A Cure for Busy Beavers

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a board down in Kate's paddock. Thinking she and Maddie or Beth had gotten silly over the fence, I went to retrieve it.

What I found was not a knocked loose rail, but this piece of lumber-fodder:

Upon closer inspection, I found several more devoured boards.

I didn't do it, Mom!(And I don't think she did--the gouges all seemed to be from the opposite side of the fence.)I have never had trouble with the girls chewing wood in the past.
I thought about what was different, that this would come on in a week's time. (We currently feed in the dark morning and night, but I'm outside every weekend, and I hadn't noticed previously.)
I figured it could be one of three things:
Hunger.
Boredom.
Something missing in their diet (either fiber or some mineral).

Misty has not attacked any of her fence, but instead decided the one straw bale that I kept in her stall (reserved when I switched to boys to the east paddock and pellet bedding) was fair game.

So, my project two weekends ago was to replace the worst-gnawed boards.
Beth helped.
Then, I did four things:
I liberally soaped the top edges of all the paddock fences.
I added some lower quality grass hay to their regular ration of timothy hay for additional fiber.
I added Purina's 12:12 mineral supplement to their daily ration. The last time I talked to the local Purina representative, he said the 12:12 wasn't necessary, since I was feeding their "Enrich" vitamin mineral supplement; but it seems odd that the first winter I didn't include the 12:12 was the first winter I had fence boards chewed on.

Lastly, I finished the project I started last fall of creating feeders along the south wall of the barn. dp at Food for Founder has gone through a series of prototypes for slow feeders (search her blog using the word "feeder")--designed to give a slow-motion but continuous supply of hay, to mimic more natural grazing patterns, thereby relieving boredom and not stressing their digestive system in the way that twice daily bulky feedings do.

Originally I was going to construct the feeders outside the main aisle of the barn, and dug two post holes in three locations to serve the three paddocks. This would have required not only the feed grid of 4" by 4" galvanized steel, but sides, a slanted bottom, and a small roof to keep out both rain and horses.

But in an "AHA!" moment a couple of weeks ago, I realized that if I pulled a few of the tongue and groove boards from the bottom of the barn's exterior walls, I could mount the grid on the inside, slant a less expensive sheet of OSB (rather than plywood) against some hay bales (instead of permanent posts) and not have to weather- and horse-proof the feeders.

I got Kate's small 6 foot feeding station in last weekend, and she figured out pretty quickly how to use it. She has never quite cleaned it out, but is eating slightly less hay than previously.

I have a rubber mat on the ground in front of the grid, and there is very little waste, as Kate cleans up her droppings regularly, as they are easier to access than the hay behind the grid.
(By the way, Funder, please note that Kate is, indeed, one dirty pony!)
The 4" by 4" openings are a bit larger than recommended, but I'm tracking her intake and haven't noticed that Kate is eating too much too fast at this point.
So this weekend's project was for Maddie and Beth's paddock. This will be a wider grid, about 11 feet, between the barn posts, because it will serve two.
The site from inside the barn, immediately adjacent to the hay stack (Kate's is at the far end of the barn, and bales of hay need to be moved down for her each week).

Unscrewing the boards.

Boards out.

Tacking up the grid.

Leaning the 4'X8' OSB against hay bales stacked two high. It is necessary to have enough of an angle that the hay will slide down continuously against the grid, otherwise the horses can't get to it with their lips. If it doesn't slide, I may have to line the OSB with a cheap poly tarp.
Throw down some hay.
Feeder full. Can the girls figure it out?
Beth was the first one to come over, but Al had gone inside with the camera.
A fringe benefit of this system is that it meters out the hay slowly enough that we may be able to put two meals worth in the feeder at a time, and, during Al's early morning "quick feed," a check to make sure the hay is still shifting against the grid properly may be all that is needed.

At first, I think Beth and Maddie thought they were putting one past me, sneaking into a forbidden snack shack. (Again, Funder, notice the mud-packed horsies.)By evening, they were wondering why I hadn't put their dinner in their tire.Beth nose.
Maddie nose.

We'll see how much they have eaten in the morning.