# Windsucking



## Annette

Hello,im new here, thought I would post to ask if anyone had heard of anything that can help prevent windsucking,?


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## tashi

Annette said:


> Hello,im new here, thought I would post to ask if anyone had heard of anything that can help prevent windsucking,?


Only a windsucking collar and sorry hi annette and welcome to the mad house


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## carol

hi and welcome
sure theres some one about that could help


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## bullbreeds

Just the usual collars which I personally think are useless.
Ive heard that mirrors can help eleviate vices if thats any help.


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## tashi

bullbreeds said:


> Just the usual collars which I personally think are useless.
> Ive heard that mirrors can help eleviate vices if thats any help.


another way that I have seen done is to hang salt licks and footballs from the ceiling to relieve boredom - take it he/she is stabled


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## bullbreeds

tashi said:


> another way that I have seen done is to hang salt licks and footballs from the ceiling to relieve boredom - take it he/she is stabled


Yeah I tried one of those treacle lick thingys before. He pulled it down and slept on it!
Looked like he'd been flour and egg'd with shavings stuck all over him 
Think the solid licks are better like you say, and theres those treat balls too.
Suppose anything is worth a try.


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## tashi

bullbreeds said:


> Yeah I tried one of those treacle lick thingys before. He pulled it down and slept on it!
> Looked like he'd been flour and egg'd with shavings stuck all over him
> Think the solid licks are better like you say, and theres those treat balls too.
> Suppose anything is worth a try.


we were lucky we never had one of those whilst we were competing cos they are one of the worst had a crib biter but that wasnt too hard to cope with


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## Guest

Hi my frinds hose does this and im always worried mine will copy! as far as i know from watching her horse collars dont really work,i know it looks and sounds nasty but i dont think it can do any physical harm can it? is he/she stabled a lot,i know its not always practical but i think its best to turn out as often as is possible,i know mine get frustrated being shut it,they stiffen up and get moody.In an ideal situation living permenantly out is best(apart from the mud/mud fever etc) saying that my friends horse windsucks on the fence posts in the field!


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## Broxdown

I read something a while ago which suggested that windsucking could be the result of a horse trying to alleviate the symptoms of a stomach ulcer - have a google on 'tinterweb and see what you can find. I'm pretty sure there was one of the herb companies who prepared a potion for windsuckers - maybe worth a try. Otherwise, you have to remove anything they can grab hold of but of course there are some horses who don't even have to grab, they just stand there and do it.


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## michelleice

Once a horse starts cribbing it is difficult to get them to stop. The best thing is to try to prevent it from occurring in the first place. 

To help prevent and reduce cribbing:

Allow your horse as much pasture time, in as big a pasture as possible

Spend time training and handling the horse to help prevent boredom. 

Provide your horse with a companion, preferably another horse, but goats also often make good companions for horses. 

Allow your horse access to fresh grass, or grass hay at all times. 


A cribbing strap, or collar may also be useful. This strap is placed around the horse's neck. A metal plate on the bottom of the strap presses into the throat when the horse arches its neck to crib. This makes it difficult, and uncomfortable for the horse to swallow air. 

surgery is avalible but not nice!!

spray a pet shop product called sour grapes or sour apples (used for house animals who wee/poo on the floor, you spray it on, wait about 5mins for it to settle then let the animal near it, tastes awful and they never go back again)

tin of anticribbing paint (never worked for me)

hope that helps


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## Sophia

_Please_ do not use a an anti-windsucking collar, it does not treat the problem - merely masks the symptons. Additionally, it does not nothing to reduce the plasma cortisol level within the horse's body (e.g. level of stress) which is lowered through windsucking. In effect, with a collar, all you are doing is physically preventing the horse from windsucking yet not providing any alternative therapy for the horse whilst increasing the stress levels of the horse and thus increasing the desire or need of the horse to windsuck. The result = not a very happy ponio.

One of my own horses crib bites as well as weaves and box walks, particularly when the amount of time he is required to stand in a stable for increases.

Maximising his forage intake really helps - not only does it encourage more mastication (chewing) and therefore takes longer to eat, it will also encourage the digestive system to work effectively by 'fermentation' that does not happen in diets that are cereal based feedstuff. Also, cereal based diets tend to give higher amounts of energy quicker - so not only do they take less time to eat, they also provide the horse with more immediate energy to perform stereotypical behaviour!

If you are worried about feeding too much ad-lib hay, soaking it for over 12 hours removes all nutritional content - so in effect, the horse is munching oon utterly dead calories!

Stable toys can also help, as can mirrors, although the latter are more expensive.

Turn-out and grazing is one of the biggest positive adjustments you can make - although typically, it is also one of the hardest, aprticularly if you are a livery on a commercial yard.

Also, don't undermine the effects of social contact for horses - particularly those stabled, again this is where a mirror can be very useful especially if oppurtunities for social interaction with other horses is limited.

Personally, I am of the school of thought of reducing the reasons why horse's stereotype (although identifying one root cause has been very difficult) is better for the horse than simplying preventing displays of behaviour.

However, to some extent, I let my horse continue to crib/weave/windsuck - as I believe that it is better than simply preventing the horse from showing stereotypical behaviour ... as it has been shown that the horse has lower plasma cortisol (stress) levels after cribbing than before.

And that is what I believe horse management should be able - reducing the stress of horse's in an unnatural environment wherever possible, and I am not convinced that traditional treatments such as a windsucking collars, surgery or laser treatment is humane.

After all, I'm not perfect - I bite my fingernails and smoke too much when I am stressed or nervous or worried, so wy should I expect my horse to be if put under similiar strain?

P.S Clare - the concept of horse's picking up and copying stereotypical behaviour off of other horses, is one of the biggest misconceptions to stereotypical behaviour - it has not yet been proved within a number of scientific studies dating back over one hundred years


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## suki001

I agree with sophia. If you prevent the horse doing the thing it uses to relieve stress you'll probably find it does something else or will be really miserable all the time. as much turn out as possible is generally the solution or 24 hour access to forage as stated before. As horses are trickle feeders they are not designed to be left in a stable for ten hours with a haynet that lasts 2 hours - sorry if that seemed rude - it's not bout you but what i saw at the last yard i was at and these people wondered why they had horses with problems. i also have never seen a horse pass windsucking on as such. people seem to just freak out about it and it's just prejudice to a certain extent. I was once told my horse was severlyy depressed and i was cruel because she wore a boett rug - the mare had chronic sweet itch and have recently met a man that believes using my horses brushes would give his horses sweet itch. i give up with some people.


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## Dennyboy

sorry but i wish you luck.
I will try to get some pics of a horse at our yard who has windsucked for about 8 years.

To date he has had the vet out at least twice yearly for chronic colic through windsucking.His gums bleed where he has worn his teeth down,his owner puts up rope and toys for him as they are softer on his mouth and last month he had the vet out three times in one week resulting in the last two being on the same da and he was taken in for surgery at a cost of thousands,he isn't insured for colic induced by windsucking anymore???

When he is out in the field he stands and windsucks on the posts,when they put him in electric posts he did it on his field mates neck!!then he tries to do it on the chest buckles of the rug he is wearing!!!!Water buckets anything he can get his teeth into.


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## countrymom94

Okay I have owned horses since I was 9, I am 32 and I had never heard of the term "windsucking"....lol. I looked it up and saw cribbing and went "ah ha, gottcha"...lol. Hope this makes a few people laugh. Dumb American anyhow....lol


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