Unwanted behaviors, often called vices, are repetitive, purposeless behaviors that take up a large portion of a horse's time. Common examples include cribbing, chewing, and weaving. Vices can stem from environments that limit a horse's natural feeding or social behavior.
Horses have a strong instinct to forage, move, and socialize. They have evolved to eat small, frequent, forage-based meals throughout the day. When allowed to graze, horses will forage for over 14.5 hours daily while moving around the pasture. Additionally, as herd animals, social interaction is key to horse welfare. However, providing this ideal environment for horses is often not practical.
Many of today's horses spend a lot of time in stalls or dry lots, receive two large meals per day, and have a limited chance to forage. While some horses adapt well to a highly controlled environment, others may become stressed and find relief through an unwanted behavior. Once a horse develops an unwanted behavior, they may never stop. There are some steps you can take to help manage or prevent unwanted behaviors in your horse.
Reduce the amount of time your horse spends indoors
Allowing your horse turnout and exercise can provide your horse an opportunity to satisfy their instinct to move. When given the choice of being in a paddock or stall, horses will often choose a paddock, even in poor weather. Additionally, routine turnout can help prevent boredom and allow for socializing with other horses.
If your horse must be kept in a stall for a long period of time (e.g., stall rest), try to keep them entertained.
- Spend time with them outside their stall, for example hand walking around the arena or grooming in the barn aisle.
- Provide hay in slow feed nets to prolong the time your horse spends eating. Mature hay (high in NDF) can be fed to keep your horse busy between meals.
- Make sure your horse is not alone in the barn. Stalling another horse within sight of your horse can help reduce their stress.
- Provide toys that your horse can play with or chew on while in their stall. Treat toys require the horse to work or chew on the toy to receive a treat. Remember, you should only provide treats in moderation. Always select toys that are approved and safe for horses.
Keep your horse in a herd
Horses have a strong desire for social interaction, which can be met while kept in a herd. In these social groups, horses communicate through touch, smell and changes in body posture and facial expression. A herd size of four to 10 horses of the same sex works best with the exception of stallions. Try to limit changes in the herd, which can be stressful.
If your horse must be kept outside a herd, try introducing your horse to another animal, such as a goat, donkey or sheep. If you keep your horse with any of these species, check with your veterinarian to see if you need to adjust your horse's vaccination or health plan.
Provide a forage-based diet
Keep your horse on a high forage diet and ensure it meets their nutritional needs. You should feed your horse based on their age, body weight, physiological state, and activity level. Limited access to long-stemmed forage can cause horses to develop alternative chewing habits such as cribbing or wood chewing. Little forage or large amounts of grain can also increase the risk of colic.
Prolonging the amount of time a horse spends eating forage better mimics natural feeding behavior. When grazing isn't an option there are a couple management practices you can try. Consider feeding horses three to four small meals throughout the day. Alternatively, you could use restrictive hay feeders, such as slow feed hay nets. When feeding horses a single hay meal (1 percent body weight in hay), horses spent 6.5 hours eating hay from a slow feed net compared to 3.2 hours when eating off the floor.
Use positive training methods
When training a horse, choose a training method that uses positive reinforcement away from abuse or force. Many horse training methods are available. It is your responsibility to choose a method that meets the best interest of you and your horse. Training methods that use negative reinforcement can lead to poor behavior such as bolting and rearing.
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