"To guarantee the health of your horse's teeth, provide a Knabberholz." I was like "What the..."
So I googled Knabberholz and it was what I thought, a piece of wood, but what gets me is this website that sells them does NOT say, "Please remember that horses need to see a dentist regularly in addition to our chewing sticks."
No, nothing.
http://www.knabberholz.de/Produkte/
The website begins by saying how many millimeters a horse tooth grows per year, and how important it is for them to chew wood to control this growth. It also says it provides a diversion for stalled horses.
This is the part that gets me:
Was müssen wir zur Pflege der Pferdezähne tun?
Bieten Sie Ihrem Pferd ein Knabberholz an!Translated:
What must we do for the health of our horses' teeth?
Offer a piece of wood!
Be sure to check out the video:
http://www.knabberholz.de/Startseite/
So have you guys ever heard of such a thing? I mean, besides providing fruit tree branches for horses to enrich the environment and alleviate boredom, have you heard of a block of wood you can buy for your horses' dental health?
I didn't know horses were rabbits. *lol* It's a great idea for boredom but really, horses need professional dental care.
And one last thing I thought of, I think this thing might actually teach a horse to chew wood. My horse does not, but as much as I care about every tooth he has, I won't buy him this because I think it could start a bad habit.
***
Next: A trip to a German tack shop (and I didn't kicked out for taking photos! I was stealthy!).
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14 comments:
Your last sentence would be my concern.
Dan
haha looks like a toilet paper roller. I cant see horses really getting much chewed off that. weird, just weird.
Horses at the barm have completely destroyed a whole row of trees by chewing, which the manager did not think to fence off. They love chewing wood. But I think that has to do with taste and a desire for minerals as the culprits are a well-fed and happy herd of half a dozen in a large field. They receive enough dental care too.
A fool and their money are easily parted, whatever language that may need to be written in.
Ha, no, I wouldn't deliberately choose (chews? lol) to give my horses this. My Pinto is a habitual wood chewer, :( It drives me bonkers!! He is and always has been, a orally fixated horse, chews leads, chewed bridles(gerr!) even water hoses... Its a boredom issue I am sure. But, if I give him "toys" like traffic cones, he won't touch them!
We had him in a stock trailer once with 3 other horses, during a 2+ hr trip up into the mountains, the snot actually unbuckled the halter of the horse tied closest to him!
Tara
Kinda wierd! LOL I have never heard of that!
Ooh, can't wait for the tack shop photos. And I agree - give them wood to deliberately chew on it? Yeah ... don't think so!
I've seen you be stealthy...
O.B.V.I.O.U.S. G.R.R.L.
The wood thing is weird, unless I could convince a horse "chew this wood = good, chew your fencing = bad."
Unlikely? You think?
Can't wait for tack shop photos. Did you pretend to shop for those ugly socks?
lol! Beaver horses!
My mare likes to rip the bark off of our juniper trees, but she doesn't even eat them or chew....just rips them off like you'd peel a banana and then discards the long shreds of bark onto the ground.
~Lisa
it might be a good idea for a horse that already DOES chew wood but, like you, I would be afraid that it could start a bad habit.
I actually have a big log in my arena that my horses have worked at over the years. They've stripped the bark off and chewed it down through to the middle. Mostly, they ignore it, but I often use it as a training device to step or jump over.
Don, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought of that!
Crystal, you should check out the video! They make it look yummy.
WHP, I love your idiom. I'm looking around for a fool way to spend my money right now. I'm looking at those mineral buckets they sell in Germany for horses. And a variety of manufactured horse treats. They cost three times as much as carrots (the cheapest ones) but ...well, they don't go bad...hehe. Do you know anything about these mineral buckets I've now seen for sale here? They look like what people offer sheep or cattle. But for horses.
Tara, I'm glad to hear your advice. I really have never seen anything like this before: a wood-chewer-teaching-device!
Reddunappy, be sure to blog us about the odd things you find in your area. I'm fascinated.
Speedy, I was thinking of you today. I'll write soon.
Aarene, wait, I really think I have a thing here. I didn't hold the camera anywhere near my face. I held it at stomach-level as I looked at things. In that way, I don't think anyone noticed picture-taking. What do you think? I was super crafty. I think. Funny, I got a shot of the socks without even trying, they were just the first thing I saw.
Lisa, Baasha recently destroyed my one and only rosemary plant, and he didn't even have the decency to eat it, he just ripped it up and spit it out. AGH! I've tried every year to grow rosemary (what is supposed to be winter-hardy) but every year I fail due to weather.
FV, I'm glad you thought the same thing. I thought I might be alone in that!
My first thought was your last thought! I don't want my guys chewing up the wood in the barn!
Also, horses' teeth don't 'grow'. Once the permanent teeth come in they are as long as they will ever get, with the majority of the tooth being under the gum line. The teeth will erupt through the years, seeming to grow like rodent teeth.
I agree with you about proper dental care. My equine dentist and I had a great discussion about this. Years ago, veterinarians knew/cared very little about teeth and dental health. They floated when the teeth got sharp or cupped. But that was about it. Now, with horses, cats and dogs, the care of teeth is becoming an important aspect of general health care.
I knew all equine dentists were quacks!
That is definitely the weirdest German thing you've ever posted.
Do they have Jolly Balls over there, or do they think those are just ways of parting Americans from their dollars?
Yep, my first thought was "OMG they're teaching their horses to chew wood now if they don't provide this stupid piece of wood at all times the horses are going to destroy their stalls!!!!". lol yeah.
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