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  How to tackle the horse chewing on fence problem

  May 3, 2022

  Having been installing and fixing up farm fences for some time now, I would say that if there's one thing that gets a farm fencer a call back from a previous client it's for fixing up gnawed up fence boards devoured by horse teeth. It seems that right as the weather gets cold and wet, the top rails of paddocks begin to melt into noodly sticks carved out in the shape of ski jumps. And while the knee jerk solution is to modify the fence itself, it's a bit of a bandaid tactic that doesn’t speak to the root of the issue, the horse itself. 

   

  Board chewing is incredibly common behavior among horses. Not only is chewed up fence boards frustrating for owners, it's not ideal for horses that may get splinters in their gums, wear their front teeth, or ingest pressure treated lumber. But mediating this behavior can be challenging, and continually replacing boards is a bit like continually bailing a leaky rowboat without fixing the leak itself.

   

  Horses are clever creatures. They're incredibly social, aloof, curious, skittish at times, and often a bit challenging. They have a long wild history, and a seemingly natural inclination to large spaces where they can run, play, and graze.

   

  But the reality for some horses doesn't always find them on an endless plane. Some of the wild horses of British Columbia that are rounded up and saved from slaughter can find  themselves teleported from the vast expanse of the Chilcotin plateau to a paddock somewhere on southern Vancouver island. And somewhere along the road our horse develops a habit of chewing on wood fences (and then somewhere even further down that road I come by to patch that chewed up fence).

   

  While certain health conditions, such as vitamin deficiencies, explains the behavior in some cases - the most common rail-destroying mastermind is a bored horse. Horses that are stalled for lengthy periods, socially isolated, or kept in depleted grazing grounds, are, generally speaking, bored horses. And of course there are also the horses that learn the habit from watching other horses do it. 

   

  So here a few tactics to tackle the bored horse problem:

  1. More grazing

  The most ideal, but not always the most possible. Horses are natural born grazers. Quality grazing time gives horses a space by which they can exercise their natural born behavior. And while this isn't always possible, turning out horses on a regular basis goes a long way in allowing horses to exercise their favorite horse-like behavior that doesn’t involve chewing on fences. It also provides an excellent opportunity for socializing amongst horses. 

   

  2. Feed hay in smaller time intervals throughout the day in the winter

  With winter we can expect more time indoors for some horses, maybe a heap of snow burying dormant grass, and a number of perfectly good rails chewed to waste. With grazing off the table, we can try to tackle the challenge of a bored winter horse by feeding them more often. A number of smaller meals distributed throughout the day will keep your horse chewing longer on forage and not fences. Another culprit may be horses fed mostly concentrates without enough sodder to keep them chewing over long periods of time. This really goes back to the horse behavior of grazing. Wildhorses will chew all day, so it helps to give them something to chew on that isn't a fence board. Horses aren't naturally on a 1960's atomic family meal plan of breakfast, lunch, and dinner - they're grazers so it's wise to keep their mouths busy.

   

  3. Give em some quality horse entertainment

  If you have a bored horse, give them a present. Maybe give them a large rubber ball to divert their interest away from the rails. Another option would be a hay net for horses to eat out of. Not only can a hay net serve as entertainment, but it increases the time taken for a horse to consume the hay - keeping them away from boredom. Some horses even bump around hay nets like a punching bag. 

   

  Understanding how to keep a horse entertained gives us an ideal situation and environment for a horse that will hypothetically never chew a board again. But for some and many, this ideal isn't entirely feasible, and for others, no matter what you do to keep your horse away from boredom, it just still wants to chew on fences. From this point, our options are to work on the fence itself. The things we could try;

   

  1. Hot wire

  Run a strip of electrical fencing along the boards that are getting chewed. For some paddocks, I've seen it work well when placed on only the top rail. Not only will it deter board chewing, but it may serve to deter the behavior altogether by conditioning the horse to associate board chewing with an unpleasant shock. It’s a decent approach, but not always feasible for paddocks that are a long way off from an electrical outlet.

   

  2. Board cover or sheath

  This is a practice to exercise with caution. Some owners will attempt to deter board destruction by covering the boards with something the horses shouldn't be able to chew through, like roofing flashing or drywall corners. There are also some companies that sell steel sheet metal for guarding post corners. The problem is that horses could still chew through metal flashing, leaving sharp edges that could be problematic for their mouth, teeth and gums. While it can be effective, it is advisable to keep an eye on the material to ensure no sharp edges develop over time. I've heard of people using chicken wire as well, but that to me sounds a little too fragile and pokey. 

   

  3. Chew deterrent products

  Products like No Chew or Chew Stop can help by giving the wood a bitter and unpleasant taste for horses. The downside is that it will eventually wash away with rain, and some determined horses may not mind the taste.

   

  4. Diet supplements

  Farnam Quitt Wood Chewing Supplement is a dietary supplement that provides vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids to satisfy nutritional requirements and decrease wood chewing. This is a great option if you are boarding your horse and don’t have permission to modify it’s stable.

  And if all else fails, well I suppose you could just give Tidy Line Tractor Service and Fencing a call and we will come around every so often and repair your fence. 

  http://tidylinetractor.com/

  
  
  
   

   

  
  
  
   

  Tags: horse fence, horse stable, horse paddock, horse chewing fence, chewing fence

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