to a salt lick and mineral stone in case there is a nutritional cause.

With the above steps, one should quickly see a reduction in wood chewing activity. Unfortunately, once a horse has been chewing wood for some time, it becomes a habit and continues even after the original cause is removed. Consequently, in addition to fixing the habit, one also needs to take steps to break the habit.

One does this by making it impossible (or at least unpleasant) for the horse to chew on wood. One can place metal strips on top of wood (e.g. stall doors) so that they cannot be nibbled. An electric fence wire can be added to the tops of fencing rails to discourage chewing. Alternatively, one can paint wooden surfaces with paints which are made to taste horrible (ensure that the paint is approved by your veterinarian.

One should make sure to address both the cause (e.g. boredom) and the behavior (e.g. with paint). Doing just one or the other is insufficient. If one fixes the cause but not the behavior, the habit is likely to continue, although to a lesser amount. If one prevents the behaviour (e.g. with paint) but does not address the underlying cause, the horse still has a problem and this may well lead to the development of a different behavioral problem.

The article Horses For Sale was written by Duber Stewart, owner of Horse for Sale

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