Did I ever show you pictures of the beaver damage to my horse pen???

[BEARCAT]

Well he it is... this is the 3rd aspen tree that has been chewed up... kind of a bummer... I really like those trees!!!!

[PaCe2WN]

Sheesh! Is that just the work of ONE beaver??? Or do you have a whole colony???? :eek: :eek:

[BEARCAT]

What's that Aladdin?... You think you saw him go that way???

[BEARCAT]

Just one, and here he is....












:rolleyes:

[BEARCAT]

Yep, that's him!!!! :rolleyes:


I was so worried about that tree falling on his head while he was chewing it (which he would deserve!!!) that I cut it down before I left for France over Christmas....
I just got him started on Quitt again, as he started chewing another one...

Bored, hungry, or just trying to get a little more real estate??? :p


...(Forgive me but I am home alone having a couple of glasses of wine and there is nothing on TV except for the Broncos game... :rolleyes: )

[PaCe2WN]

That is NOT a horse. That is a CHAINSAW. HOW LONG DID IT TAKE HIM TO DO THAT?!!!!!!!! :eek:

[proudtobespotted]

Thank God, I was just about to post and ask you how BIG are your beavers!!!!

Isnt there a product out to give to horses that chew wood?? Gives them the vitamins and minerals they are missing or something.

Susan

[Appy Trails]

Wow! That's one BIG beaver! Hope the Quitt works as he's going to be wanting that shade come summer.

By the way Cat, I've been playing games on Yahoo for that last couple of hours as hubby's been glued to the set watching the games :rolleyes: Can't even get the the DVD to watch the movies I rented. :p

[BEARCAT]

The Magnificient Seven just started on PBS, so I'll be watching that... (Hey, it has horses in it!!!!! :p :p :p )

[(un)stablemom]

That's the guiltiest looking beaver I've ever seen! :eek:

Did he get splinters in his teeth!

[Houdini]

I too thought it was a real beaver doing that to the trees. Then realized it was Aladdin! Oh my gosh! He could be a lumberjack! :p

[Dixiesmom]

Hey, at least your beaver has pretty red hair and is nice to look at........ :D

Oh wait.........are you talking about Aladinn? Or did my mind just take a dive in the gutter......... :rolleyes:

[Horsespoiler]

Our beaver is black and white and prefers oak trees, bark only please. :p

[vsolubo]

What a beaver! :eek:

[PaCe2WN]

LOL I like the evil red gleam in his eye in the second picture of him. It fits the thread. :D

[Tripledeuce2]

Hmmm I didnt realize that Aladdin was related to my pet beaver AKA SweetPea!

[Diane]

:) I wish I had a pet beaver. LOL:p
Does Alladin eat willows to???????? :D
It would sure save me a bunch of time always having to cut those pesky things down every year.

[BEARCAT]

Well, I don't know if he does willows...

I've been trying to "redirect" and threw in his pen a few branches that got broken during our last winstorm and he's having a hayday with those!!

I just wish he would leave the trees alone... they make a great wind barrier!!!

[Cathy]

Bearcat, I have three beavers, or are they woodchucks, maybe termites, not sure which one. We have had to replace some fencing rails and stall walls because of the chewing. Finally, we have started putting metal on the wood to try and stop having to replace it. A tree now is a different story, you might want to try small holed page wire around the tree. Just a suggestion.

[Morganslil1]

Dats the cutest beaver ever im sure of it.:D

[Cassie1]

I looked at that first pic and thought "Gawd! That beaver is really determined!" then I kept going....LOL

I knew horses chewed on trees...but I have no idea they CHEWED TREES UP... :p

Ginger

[(un)stablemom]

Not to put a damper on your cute naughty horse, but there is an interesting thread I just read in hoof care called "minerals." It talks about the different minerals and their balance, and there are a couple of mineral deficiencies that could cause a horse to chew wood like that. I thought of your red eyed guilty looking beaver, :p and thought you might like to read it. You just never know.

[Devo]

Part of the article I posted over in hoof care:

Calcium is the major mineral in the body, essential obviously for normal bones and teeth, nerve function, blood clotting and enzyme reactions. Excess calcium (as found in a straight alfalfa diet for horses, for example) will suppress manganese which is important for phosphorus utilization, iron assimilation, reproduction, healthy bones and ligamental strength. So you might see wood chewing as a sign of phosphorus deficiency since wood, especially pine, is high in phosphorus.

