Horse Eating Tree Bark

[TALSMUM]

my cob and daughters pony live out 24/7. they have grass pickings in the field and then i take hay up at tea time. about three quaters of a bale between them and apples and carrots and a handful of pony nuts. yesterday i was told that the cob is eating the bark off the tree and that she is starving:eek: . she was very over weight but has dropped some of it, although still chubby. she will eat for britain. if i put a huge roll of hay in the field she will stay there till its finished:D. what should i do. dont want them to put on weight but dont want them to starve either.

[shandy84]

Is your horse wormed?

If you have wormed regularly I wouldn't worry mine are all a good weight and will eat tree bark quite happily, just think what horses eat in the wild, it's definatly not just grass. If anything a vitamin lick or supplement may help until the spring grass comes through if they are slightly lacking in vitamins but I wouldn't be overly worried.

One of my mares is PBA and will eat everything you give her even if she doesn't need it, she has been found unable to stand because of bloating up because of overeating. :eek:

[Jessey]

Its generally indicative of one of two things, either they are lacking fibre or vits and minerals. I would get them a rockies block, they are a fairly good cost effective way to get minerals into good doers without feed. Re the fibre, do they just get hay put out once a day? if s splitting it into 2 or 3 smaller servings might help keep the gut active for longer or if you have somewhere suitable then putting it in small holes hay nets will help slow them down on it :p if not putting out some good quality Oat straw for them to munch in in between times will be a plan, its just roughage with next to no calories so a good way to keep the gut working (and them happy) without gaining weight.

J x

[puzzles]

Ditto Jessey, as usual ;-) (we should team up occasionally, lol!)
i doubt your horses are lacking in fibre, though you are likely to see an improvement if you add a digestive enhancer to their daily diet; such as Dengie Yea-sacc , XP Triple Action or Biotal Equine Gold supplement, to help ensure that all is healthy down there. there is a difference between a healthy amount of forage (and therefroe fibre) and feeding it by the ton!
You may also see an improvement if you add an antacid to their diets in case their behaviour is caused by too much acid in the stomach (such as Feedmark settlex), though this is less likely.
Try the Horselyx Respiratory/Mobility/original blovks, or the Dengie vitamin and mineral Field or Stable licks. these will provide your horses with a balanced diet and they should stop the wood chewing.
however, this is a perfectly natural behaviour for horses and they may never stop completely; just so long that they have plenty of fibre, a balanced diet and at least daily turnout, the problem should desist.
you would be wise to have their teeth checked and rasped as soon as possible, as wood chewing and similiar vices do wear away and distort the teeth, especially over long periods of time, and this makes digestion inefficient, incomplete and more difficult, being known to cause loss in condition.
good luck :-)

[TALSMUM]

Thanks for your replies. I have no where to hang hay nets so i might split the hay up into two servings so it is not all eaten at once. vitamin/mineral block is also good but i would need one that is suitable for laminatics as the pony has suffered in the past if i dont watch her diet. any suggestions. my tack shop is only small so they only keep the most used stock. i will have to order it from internet.:)

[puzzles]

well if you check out the Ride Away, Robinsons, Derby House and/or possibly the Shires websites (try googling them), they all (i think) have licks which are very suitable, some specified for laminatics (see www.Dengie.com for their licks).
:-)

[Jessey]

Ditto Puzzles :D but just to add, I personally like the Rockies Red blocks - they don't have any sugary mollasses or anything so would be fine for a lami.
http://www.rockies.co.uk/original.html

I have also given my guys the D&H pasture block - it does have molasses but far less than any of the other tub licks I have found and my boy who had a mild bout of lami has been fine with it - though you may need to monitor their intake as my guys really love it :D
http://www.dodsonandhorrell.com/uk/dh/horse/herbal/pasture-block

[puzzles]

ooh yes, the Rockies Blocks, ahem, rock!
:-)