[faroutfax]

Hmmm I like the metal idea And its worth a try with the nasty tasting stuff right? I mean he's already distroyed the wood an ugly coat of something couldn't possibly make it take much worse.

Oh and I tried giving him a stall ball. he attacked it once, it hit him in the head and he hasn't looked at it since And I tried a lick-it. Well it solves his chewing problem... but he likes them abit too much. He managed to eat 3/4 of a lickit overnight! Needless to say I took it away from him. See what I mean by he's a trouble maker?

Oh and if horses are beside him in their stalls they have to have thier halters off. He always manages to take them off the other horses or put nice teeth marks in the leather

[DiamondRio]

Metal strips that are bent to slide over the top of the board.

We did this in our barn and the horses that chewed a lot and cribbed ended up pulling the metal strips off.

My horse chews on any piece of wood in front of her but i have never seen her chew in her stall which makes me think she does it when she is bored. Over the weekend we had a horse show and when we were waiting to go in the ring she was trying to chew on a jump pole.
I definately know she does not have a vitamin deficiency because she gets supplements for that so im not sure what her issue is haha.

[StarfireArizona]

Originally Posted by faroutfax

Hmmm I like the metal idea And its worth a try with the nasty tasting stuff right? I mean he's already distroyed the wood an ugly coat of something couldn't possibly make it take much worse.

Oh and I tried giving him a stall ball. he attacked it once, it hit him in the head and he hasn't looked at it since And I tried a lick-it. Well it solves his chewing problem... but he likes them abit too much. He managed to eat 3/4 of a lickit overnight! Needless to say I took it away from him. See what I mean by he's a trouble maker?

Oh and if horses are beside him in their stalls they have to have thier halters off. He always manages to take them off the other horses or put nice teeth marks in the leather

He sounds like my colt. EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING must go in the mouth. He grabs leads, halters and anything that comes within reach. He is a chewer of wood, plastic barrel hay feeders, buckets, horse trailer fenders, metal rails, salt blocks, etc etc etc etc.

If I am haltering, bridling or leading another horse, he is there trying to chew the tack. He grabs clothes & gets a swift smack on the shoulder or neck....but still continues to try.

The only thing I ever found to work is the dish soap. If he is tied, I have to slather it all over the lead or else he will chew it to ribbons. Unfortunately on wood it just doesn't cut it

I get exhausted just trying to stay ahead of this boy

[harli36]

Originally Posted by mtroika

Good luck, chewing is a lifelong habit

I'm sorry I highly disagree. Wood chewing is caused by several problems. Maybe your thinking of cribbing.

1)nutrition
2)boredom
3)stress
4)lack of long stem fiber, horses have a desire to constantly chew if they run out of hay or grass they may start chewing on other things to appease that urge to chew.
5) ulcers
6)habit that was caused from one of the above. However just because a horse has wood chewed in the past does not necessarily mean that it will develop a habit. I've known a few chronic wood chewers who did so for years and when the above problem was resolved they stopped chewing.

The OP can probably omit nutrition, ulcers, lack of long stem fiber and boredom from the above list due to the fact that the horse doesn't do this outside and that the horse has hay when it is stalled.

That leaves either stress or habit from the above list. It's certainly possible the horse is stressed if it is so infrequently stalled. Horses are naturally claustrophobic so this could certainly be the problem. Stalling your horse more frequently, with plenty of hay and buddies next to him may help. You may want to try putting on one of those metal muzzles to save his teeth while you work on this. It's important to remember that the muzzle won't stop the problem though it will merely save wear and tear on his teeth while he's learning. Also keep in mind you don't want to stress him too much gradually lengthen the amount of time in the stall.

Meanwhile put some kind of deterrent on the wood around the stall to keep him from chewing. IF it is habit this should help stop it.

You could also save him some grief and learn to live with his problem but IMO all horses should be comfortable with stalling for emergencies, or short stall stays, bad weather etc.

[Gare]

I put used motor oil on the boards and that seems tot stop them for a couple weeks then i reapply it and after 2 or 3 timesthey seem to stop.

[lawquin]

There is a solution. Oil. I've used motor oil on my pens with horses all the time. They chew on it once get the taste and haven't chewed on it since. Just dump some in a bucket, get a paint brush and act like your painting it.

[Sterling]

We also use used motor oil painted on the chewed area's and they never go back

[caity and billy]

Id say your horse was severly bored when they stabled him at his last accomodation and its transvered into a habit that stalls=boredom.

I would suggest maybe a mineral block or likit block in the stable or some "hot spray".

Now i dont know how big your stable is but maybe when u put him in, do some little games with him so he is stilmulated in there, walk away for 2 mins and take him out..gradually extend the time away till he is happy licking his lickit or sociallising, but id say its definatly a bad habit transfered from his last home.