home page for the stable mirror company selling horse mirrors and arena mirrors online and providing information on stable vices and scientific research stable mirrors and how they reduce boredom in stabled horses and hlep to cure or reduce stable vices boredom and stable vices in horses and equines, weaving, box walking, crib biting, swaying, door kicking,  and nervous behaviour. scientific research  and veterinary opinions, links to many web sites buy stable mirrors online securly or by mail order, telelphone or via email fitiing stable mirrors, detailed instructions on where and how to fit what our customers say about how their stable mirror has worked for their horse links to sites of interest and which cover stable vices or sell stable mirrors contact the stable mirror company with any questions about stable mirrors, horse mirrors or arena and menage mirrors.
Stable Mirrors
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Boredom and Stable Vices

Boredom and Stable Vices
Horses and ponies suffer from boredom and loneliness when stabled for any length of time. The boredom can lead to stable vices developing such as weaving. These stable vices are a displacement behaviour and can be highly addictive; not to surrounding horses as was feared in the past but to the horse or pony itself.

This is known as stereotypical behaviour, that is behaviour which is repeated by the horse or pony and becomes stereotyped upon it. A Stable Mirror is very effective at reducing or curing stable vices.

Stable Vices are exhibited by 15% of all stabled horses

  • Weaving an obvious repetitive lateral swaying movement of the head, neck, forequarters and sometimes hindquarters
  • Box walking, circular route tracing within the stable
  • Nodding a repetitive up and down nodding movement of the head
  • Head threats - making threatening head movements with or without teeth snapping towards people or other horses
  • Aggressive Behaviour towards people or other horses
  • Separation Anxiety exhibiting signs of distress when a companion is absent or moved away.
  • Crib biting, grasping of a fixed object with the incisor teeth and engulfing air with an audible grunt
  • Windsucking a similar behaviour in which no object is grasped before the characteristic grunt made

Stable Mirrors
Stable Mirrors have a dramatic effect on the well being of a stabled horse or pony. What they have been found to achieve under scientific test conditions:

    • Horses which had been long term weavers 'stopped or significantly reduced this within 24 hours' of a stable mirror being fitted.
    • One long term study found that horses which had been weaving for at least 2 years reduced this by 77% with stable mirrors fitted compared to an 85% reduction where they had a companion horse in full site within 1 metre.
    • Studies also found that Horses are Happier and More Relaxed with a stable mirror fitted, significantly improving their welfare and quality of life.

Short video showing weaving and crib-biting and how a stable mirror cured these problems.

Horses Quality of Life Improved
It is clear from all of the scientific studies that by installing a stable mirror the quality of life of your horse or pony is significantly improved. Existing stable vices arising from boredom and frustration are removed or reduced and the chance of your horse or pony developing one is greatly reduced

That is why we repeat the phrase 'Stable Mirrors - Brightening up the lives of Stabled Horses' , because they do just that and all our stabled horses and ponies deserve it.

Loneliness - Social Isolation when Stabled
Equines are herd creatures with a highly developed social relationship with others. Stabling deprives horses of this contact and as well as leading to boredom and increased levels of stress. This is exacerbated by the horse being deprived for long periods of its natural grazing activity which has been replaced by concentrated feeds fed at intervals which are far apart

Feeding and Boredom in Stabled Horses and Ponies
The types of feed given to stabled equines have also recently been the subject of more and more research aimed specifically towards a dietary connection with the development of stable vices. This research has also looked at how feeding regimes, that is what is fed and when, and what effect they can have to both stress and boredom in the stabled equine. There is a clear connection between the types of feeds and the feeding pattern and increased stress and boredom in the stabled equine.

Further studies have shown links between excess gastric acid caused through low forage intake (high concentrated feeds) and both crib biting and wind sucking. The additional saliva produced by these activities is swallowed and works to reduce the gastric fluid activity. You will find information and links to other sites in the sections below.

