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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
"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
Large
Stable Mirrors from just £33.95
(large size 1220 mm by 808mm) Travelling
Mirrors from just £12.95 (400 mm by 600mm
Unbeatable prices Buy
Now
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
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Psychology
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