Horse Vices: Dangerous Boredom Behaviors

Horse Vices: Your Horse's Bad Habits!

Horse vices develop when your horse is bored or stressed. Horses naturally graze for 12 to 16 hours a day. Often, domestic horses don't have the opportunity to graze, walk and play as often as necessary to relieve boredom and burn off excess energy. They can develop negative habits to compensate.
Horse cribbing occurs when the horse bites onto a fixed surface (a stall door edge, grain bucket, fence rail), arches his neck and sucks in air, making a grunting noise. Endorphins are released and your horse feels better. If this sounds uncomfortably like certain bad habits that you have, it's because it is. Stress and boredom are the culprits here. Cribbing becomes addictive; even when removed from the unpleasant situation the horse may still crib. Cribbing can lead to weight loss, poor performance, gastric colic, and excessive tooth wear.

Cribbing can also be learned from other horses. Sometimes a foal will imitate the mare if she is a cribber. Cribbing collars can be helpful here.

Weaving occurs when the horse stands by the stall door and rhythmically shifts its weight back and forth on its front legs while swinging its head. This is also caused by boredom or excess energy, and can lead to weight loss, poor performance and weakened tendons.

Stall kicking, stall walking, pawing, or digging, and biting over the stall door are also vices that are caused by boredom from being kept in a stall. To control these behaviors, try adding another mealtime, putting horse toys in the stall or providing added turnout time.

Some horses chew wood, eat bedding and dirt or mutilate themselves. These can be signs of boredom or lack of exercise but may be the result of equine nutritional deficiencies. Try adding more roughage to the diet, and free choice salt or minerals. This may decrease these habits. Speak to your vet or an equine nutritionist for more information.

Your horse's behavior is a complex blend of evolution, environment and opportunity. Understanding these relationships will help you become a responsible, knowledgeable horsekeeper.

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