Anybody any insights on windsucker - but only when expecting food?

[Lorrie66]

Hello there,

I have a beautiful 8 year old (9 next week) Andalusian. I've only recently bought him in Dec 2010 & really starting to get to know his habits now! I had a 5 stage vetting & the previous owner had declared that he occasionally windsucks.

Well I am trying to work out what triggers this as it is only very occasionally . The vet who did the 5 stage said it seemed very mild & there was no unusual muscle build up in his neck.

It seems to only happen on the expectation of food. i.e. I have a carrot or other treat,but not always. Sometimes he does it with the arrival of his haynet, but stops as soon as he starts eating.
Some days he does not do it at all & then other days just before or after a treat but then stops about 2 mins later & doesn't do it again.

'Hand fed' treats seems to be a big trigger so I have started placing treats on the floor or hiding them in his haynet or hanging a swede up ( but he eats a whole one in 10 secs flat!!)

Does anyone have any ideas why this would be? He is not a crib biter just a sucker! And has a lovely wooden stable he never touches.
My theory is it must be linked to food -maybe not any stomach discomfort - but the thought of getting food or maybe NOT getting food????
Someone did say that maybe as a youngster he had to fight for food??
One other point he does eat super quick and rushes. He now has an Elim-a-net to slow him & a 2nd net of clean straw to munch if he does go through his net too fast.
He is a good doer and is a lovely shape which the others on the yard are envious of - so he is certainly not losing weight as I read some suckers do! or who have ulcers. I have not had him scoped but may do for peace of mind as maybe he is in discomfort & that's why treats trigger the reflex that he is going to be uncomfortable?

I've always had fab feedback on here so I am hoping for a few gems!

 

[jenz87]

I too have a windsucker however i dont claim to be an expert on the matter as i feel every horse is an individual and there are so many things linked!!

Personally, my girl tends to windsuck when stressed or there is food involved. In the field she will stand for hours in the field grazing without so much of a suck, then she will casually wonder over to the fence have a couple of gulps and saunter off again.

When in the stable, she tends to do it when she first comes in for a min or so, then settles down. However, when there is food involved thats a different question.

She windsucks during and after her tea, and immediately after any treats for a good few mins. When eating hay, she will have a couple every now and again.

HOWEVER, i know my horse has had a very bad past, and was starved previously so i pretty much assume food is a stressful issue for her and i fully understand why she does it.

Shes perfectly healthy / happy in every way, so im not worried

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

It's anxiety hun. When he knows food is due he's getting worried in case he's forgotten so he windsucks because it releases endorphins in his brain that make him feel better. Bet you £10,000 he learned to do it with a previous owner because of food anxieties, eg he was always last fed or his owner was always late and all the others got fed and he didn't. Today's thinking is to just understand the stereotypical behaviour, not attempt to stop it. If you try to stop it, he will be denied his only comfort blanket (like a child's dummy or an adult's ciggie) and may start something else. Routine will help him and it might be handy if you could lob a handful of chaff or hay over his door while you do his feed, just for a few weeks. See if it makes a difference. Sadly, stereotypies find the endorphin release addictive so he probably won't ever stop doing it but it should reduce. If he's a stress head type in other ways, I'd recommend Coligone to settle an acid stomach and prevent ulcers. That might help the windsucking too. At a maintenance dose, the peppermint powder works out at just pence per day.

 

[Kallibear]

The thought of food starts the stomach acids flowing (same way it causes drooling ): many horses windsuck or crib bite to try and neautralise the stomach acids as they cause ulcers.

Cribbing and windsuck start at times of stress, both for the mental 'high' it produces, and the neautralisation of stomach acids (caused by stress and eventually leading to stomach ulcers). But it then becomes a habit and is VERY hard to break and many horses continue to do it their whole life.

It might be worth investiagting stomach ulcers, exp if he has any other signs (grirthy-ness tacking up, disliking you putting your legs on).

 

[racebuddy]

morning one of my horses is a windsucker, throughbred and has raced so that will have a lot to do with it, mine is the same as yours just sucks and does not chew anything, he is in excellent conditon but i am always are that he is more prone to digestive upsets and ulcers, i am careful re his managment and i have him on protexin pre and pro biotics. he windsucks more when he has been fed and if you have a rug over they door he will windsuck on that also, it does not affect his work and have never used a colllar on it, i just irgnore him when he does it as this makes him worse if you tell him off, although he is the first horse that i have ever taken on that has had a vice his windsucking does not put me off.

 

[Lorrie66]

Thanks Everyone really comforting comments.

Last night when I rode after work he did not suck at all! He does have a handful of chaff am - when the others on the yard have their big feeds & at night just has a net.
I am going to try Global Herbs AntiSuck as have read some positive things & see if anything happens.
But tbh he is so loving & its so mild that even if he never totally gives it up hopefully he will start to feel loved & not shifted from pillar to post and that he will always have food! Bless him

 

[Jo_Archie]

Hey i think like the other lady said he was porb forgot about or feed last they say it stems back from early on in life bad mangement on a yard mayb he was on??been left or forgotten about and feed last!also i belive its habbit n if they do it they always wil theres no cure it can also be from stress but this dosent seem the case with him ,have u had him checkd for ulcers??u can get a feed supplement to help if he has ulcers etc )