[Devo]

OOOPs I didn't copy the whole part. :o

Calcium is the major mineral in the body, essential obviously for normal bones and teeth, nerve function, blood clotting and enzyme reactions. Excess calcium (as found in a straight alfalfa diet for horses, for example) will suppress manganese which is important for phosphorus utilization, iron assimilation, reproduction, healthy bones and ligamental strength. So you might see wood chewing as a sign of phosphorus deficiency since wood, especially pine, is high in phosphorus. Anemia because of poor iron utilization would be a possibility, hindered reproduction especially in mares due to manganese deficiency, and soft tissue injuries like bowed tendons and pulled suspensories. Sore backs also happen when the ligaments are weak and the muscles must therefore come into play to stabilize the back under saddle, and horses will not hold chiropractic adjustments either. Joints will often wobble and make cracking noises when manganese is low. Low magnesium results in tight muscles, anxiety and nervousness, especially in mares. Alfalfa fed horses are nearly always low in magnesium, hence sore and belligerent/crabby. Low phos will again often manifest in beaver-like wood chewing. Low zinc hinders male reproduction, and will also show as poor hoof and hair quality.

[Devo]

And another part:

High magnesium suppresses phosphorus and calcium. So you would watch for wood chewing and a low calcium test. Since high magnesium is pretty rare in standard horse diets, about the only thing that would cause this would be feeding excess amounts of it especially in the form of epsom salts which is magnesium sulfate. This is an old race track trick to try to calm the witchy fillies, and it is not a good idea since it is also a purgative and can throw off all the electrolytes. Even when feeding a product like Dynamite Easy Boy that is a pure magnesium chelate, be sure the horse has access to 2 to 1 Free Choice to be able to balance the calcium and phos.

High manganese would suppress iron, phos, potassium and magnesium. It would be pretty rare to find an equine diet too high in manganese, unless you were feeding it supplementally in great quantity.

Copper excess will suppress iron, zinc and phos. So you might see anemia, crumbly hoofs, poor hair coat after initial bloom, wood chewing. Copper sulfate added to water tanks could be the source of copper toxicity, as could using it in the feet for thrush. Copper plumbing can be a culprit. Injectible copper is sometimes used to get a horse to bloom, be careful of this. Some feed companies are now also adding extra copper to get coat intensity, and this can imbalance the picture after a bit. This is also why we only feed SOD which is high copper to horses for a 10 day period, then stop for a while.

High iron suppresses potassium, phos and copper. The iron "tonics" like Lixotinic or Red Cell can be real culprits here, they do build the iron very fast but create an imbalance very quickly too. In fact they can actually make a horse anemic over the long haul, as they suppress the copper needed to utilize the iron. High iron water can make a dairy cow anemic in three days by suppressing the copper, according to research at Albion Labs, and this would be a huge culprit for horses too. We once worked on a grey horse that was eating wood like a beaver, and his coat was actually tinged with "rust" as was his tail. Turned out they had very high iron water, that turned the sink and shower red, too!

[Auragin]

BEARCAT: started a thread in nutrition about perhaps a deficiency with Kitten and Tucson as they have beaver-ed their way almost through one of their shade trees.

Have you been able to solve the problem as of yet?

Our guys are getting trace minerals, but hadn't thought of phosphorous as they are getting Strategy twice a day, hay twice a day, have no other additives or supplements in their feed. Hmmmmm.

Anyone have success in stopping this?

[DreamRider]

Wow, what an eye opener, I thought wood chewing had to do with diet, just didn't know what part of the diet. I have been around many beavering horses, some had to have surgery to have excessive wood removed from their stomache. :eek: Please watch for that with wood chewing. Linseed oil deters from stall chewing, and chicken wire or utility wire will deter tree chewing.

My horse doesn't wood chew, thank goodness, as I would have the vet out on it immediately. (not that it's always needed) He does, however, lick the painted boards. I was reading threads before posting and am going to post a thread on that.

Good luck, and please tell me you were able to stop him from his adventures without health problems. ;)

[Raffles_Mom]

You could get him registered as a beaver, it might increase his value :D . I never got that paperwork you think I should get my money back?

[Navi]

Hey, your horse makes his own shavings...now that's a cost cutter!! :D

[Raffles_Mom]

and will clear your fields for you.......you could rent him out!!!!

[Devo]

Well, I found the BEAVER thread, I guess the actual info was in the thread calles Minerals. But hey, you can all look again :p