Why Horses Chew Wood, and How to Stop Them?

Horses are often seen chewing on wood in various places, but it's more than just an unhealthy habit. It is actually damaging to their health and can if continued for enough time can end up costing you a lot of time and money!

Our Chew Stop For Horses is extremely effective at stopping horses from chewing wood and it's 100% natural and not harmful to these beautiful animals. Find out how to stop your horse chewing wood and with our natural products we can help your horse safely.

Why do horses feel the need to chew on wood?

Boredom

Horses will often chew wood when they feel bored or antsy – this means you should make sure there is always enough hay in your horse stall at all times! When horses get bored or aren't getting proper nutrition from their feed then they seek out other things like sticks, fencing, and tree bark.

Horses love chewing wood because it can be a way to break the monotony of their day. Horses are often bored when there is no suitable activity for them, so if they don't get enough hay or other food items in order to alleviate this feeling then boredom may lead them towards chewing on things like fences and sticks.

Poor Diet

Horses enjoy salt-rich foods, including tree bark and wood fence. Horses will gnaw on anything in order to get a little extra food! It is critical that you have a good horse diet in place so that your horse does not start chewing on things around your farm. You should always provide enough feed and water, ensuring that your animal's diet consists mainly of quality hay or grasses with an occasional supplement such as straw every 12 hours - this will keep him from chewing on wood while grazing!

If you notice that your horse has started biting at wooden objects rather than simply grazing at them normally ,then take heed! It could mean he/she is lacking certain vitamins needed each day due to their diet being insufficient of nutrients. Make sure all nutritional needs are met by providing more fodder around both noon time (around lunch) as well as before bedtime.

Is there a way to prevent horses from chewing on wood?

Mineral Lick

One way to keep your horse from eating wood is by providing them with a mineral lick. This will supplement his nutrition and give the block of salt/minerals time as he works at lapping them up! Just make sure that you don't leave this outside because it will lose its nutrients.

Rounded Fence Posts

If your horse likes to eat fence posts, you could try replacing their current fence materials (which probably have sharp points) with circular or rounded barriers that don't contain points and aren't so easy to chew on.

Summary:

As with most things, the best way to avoid a problem is to prevent it from happening in the first place. Make sure that your horse has an optimal diet and time to graze throughout the day.

Take an interest in your horse's emotional state also, they may be bored or frustrated which can be more difficult to detect than a simple dietary change. You may be able to fix the fence or wood issue by restricting the horse in some way, but it’s important to recognise signs of any internal distress as well as the external problem at hand.