I am helping my parents fix up their home. It used to be a red house with cedar shingles and a dark red roof, but now it has blue siding. The red phase was before they bought the house. The home was built by the family who owned a local cider mill, so perhaps they felt their home should match. I just don’t know what my parents would have done should they have had to replace shingles on the side of the house on a yearly basis. I guess “quaint” comes with a price.
There have been renovations of barns and farm houses, many to either historical accuracy or to retrofit for a farm rescue. I know it is nice to have an authentic look for people who might come by to be touristy or volunteer, but don’t underestimate the allure of vinyl shutters. Afterall, they don’t rot away, and your horses won’t crib on them either.
What is cribbing? A bored horse can learn the vice from other horses of grabbing on to a fence or anything protruding on a barn, grab it with their teeth and suck air. It usually means that there are bites taken out of the wood as well, as chewing wood is a related habit. Why do they do this? Some say that gulping air like this is a horse’s version of getting “high.” There are many things you can do to curb this, such as a special mask over their muzzle, making the wood taste very bad, or of course, replacing your shutters, trim, and some fences with vinyl. Just like a cat can get the pleasure of stretching his/her claws on wood or fabric but vinyl or fiberglass is a killjoy, it is the same for horses. They really can’t sink their teeth into it.
So, he next time you are fixing up the place, I am not implying that you don’t provide your horses with enough attention and mental stimulation, but switching materials will sure help a new horse that comes into your home/barn that cribs from spreading the idea to others.
I am sure horse tongues and teeth is not covered under the warranty most household shutters come with, but most people who are installing them near animals don’t have as much concern for that as they do for the health of their pets.
Molly is a hurricane Katrina survivor who really illustrates what I believe. Just because a horse has a bad leg…or no leg…does not mean they automatically should be euthanized. Dear Molly’s leg was gnawed, and her new guardian took her to Louisiana State University, where they almost rejected her case