Weavers ? Any cure ?

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jess2353

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My horse which I've had about 10 weeks has just started head weaving :/ only does this in her stable. it's mild atm she doesn't do it all the time. But do horses increase the amount they do the more they do it if that makes sense ?
 
yeah I'm looking for a new livery atm because the yard she's at are very strict on when the horses can go out due to poor grazing. Viewing another livery tomorrow which is full turn out.
 
Sadly some horses have to be stabled at some point - weavers or not.

I have heard people have success with stable mirrors.

My mare "headbangs" rather than weaves side to side - I find she does this more when im around/others are around and she is getting inpatient/getting no attention!

I have her stabled in the middle of the yard so she can see everything and surrounded by other horses - this has helped a lot - and other than that I have to just leave her to it and at some point she stops (always a empty haynet etc)
 
thing is she never done it before I had her :/ and I read that it's a a
Stress related thing.

shes stabled right next to others, who she can see & she can also see out onto the yard being on the end stable.

but she's worn away the hair on her neck so had to now put weaving bar's up.

One of the ladies at the yard said about a mirror aswel, but I think I still need to move her livery as there stabled most of the time which I don't think helps :/
 
faith123 said:
Sadly some horses have to be stabled at some point - weavers or not.

)
Click to expand...

Stabling for injury is something you can't do much about, but if my horse weaved then I wouldn't stable as a general rule, putting bars up doesn't relieve the stress just changes it's direction. The horse is saying that it is unhappy / stressed where it is.
 
I would definitely move her and meanwhile I'd have her out the stable as much as possible. When in the stable I'd give her toys, mirror, hay net and anything to occupy her.
 
I got all sorts in there even putting
Her feed in them horse balls to take her mind off it, she has 3
Haynets rammed full, plus licks & Salt things hanging from the stable but everytime I get up the yard you can see she's rubbed the hair away :/

I went away for a week & had friends look after her but it was only whilst I was gone it started :/
 
I can only second a change of environment. My boy was at a busy livery yard when I first saw him, constantly weaving when he was in (even with grills and top door shut he's just weave in the middle of his box). Since being at home with me (very small and quiet private yard) he's not done in in 4 years - probably stopped within 2 weeks of a change in atmosphere.
 
yeah I'm viewing one tomorrow which is just down the road from where I live it's full year turn out with feild shelters.
there's 9 horses there which belong to the mother & daughter but il be the only livery down there.

When I brought my mare she was at a very small quiet place, & the place she is at now is busy to say the least.
 
Sounds like an ideal answer, in really bad weather (snow etc.) Polo is in for 24 hours at a time if necessary and he still doesn't go back to weaving it was the busy yard he didn't get on with rather than just turnout.
 
We one of ours was on six months box rest he began to weave at times we worked out things that set him off and minimised them the good news for you is he was turned out for six months after the box rest came back after that back to his old roultine and never weaved again.
Hopefully as soon as the yard suits him he will stop.
 
the only 'cure' is to remove the cause;) which usually means as much turnout as possible, my big girl weaves if she has to be in for any length of time, the longer she's in the worse she gets:( I don't stable her unless it is totally necessary for medical reasons, with 24 hour turnout she's a different girl altogether:)
 
Apart from the turnout helping, mild weaving can often appear worse when stressed about the environment. I've known two who would happily stable overnight without weaving take it back up again when stressed on new yards, even though routine the same. And an elderly tb who spent all night in happily, but after breakfast would weave if he didn't get turned out asap. So its probably a combination of lack of turnout & the busy yard for yours, hopefully will resolve itself with a move.
 
If she's gone from a quiet yard to a busy one then that may be your answer - some horses just can't cope with that much change in environment, so I think looking for an alternative yard as soon as you can is probably the way forward. Turnout definitely does help them, so the one you're going to see sounds ideal.

My mare spent her first years at a house with 4 other horses, and was seen to weave now and again but nothing serious. She then went to a dealers with 250+ horses and was stabled there 24/7, it turned her completely psychotic - every time I saw her she was completely sweated up, she had kicked the stable to pieces, tried to climb the walls and spent all day weaving and literally running round her 12x12. Since she's been with me (and our few other horses) she is so different - she does still weave, but only before/after rides, before she's turned out in the morning and before she gets her dinner - not ideal but no longer constant, and the routine really helped her as she stops her dancing as soon as whatever she's waiting for has happened. When I first tried her she was weaving as I was trying to get on!

Mirrors / likits may help if she can have those? I'm not really a fan of weaving grills personally, as weaving is a way for the horse to relieve itself of stress - if it can't do that I find the stressy behaviour comes out in other ways. It doesn't always stop them either, they can weave behind the grill or just do violent head nodding instead. Do try and keep her in a routine as much as possible so that she knows what to expect - and if possible a radio on quietly may help to calm her a bit?

Hope the change of scenery settles her down, let us know how everything goes x
 
been very productive today & been driving round all my local horsey places today looking for a new yard.

found 2 with one looking very promising :) nice turn out & stables. 6 horses there which belong to mother & daughter :)

she will be stabled still but the stables are much more open & she'll have less time being stabled though,there alot bigger too & the yards so much quieter. :) :)
 
I got a tb at a sales (not exactly planned) and he had worn a hole in the concrete weaving at the sales in about 4 hours. When we got him home he weaved very badly. We put him out for about 6 months then as it became colder he had to be stabled overnight but by minimising stableing, providing forage, treatballs and a calm environment with a regular routine and calm horses around him he really improved. He would weave when excited eg at dinner time etc but the rest of the time he didn't. There is hope and it is managable, if your horse has only just started then getting her into a calmer environment with lots of turnout should stop it completely.
 
OP - There is hope!

My mare is a weaver...had her over 10 years, in which time she had to have numerous bouts of box rest and also had time on a couple of yards where she had to be stabled.

It isn't easy to manage at times.....most of the time I kept her out with a shelter...but we discovered that she doesn't do it in all types of stable!

She seems to struggle in certain environments and also in stables with only one opening (for example she is fine if there is a window in the back or the sides are low.

Finding suitable yards can be hard but if you can find a sympathetic yard then that will also give you an idea of the type of people you are joining.

good luck
 
thanks everyone ! shall do my best to find her a new home :) keeping all fingers crossed for the new yard. :)

Mynutmeg - I'm hoping that's the case :) she's only been doing it for just over a week so not long.
 
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