Woodbiting/chewing???

[CharlieBrown]

Recently my 2 horses have started eating my fences? They're both well covered, have half a bucket of food twice a day with a feed balancer and they're on nearly 3acres of land. They also have 4 haynets a day and 2 wall racks of hay in their field shelter. They've chewed 2 gates which both now need replacing, all the rails on our fence up the drive and 5 fence posts on a new fence we're currently putting up. All posts and rails are tannalised and creosoted! I don't know whats causing it? any ideas? Getting really desperate now!!!

[jumpjaky]

I could only sugest loads of anti-cribitting and barbwire.
Tell us when they stop

[Fruiitloop]

my horse loves to chew too and lick :confused: she doesnt crib but just chews on anything made of wood her stable door her name plate the sides and pulls chunks of wood off is this just because shes bored or what? she has 2 feeds a day and horse hage morning and night with hay at lunch time and she has a salt lick and a lickit

what is her problem?

[AengusOg]

Do they have a good mineral block?

[joosie]

CharlieBrown, I think I'm thinking on the same wavelength as the above poster. Consistent long-term crib-biting in the same horse can only be managed, not cured (as far as I know!) but, since your horses have only started doing this recently, I'm thinking it's likely to be some kind of mineral deficiency. Some horses with this problem chew and lick wood, others start eating mud, as if physiologically they know they have a deficiency.

[mikh]

My mare bites the wood, doesn't crib when she's excited - when she's getting rugged up or ready to go out, she doesn't actually crib though. I figure it's just a way that she's focusing her energy - as far as I know she doesn't do it any other time.