to buy or not to buy a weaver??

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alfiesmum

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as above, i know nothing much about weaving other than its a habit (see i told you).
found horse that may be suitable but he weaves-should i be put off him or not?
thanks in advance x
 
I have a weaver. Its irritating but its not the end of the world. Depends on when they do it, why they do it, whether you can do anything to help reduce it.
 
it really does depend on how bad the weaving is. I have one livery horse that is fine if out - but if stables becomes so stressed she weaves badly. That in itself is not a problem - BUT...... she looses weight when in, is impossible to keep weight on and box rest is a major problem. When she fell and cut her knees badly and needed to stand in to try and get them to heal she weaved so badly she kept opening her wounds. so the vet applied Robert Jones bandages to try and keep them still. she weaved so badly she caused pressure wounds from the Robert Jones. Eventually the vet decided to remove all dressings, we penned her in a small grass pen and left her to it to an extent. Her wounds took months to heal she lost huge amount of weight but she made it. After this experience I personally would never buy a weaver
 
As a famous Irish horse dealer once said to a lady who had bought a showjumper that had every stable vice going, when she rang him to complain," What the horse does in his spare time is not my problem". very cheeky, to say the least, but if you are not planning on selling him on, or the price is dropped, and the horse does it's job otherwise, i'd buy him, if he suits you!!!!!!!!!
 
Hi I have an old mare who used to weave very badly when stabled in a traditional stable but when I put her in the barn which has a wide gate on it she doesn't weave so that is where she goes when she comes in and we are all happy. She seems to need the door posts close to her to do it and she does not do it out in the field at all.
So you may be able to stop the weaving with different management :)
 
A mild weaver wouldn't bother me as anything I have would have to live out.

But, some weavers are so bad they almost cannot be stabled at all, and this is a problem when box rest is needed. My horse's field companion is an elderly (nearing thirty) but still highly strung ex-racer who will weave himself into a sweat and loses weight he cannot afford to lose. He needed some box rest last spring due to a foot abcess but had to be turned out into a small paddock because he was doing himself more harm than good in the stable.
 
I had a weaver who was so bad, she would even weave in the field if she got stressed. In the stable she would lather up into a white foamy sweat and have constant diarrohea, she actually lifted her front feet well off the ground on each rock. It was so distressing to see and while it settled down to some degree, it was always there. I have never seen a horse weave so badly in my life. We worked around her until she did become a lot calmer and then friends of mine asked if they could have her on loan as they had lost a horse.

She improved even further with them and to their credit they literally babysat her every move to ensure she wouldn't get upset by anything and she could eventually stand in a stable and stay in overnight and mildly weave at feeding.

Sadly the years of diarrohea and anxiety eventually caused a fatal colic but understanding the pyschology and the endless time you need to make progress, especially with a horse as anxious as mine, I would definitely not knowingly buy a weaver.
 
i have a weaver and would have another.

if managed right, you should be able to get the weaving down to the bare minimum- imo if the horse is weaving badly enough that it is drenched in sweat and losing weight, it is telling you in simple terms that something in it's routine is wrong!

Pilfer used to weave quite badly when we first had him- he wore dips into the concrete in his stable.

after a month or 2 he settled; weavers (and imo all horses) thrive with a set routine.

he now weaves ocassionally at breakfast/turn out time or when he is having his travelling kit put on (he loves going competing!).
he has a rubber matt at the front of his stable and that is it- no other special treatment or kit required.

i would have another weaver without thinking- Pilfer has been an absolute horse of a lifetime and i would have been stupid to miss out on him because of one silly little habit.
 
i really am looking for a lifetime companion- i have been so unlucky with my last two :( i dont want to spend my life loving an losing my friends so i think i might just give the owner a tinkle and go and view him this week.
thanks for not scaring me too much x
 
I have a weaver and it dosent bother me at all :)

Its mainly down to management for mine. He very rarely weaves now. The only times he ever does it is in winter when waiting to go outside on a morning or if he is left in the stable block alone. Its more of an attention thing than anything else as if you watch him he weaves, when he thinks he is on his own he gets on with sleeping/eating or whatever.
He occasionally weaved to come inside in winter when I was late but that was down to the fact his routine was he was coming in, he likes things to run on time!

He never weaves in summer at all, and in the stable I found things like very small holed haynets and treat balls invaluable as he was far too busy eating and playing to bother weaving.
It has never really bothered me and he has never suffered any joint or medical problems through it either.
 
Yes
I have two weavers and would always consider another one. They are great horses and it doesnt worry me what they do in their spare time. No problems with weight loss, never had another one copy, it is a stress related thing and I think if you can lessen the stress factor the weaving reduces.
 
I have a weaver that weaves in the stable and paces the fence out in the field.
we put a weaving grill up in the stable , but now she weaves behind the grill, she makes a lot of mess in the stable as she is always moving.
in the field she has dug trenches in front of the gateway and dips in her stable floor.
I bought rubber matting and she has managed to damage it .
in the summer it is alot easier with a weaver but in the winter when weather is bad and she has to stay inside it becomes a long hard winter trying to keep the horse happy. I am now in the process of buying a stable mirror hoping it will help her stop weaving.
I would not buy a weaver again, once you have one they are difficult to sell if you discover it isnt the horse for you. They can make life very stressful. your decision, but think hard first and watch the horse in its stable see how bad it is.

ps: my horse is better than what she was but its a vice for life and they need alot of attention to keep them happy and occupied.
 