More Information
Rather than go into great depth on each of the topics we have taken sections from some detailed and generally science led sites covering stable vices which you will find below. We have used short sections to encourage you to visit their web sites to look further into the subject and for you to understand your horse and its psychology and physiology better.

This is a growing subject and much of what we read and hear on this tends to prompt the comment 'well that's just common sense'. Indeed it is but it is common sense which for too long has not been widely understood in the equestrian world, we have lived on received wisdom from the past and in many cases it wasn't right !

BBC News Reports on Stable Mirrors
Report on the studies on stable mirrors and on their benefits

Recent Advances in the Treatment of Equine Stereotypic Behaviour
Daniel Mills, Animal Behaviour Cognition and Welfare Group, University of Lincoln, to read more visit their web site click the button

"Stereotypic behaviour has been defined as behaviours, which are "repetitive and invariant with no obvious goal or function" (Mason, 1991a) and can be indicative of a situation in which the animal lacks a certain degree of control over its environment (Winskill et al, 1995; Fraser and Broom, 1990). Over 15% of domesticated horses have been reported to exhibit what are commonly termed 'stereotypies' (Luescher et al, 1991). Four behaviours are most commonly described as stereotypic in the horse: weaving, an obvious repetitive lateral swaying movement of the head, neck, forequarters and sometimes hindquarters; box walking, circular route tracing within the stable; crib-biting, grasping of a fixed object with the incisor teeth and engulfing air with an audible grunt; (McGreevy et al, 1995a) and windsucking a similar behaviour in which no object is grasped before the characteristic grunt made "

"Initial studies (Cooper et al, 2000) found that horses allowed social contact with a conspecific through a 1 metre square barred window reduced their weaving by 97% on average, head-nodding in the stable was also reduced. Comparison of the effect of a mirror in the same location with social contact found no significant difference in the two treatments, with on average an 85% reduction achieved by the increased social contact and a 77% reduction with the mirrors (Mills and Davenport, 2002). However in all of these studies treatment was relatively short (1 week) and so a novelty effect could not be ruled out. McAfee et al (2002) examined the effect of a mirror over a more prolonged period in a greater variety of settings. All horses had been known to weave for at least two years, and a consistent reduction in weaving (by around 97% on average) was again found throughout the five weeks of treatment. There was also a decrease in repetitive head nodding and head threats, which has not been reported previously. It is possible that these effects are related since both stereotypy and aggression are believed to be a common consequence of frustration (Duncan and Wood-Gush, 1971)."
to read more visit their web site click the button

Macvets
Info on stable vices and causes

to read more visit their web site click the button
"Horses have to put up with a lot! In years gone by horses were left to roam the plains free to do what they liked. Now they are expected to live in small stables and graze in small, enclosed areas. No wonder they look for other things to do, to occupy themselves. Unfortunately many of these actions turn into vices which can cause, at times, disastrous effects."

"What is a 'vice'? A vice is a form of abnormal behaviour, usually of a destructive kind, that becomes a habit. This behaviour is usually seen in horses kept in confined areas for long periods of time."

"What sort of vices are there and what can I do about them?"
to read more visit their web site click the button

NFU Countryside pages
Report on Stable Mirrors and reduction of stable vices
to read more visit their web site click the button

www.natural-horse-group.co.uk
Explanation of causes of stable vices
to read more visit their web site click the button

"Management of Stereotyped Behaviours (Stable Vices)
Stable vice is the common name for a stereotyped behaviour. Examples of such behaviour include crib-biting, weaving, box-walking and head-bobbing. The behaviour is equivalent to a bear pacing in a zoo or a disturbed child constantly rocking".

