TEXAS VET NEWS By Dr. Bob Judd, DVM and the Texas Farm Bureau Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network

Today on the program I am going to talk about some behavioral conditions in horses as reported by veterinary behaviorist Sharon Crowell Davis.  When an animal exhibits a behavior that has no apparent function, it is called a stereotypical behavior. When these abnormal behaviors occur regardless of the situation, then the behavior becomes a compulsive disorder.  Multiple types of compulsive disorders have been found in horses including headshaking, weaving, stall circling, striking or kicking the stall wall, and pawing.  Also, many horses chew wood or crib and suck wind.  Cribbing is when a horse grabs a board or pipe with the front teeth and pulls backward and some of them will appear to suck in air when they perform this behavior.  Another behavior that can occur is called self mutilation in which a horse will bite or kick and injure his own body.  Again, these behaviors are only called compulsive behaviors if they occur regardless of the situation.

If your horse exhibits these behaviors in a stall but acts normally outside in the pasture, then this would not be a compulsive behavior.  And unfortunately, we have caused all of these behavior problems by stalling horses and isolating them for a large portion of their lives.  Dr. Crowell Davis indicates we know this because feral or wild horses do not exhibit any of these behaviors.  Some of these behaviors only occur when the owner of the horse is present because the horse wants attention; other horses display the behavior when the owner is gone because of separation anxiety.  If your horse displays any of these unusual behavior problems, consider consulting a veterinarian that specializes in equine behavior.

Hear the audio of this program at the Texas Farm Bureau Network.

Date Published: 1/19/2009 10:11:00 AM