Horse eating bark

[Kyla]

Hi, I have a 6 yr old paint gelding that I've recently moved to a new pasture. There's plenty of feed but he's started eating the bark off of a couple of the trees. He's totally stripped one tree in just 2 days. He has loose minerals, plenty of good pasture, fresh water and a buddy. I have no idea why he's eating the bark. He isn't a neurotic horse and has never cribbed or chewed on anything in the pasture he was previously in.

Any thoughts?

[wr]

You pretty much coveted any of my concerns. You could wrap your remaining trees with chicken wire to discourage him.

[Molly Mckee]

What kind of trees are they? If they have sweet sap rising, that could be the reason, if you've ruled out all the other reasons.

[Muleman]

My mules kill a couple of trees every winter eating the bark off them. I think they just want some fresh tasting stuff and it is winter or early spring and they are not getting what they want. I never see it once we get into summer, only through the winter months, with mine anyway. My kids goats are just as bad, just not on the big trees like the mules.
BTW, mine eat oak and pine bark

[akane]

In the winter with no grass our horses always strip the trees even with unlimited fresh hay. Every tree inside the fence and several branches hanging over the fence are stripped.

[arnie]

I see a lot of fences built around the shade trees in horse pastures

[goodhors]

The NEED to chew woody things in winter and spring, is said to come from horses adapting to a "browse" diet when snow used to cover grasses. Horses in deep snow country would chew bushes and woody things to survive in those times.

Deer do that locally, eating brush and shrubs in winter snows.

I got some small pieces of Willow wood from a downed tree, firewood log sizes, put them out for my horses to chew this winter. They appreciated it, chewed the HECK out of those Willow logs and are still chewing the replacement willow logs. Replacements were put in when the first logs got down to nothing. They have the start of grazing, still like chewing the wood at times.

Willow is a SAFE wood for horses, as is Oak, Ash locally. Mine like green Willow, not the dried out logs. Kept them busy when it was kind of boring with just deep snow, nothing else to nibble once hay was gone. Mine have also consumed brush piles left in pastures when I cleaned fences. They liked Honeysuckle bushes, which are my main pesty shrub in the fencelines. Huge brush piles reduced to a few sticks by Spring!

I find it easier to provide woody things for them to chew on, than to PAY for replacing rails or posts when other things are not available. Seems like ALL horses like to chew those logs. Mine are of various ages, all take turns working on the logs.

So a suggestion for you, to save the wood fixtures on the farm.

[Kyla]

Thanks, I'll try adding some stuff for them to chew like willow. I was wondering about a taste deterrent. Like maybe putting vinegar on the tree in the places that they're really attacking. I'm not actually sure what kind of trees they are, not fruit and not sappy. It's odd, he went all winter without mutilating any trees but this week has decided he LOVES bark! lol
Thanks again!
-Kyla

[bergere]

None of my horses have ever been interested in bark.

They get Vitamins in their feed, loose minerals and plain salt and I give them some Icelandic kelp.

[Kyla]

Ok, I found some articles that talk about using a pepper spray (homemade or purchased) and applying it to the tree every few days until they leave them alone. My question is (and it might sound silly!) will that affect the taste of the fruit? They aren't currently chewing on the fruit trees but I intend to treat all of the trees.
Thanks!

[annashAppyacres]

My horses will eat every Maple and Poplar tree they can reach anytime of year.. We finally moved the fence so they couldn't kill anymore trees.

[goodhors]

Spraying even one tree after every rain or snow, damp days, gets to be too much work so folks usually give it up pretty quick. Can you run a hot wire fence across in front of the trees being chewed on? I have done that in one corner of the field, just to protect the trees.

I did wrap one nice tree, only one in field so I didn't want it killed. I used that plastic snow fence, warning fence around road projects, to go around the tree trunk up about 8ft, horses couldn't get at the bark thru the little holes. Tied the fence in place until next spring, when I would rewrap the trunk for increased tree growth, tie in place for another year. Didn't want to girdle the tree with fence. Fence wrap was getting a bit worn, torn, when we had the fence guys out and moved some posts so wire ran around the tree to protect it from horses. Tree is enclosed with hot wire fence now so horses don't bother it while standing under it for shade on summer mornings.

With a lot of scattered trees in the field, you can't protect them all, so horses probably will damage them. I would pick trees I liked best, biggest, colorful, windbreaks, put fence around them and keep them alive. Rest of trees are fair game to be chewed.

Doesn't take much chewing to open tree to insects, inner bark damage, so tree dies.

[akane]

None of our trees are dead despite loss of bark. Some we can't kill. Chopped those stupid mystery bushes and trees in the fenceline so much I finally just moved the fenceline so they weren't shorting out the electric tape when the wind blew. Even with horse help new shoots sprout all over by late spring and again in early fall. At least I think the honey locust is dead finally.

Vinegar is actually found tasty by many animals and the acetic acid evaporates within hours anyway so you'd just be left with a damp tree. As for other versions of chewing deterrent, you just can't apply enough often enough. The animals will steadily work at the item until the bad taste is gone and then chew away. Some even like the taste of pepper and bitter apple sprays. For the rest it's just a habit that can't be broken. Went through all the products and home remedies for my cribber and a wood fence chewer. Really doesn't work.

[Muleman]

I do not think applying the pepper spray to the bark will affect the taste of the fruit or the meat!!!

[Kyla]

He's only started doing this in the last 2 weeks so I'm hopeful that I can break him of it. Thanks for all of the suggestions. I'll probably run my electric fence around them. I'm not thrilled about it but I definitely don't want him killing my fruit trees!