Can one cure a weaver?

[MrsMozart]

"Most of the above suggestions are not about actually stopping the behaviour from happening though. You can cure doorbangers with clicker training. Just takes a bit of time and patience." - Rowreach

Does this work for horses that weave?

Dizz is driving me mad. Tried ignoring her. She whinnies and neighs as soon as she sees me on the yard.

Happy for her to be out as much as possible, but would really like to be able to bring her in when I need/want to.

So, would clicker training 'cure' this?

 

[Shilasdair]

No, you can't really 'cure' weaving as it's a locomotory stereotypy, so is likely to reappear when the horse wants to go somewhere (i.e. out of the stable).
You can minimise it by a number of strategies though - obviously turn out as much as possible, make sure horse can see other horses from stable, widen the visual horizons in the box (so half height walls are ideal).
You can also try stable mirrors, etc.
S

 

[MrsMozart]

Ta Shils

Yes, she definately wants to go out. Practically ties herself in knots with excitement when she sees her tack!

She can see other horses from her stable, plus there are grills in the stable side walls. She lives out practically full time, coming in only to be fed at the moment - I was hoping this would make her look forward to her stable. She stops weaving if I stand with her, groom her, etc.

I'll try the mirrors next, and dot some different licks and bits 'n' pieces round the stable, try and make it a more interesting place for her.

 

[tangotime]

One of my horses weaves (and wind sucks) and since he started windsucking he almost completely stopped weaving. He is clickertrained and has fairly good husbandry conditions and live out in summer.

Coming back to you question, I don't think you will be very successful to untrain weaving by clickertraining as weaving is a very self-reenforcing behaviour.

You would to have to click and treat the horse for not weaving eg. standing still but if the endorphines released by the weaving are more re-inforcing then the treat you won't have much luck.

If you give it a try let me know how you get on.

 

[MrsMozart]

Hm.

Wondering how to do this.

She stops when I'm with her; or stops when she sees me in the yard, whinnies, then starts again. She's getting faster and has introduced a rather nifty little bob to her repetoire

Hm. Will have to contemplate.

 

[Rowreach]

^^^ like they said

 

[tangotime]

That she stops when you are there would make it even more difficult to train "not weaving". You could try if she weaves when you are in the yard to click when she stops a milli-second and then treat, but it would probably take too long then to walk to her stable and deliver the treat.

PS mirror didn't do much for my weaver.

 

[vicijp]

I don't think you could ever completely eradicate it. However, I have had horses that do it in 5th gear 24/7, lessen to slow weave for a minute at feedtime with mirror.
I have one that stops if I even look at him, but gets x10 worse if I dare to go into the stable with another horse!
Not that I know much about clicker training, but can't see it being much help when you're not there?
TBH, it doesn't bother me that much. I can improve it a lot with turnout/balls/haynets/mirrors etc(to the point of not being dangerous/affecting them physically), so if they still want to 'indulge' who am I to stop them? I don't like being told what to do.

 

[MrsMozart]

Ta

I think it's the fact that I know she's stressed, so it gets to me

.

She sees me as her release, be it to have someone with her, or ride out, or be fed, or turned back out - to her I am good stuff and she wants my attention and she wants it Now! If others are on the yard she'll just weave, without the neighing.

 

[vicijp]

Sounds just like the one I mentioned above.
He weaves in and out of the door, and the times he has had a weave bar(I don't like them, but they are always up at the racecourses) he gets really stressed and is nearly unmanageable because he can't do it.
Have you had her long and is she relatively young?
Mine is a lot better 2 years on.
I'd definetly try a mirror, although I have found them to be detrimental to a lot of fillies - they get terrotorial.

 

[MrsMozart]

She only does it over the stable door, no-where else.

I have a grill, but haven't put it up as she occasionally box walks and I think the grill would turn the box walking into a habit.

I've had her for nearly a year. Told she didn't weave at her last home; there was a grill of sorts on her door, which was to stop her biting the pony next door when he was tied up outside the stable.

She doesn't do it anywhere else.

She's also a twit to tie-up. Hubby was teaching her to stand quietly, which she did get the hang of.

Just an intensive horse that needs attention, be it horse or human!

I'll try the mirror idea

.

She's a five year old DW.

 

[Echo Bravo]

you arte lucky as my mare does it in the stable feed times or when she's stressed out for some reason, she's worn holes in the concrete floor in 3 stables but she will also do it out in the paddock and I cann't figure out why, but I've owned her for 6 1/2 years but she does suffer from sweet ich very badly

 

[MrsMozart]

Oooh, not so nice

I think Dizz does it 'cos she's a bit of a fruit loop, and seems to need attention.

 

[Dubsie]

vicijp
If he stops when you look at him, I wonder what would happen if you put up a large photo of you looking at the camera in his stable?

Mrs M
You'd need a remote controlled treat dispenser! Stop weaving and treat appears. If the remote controller clicks loudly then that could be clicker training at same time... hmmmn off to play with remote control from broken car and some bits of tubing and a toy sweet dispenser........