veteran mare starting cribbing

[fuckitall]

My lovely veteran mare has started chewing her field shelter. She will often take a nip off some nice seasoned wood but not hardcore chomp/chew. My shelter looks like a rat has been nibbling the shelter!

I have creosoted the biteable surfaces and put a boredom buster and a cheery licky thing as she spends a lot of time in there.

She is 23 and in fab condition and is carrying a nice amount of weight

Does anyone else have experience of this?

Has she got any company? Or a salt lick? I've no answers I'm afraid,but our mare used to do it when she was tied up being groomed,she was 21 when she started doing it,but she hasn't done it for years now.In fact,it was your post that reminded me that she used to do it,I'd forgotten.

If she's never done it before she may be lacking something in her diet. Does she have sufficient forage? Is she lacking something from her hard feed? Have their been any new horses introduced who could she could have learnt this behaviour from? There are a number of things that can make a horse crib.

She has a field buddy who is a bit full on which is often the reason she is in the shelter, I have just remembered that I changed her supplement from an old age supplement to a general supplement, so that could be it?

Stress from the field buddy? If she's seeking sanctuary in the field shelter perhaps this is how she is demonstrating her stress? Or could well be the supplement. Could you have a chat with the feed manufacturers and see what They think re the supplement?

It's unlikely to be stress as it is her that is the causes the stress in others

I have noticed that she has started coming back into regular heat and she has had period pain in the past and the cribbing started around the same time

She has also been separated from a next door neighbour which was one of the very few horses she gets on with