"Such behaviours are indicators of emotional ill-health and sometimes of physical ill-health. Horses perform the behaviour as an outlet for stress and it can become addictive. The main cause of stereotyped behaviours is intensive horse-keeping, that is long hours restricted in the stable, often without food and in a state of social isolation".
to read more visit their web site click the button

VEIN
Veterinary Education and Information network - technical information on Stable vices with some focus on feed and its role in stable vices.
to read more visit their web site click the button

"In relation to feeding practices, horses fed on high concentrate diets are much more likely to develop stereotypies [stable vices] than those on high forage diets "
to read more visit their web site click the button

Horse Behavior and Psychology
from the White Horse Equine Ethology Project
to read more visit their web site click the button

"At no stage of the horse's evolution did it become psychologically or physically adapted to living alone in confined spaces. Stables are a totally unnatural environment, and isolation nothing short of psychological abuse. We humans save solitary confinement for the very worst and most anti-social criminals, where it is rightly viewed as an extreme form of punishment."

We are well aware of the effects of keeping zoo animals in small, boring enclosures and, when they begin to behave strangely, can nod to ourselves sagaciously and say, 'an obvious case of stress-induced stereotypical behaviour'. Why do these animals become maladjusted in this way? Simply because their environment does not allow them sufficient scope to express their natural behaviours. Prevented from normal socialisation they may become fixated on their own bodies, even to the point of physically damaging themselves by constant scratching or biting. In order to address the boredom they may carry out repetitive actions, over and over, to which we give the name: rhythmic stereotypes. Another escape from the boredom may be found in aggressively destroying objects within their compound, and at last, directing their frustration into acts of aggression against their human keepers. And who can blame them! I'm sure that in this enlightened age no-one is going to suggest that these animals carry out these behaviours out of some kind of moral depravity, and we generally do not any longer refer to these behaviours as vices when they are present in ourselves or zoo animals. Our faithful and noble friend the horse is not so lucky."
to read more visit their web site click the button

Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester,
UK Research Activities

to read more visit their web site click the button

"It is not recommended to keep a pony or horse alone without visual contact of other horses as they are sociable animals and separating them may lead to stable vices."
to read more visit their web site click the button

www.horse-behaviour.com
All About Horse Vices
to read more visit their web site click the button

"Horses have individual characteristics and feelings. They are not mechanical creatures with set behavioral patterns and as such, they are likely to exhibit vices from time to time."

"Vices are generally the result of training or situational circumstances. Horses are not born with bad behavior; this is something that we, as humans, have forced upon them."
to read more visit their web site click the button

www.globalherbs.co.uk
Stable Vices& Bad habits
to read more visit their web site click the button

"Crib biting, Windsucking, Weaving, Box walking, Rug Tearing "

"These bad habits usually occur in horses and ponies as a result of boredom, anxiety or discomfort and sometimes even mineral imbalance. There is new evidence coming to light that indicates that in many cases stomach problems can cause enough discomfort to make horses bite and suck wind in exasperation."
to read more visit their web site click the button

www.intelligenthorsemanship.co.uk
Advice Available for Stereotypies (Stable Vices)

to read more visit their web site click the button

"The latest research all points to the fact that horses begin to crib bite because they are uncomfortable in their stomachs. The actual action of crib biting and wind sucking produces excess saliva and when then swallowed this helps relieve the discomfort."

"Basically the horse's stomach has too much acid in it - like when we have acid indigestion . This is probably caused by the horse not having enough forage ( hay/ grass) etc and therefore its stomach is standing empty for long period."

"Horses in the wild eat for 16 hours a day and constantly trickle feed and their stomachs are rarely empty. We however often feed lots of concentrates and less forage and so the horses stomach stands empty and acid builds up making it feel uncomfortable. Some horses are more susceptable than others. Therefore the horse begins to crib or wind suck in an attempt to relieve this discomfort."
to read more visit their web site click the button

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Why fit a stable mirror for your horse ?
Stable Mirrors have a dramatic effect on the well being of a stabled horse or pony - reducing or curing stable vices and horses are happier and more relaxed read more ....
Do Stable Mirrors cure stable vices ? Read what our customers say ..... click here
Equine Psychology
Books which you may find interesting.
Arena Mirrors
Acrylic safety mirrors for horses and ponies in stables sold online or on ebay
 
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