Why do horses lick the wood posts What is she missing from her diet?

Answer 1

A lot of horses just do it out of boredom, maybe they like the taste of it. I don't think theres anything missing from the diet. As long as they're not cribbing (when the horse bites the wood and sucks wind) or chewing the wood, it should be fine. Next time the vet comes out for shots or w/e see what he/she thinks about it.

Answer 2

Cribbing is when a horse places its front teeth on a horizontal surface, arches its neck, and pulls backwards. This behavior is usually associated with a grunting noise as the horse gulps air, and is often referred to as wind sucking or aerophagia. This is a vice that many stalled horses pick up because of boredom. The habit is one that horse owners need to catch early if they are to be effective in breaking it.

If cribbing is left alone, and it worsens, it can become more than just an annoyance. If left unchecked, the horse will wear down its front teeth prematurely. In extreme cases, the teeth become so worn that they do not meet when the mouth is closed, which can lead to the second problem, weight loss. Weight loss associated with cribbing can occur because the horse wears its teeth down so far that grazing becomes a problem, or the horse fills its stomach with air rather than grass, hay, or grain and therefore causes a loss in body condition.

As if these problems weren't enough, colic is also known to be a complication of cribbing. Colic from cribbing is caused by the ingestion of air, which causes gas distention in the intestinal tract. Therefore, if the annoyance of the horse destroying property alone is not enough to prompt action, think of the physiological complications brought on by cribbing.

The key to managing cribbing is to catch it early. If caught early enough, within a couple of months, there is a good chance the habit can be broken. The first line of defense should be a cribbing collar, which is generally a several-inch-wide leather and metal strap that fastens snugly around the throatlatch. The collar is designed to create discomfort if the horse begins to crib. There are a variety of collars available, and some are more aggressive than others. The more aggressive ones have abrasive or sharp objects incorporated into the collar that create even more discomfort for the horse as it begins to crib. There is also a collar that fits over the forehead in front of the ears that has shown to be more effective than the traditional cribbing collars--which have limited success.

If the discomfort from a cribbing collar doesn't break the habit, there is a surgical procedure that can be performed to disable the horse from cribbing. The Modified Forssells procedure is performed under general anesthesia and involves removing a portion of the omohyoideous, sternohyoideous, and the sternothyroideus muscles. In addition, a portion of the ventral branch of the spinal accessory nerve is removed, which denervates the sternocephalicus muscle. The muscle itself is not actually removed, which makes it more cosmetic than the original Forssells procedure. The surgery is fairly common, and it is nationally recognized.

While there are no side effects associated with this procedure, there can be side effects associated with any surgery, such as anesthetic complications and the chance for infection.

The muscles clipped in the procedure are the ones primarily involved in the act of cribbing. The theory behind the surgery is that by removing the muscles, it eliminates the horse's ability to crib. However, it's not an all-or-nothing process because the more a horse cribs, the more he recruits other muscles to participate in the act. So, the longer the horse has been cribbing, the more muscles will be involved in the act. With a horse of this type, even after the Modified Forssells procedure is performed, the horse may still be able to crib, although not to the same extent as before the surgery. The procedure is more successful in horses who have been cribbing a relatively short time, or in horses who do not crib constantly.

In a study of 35 horses which had the Modified Forssells procedure perfomed on them, 60% had stopped cribbing altogether a year later, and 25% had shown marked decrease in their cribbing a year later. The success rate all depends on how long the horse had been cribbing prior to surgery. If performed before cribbing gets too bad, the success rate is much higher because this is an addictive behavior that gets worse with time. The more a horse cribs, the more it wants to crib. And the more a horse cribs, the less the chance of eliminating the habit

Answer 3

It is hard to say what a horse is missing in their diet, but there is a food supplement that cures the horse from chewing on posts if it is caught early enough. It's called something like, stop wood chew, stop chew or something along these lines. It is stated that within no time at all, the horse stops chewing the fence post. I have never personally tried it, so I don't know if this is true.

Answer 4

If you live near the coast then it might be salt spray. A horse will lick at almost anything if this is the case and they are lacking salt.

If they are licking it may be out of boredom, try putting a salt lick out. It may solve both problems.

Answer 5

Either it feels good and they're cleaning their tongue, or they're after salt.

Or they're bored. If the horse isn't exercised a lot and just sits around, they'll get bored, chew the wood, whatever - it depends on the horse. If you're not doing a lot with them, they're probably bored.

Answer 6

If it's treated wood it could have a salty taste to it

Answer 7

a man horse

Answer 8

Maybe salt? Maybe she is just bored. Does she have any toys she is allowed to play with?

Answer 9

Cleaning er tongue.

Answer 10

...fiber?