"backinthesaddle2006" wrote in message
ups.com...
Does anyone know if this wood is toxic to horses? I would like to use
it for the interior of my barn including the stalls. I plan on having
2" thick wood planed and either joined or T&G added so the boards will
be flush. Metal channels will be on all edges so they can't chew the
wood.

In case you're wondering, I found this wood at a local store. It dried
too fast and has some checking. They want to get rid of it because
while it still has some nice stripes, it's not as heavily striped as
they want. That, in addition to the checking (that can be planed out)
it's cheaper than pine.

SO.. will my horse get sick if he licks this wood?

I don't know about Goncalo Alves, but during a visit to a local sawmill, I
was told that horses will not crib on red oak. I had a cribbing horse and if
I had known this, it would have saved me a lot of anxiety and expense.

If you buy the red oak rough from a mill, using inferior grades suitable for
stalls and corrals, it isn't that expensive. When your dealing with $1,200
to $12,000 animals, it is worth the consideration.

I've never had one of the expensive horses, but if you add the vet bills,
they got expensive. My buckskin quarter horse was really registered as APHA
(American Pet Horse Association). They are the most expensive kind of horse,
sort of like my Black Lab, :-)