My old mare with the sweet-itch also weaves in the stable and when really stressed out in her paddock, every stable we've put her in has 2 dents in the concrete where her feet have been and worn the conrete down, she's in a 14x17 stable now, but have taken her shoes off and although she has wear on her front feet, not as bad as when she was shod. I try and keep a strict routine, because of her sweet-itch, but have moved the times very slowly so I have a little lea way and although she still weaves when she knows she's getting fed(mornings) it's not as bad as has been in the past.:):):):)
 
I was given a horse who has turned out to be an occasional weaver in the stable when he is particularly stressed for some reason (usually being left on his own). It's not nice to see, but not really a problem - he has such a lovely temperament and is so good in all other ways it makes up for it. My husband is learning to ride on him.
 
It really depends on the severity of the weaving, I had a mare that weaved very badly, and had done as a youngster. Her front legs and feet were slightly deformed as a result - she planted her front feet wide and stepped from one to the other, lifting the left as she swumg right etc. She weaved in the field too if stressed. She did however have other pshychological issues, which manifested through the weaving.

We have a horse on the yard that weaves mildly at feed times and in the monrings when other liveries are turned out before her. Its not a problem.
 
It would depend on what they can do and what I would want them to done. But the yard where I would prefer to keep a horse doesn't accept horses with any stable vices (weave, crib etc) so would also depend on price of horse and other livery yards :) . I wouldn't be too put off TBH
 
maryk91 said:
I was given a horse who has turned out to be an occasional weaver in the stable when he is particularly stressed for some reason (usually being left on his own). It's not nice to see, but not really a problem - he has such a lovely temperament and is so good in all other ways it makes up for it. My husband is learning to ride on him.
Click to expand...

Ditto above

One of my TB's was a weaver, however I altered his living arrangements to suit him, 24/7 turnout, shelter (so he could come in if he wanted) and he never weaved, even when the stable providing I was with him (feeding/grooming/tacking up) but if I left him he's start to weave and box walk, but for the amount of time he was ever in the stable, obviously it never became a problem and didnt weave.

However when I moved him to a livery yard, I had to make sure he was allowed his own field so he could live 24/7 outside with another (obviously coming in very bad weather) this enabled me to feed him (hay/bucket feed) without causing any problems. Some times durng winter I had to bring him in and he's stop eating and get all stressed, not nice to see.

So long as your prepaired to go out of your way to try and ease any stress that causing them to weave, obviously alot depends on where you keep them, not all livery yards can be flexible to your needs.

Would I buy another?....no, but I wouldnt try and put someone else off though.
 
It does depend on the severity of the weave. Mine was bought as an occasional weaver and I have rarely seen it. Yes she can get stressed when it is time to turn out and will occasionally weave up and down the side of her box, ruining her bed, but it is rare and only when I am late. She is also a stickler for punctuality.
 
I think it would depend on where I was planning to keep the horse.

I have had a weaver and the biggest problem for me on one yard was other liveries giving me hell over it! :rolleyes: Some people can be really unreasonable where vices are concerned in my experience! If I was to consider getting another, and wanted to keep it on a livery yard I'd be sure to sound out what the yard's attitude towards weaving etc was first, as it's not fun having people give you grief despite your best efforts to maintain a routine that keeps it to a minimum, for the good of the horse!
 
have to agree with the others, depends on how bad and why

I have one when he came he weaved for food at the gate mildly but really weaved so badly in the stable. However after settling in the weaving has almost gone he now only does it when foods coming and if his companion is taken away (another issue in itself) Hes one thats been in the little or no turnout regime when younger so not surprising
 
If you've already had stress and heartache then I would seriously consider everything before buying a weaver. It's not only the management of the horse that you need to think about but it's the actual damage that they are doing to their feet & joints over the long term that needs careful consideration.

There are plenty of horses out there that don't have any issues so sorry to sound harsh but do you really want to buy something that comes with a problem before you even start?
 
Hi, I've got a horse that weaves. He's an ex racehorse & lots of them weave but it's not a reason not to take them on. He only does it when he's stressed or in the winter when he can't be turned out so much. Most horses do it through shear boredom and upset routine. Racehorses are used to a very set routine and get bored very quickly. Treats in snack a ball type toys, carrots hidden in his hay - anything to keep him occupied helps. If you had to sit in your bedroom all day with nothing to do you'd soon start walking up and down! It's the same thing. As for the video that's been suggested for looking at - it's Australian and some of the things he's talking about aren't done in UK race yards so it's not completely relevant.
If you like the horse & you've got patience so the weaving doesn't annoy, you go for it.

PS - By the way - some people think things like weaving are copied by other horses so that's why some people don't want them in their yards - it's not true!
 
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