Wind sucking question?

[charli_]

Quick question about it - basically, Wellie has wind sucked for god knows how long, so I want to finally get to the bottom of it.

What i understand about it is that horses either do it for boredom, or if they have ulcers. So I wanted to ask, does it cause ulcers? Or is wind sucking just a side effect of this?

He only ever does it when he's in stable standing, or if he's waiting to come in at night. He has a diet of fibre cubes and hay as well as turnout 7:30 - 6/6:30. He is turned out with his buddy and they live side by side in separate stables at night, too.

He is only ridden at weekends because of light issues, except for the odd lunging session on weekdays. This sadly is all I can do at the mo, but am looking for the reason he windsucks. I am thinking it is just because of boredom, so I don't mind him doing it as long as it isn't a health issue.

He has never had colic or any stomach problems in the ten years I've had him, he's 13.

So what do you guys think? Sorry this is so long, but I want to be thorough!

 

[dianchi]

Very often the cause is excessive acid in the stomach, this leads to ulcers and also to Windsucking.

A good start is trying any of acid ease products, personally I deal with trinity consultants as I have found their products work with mine.

 

[Amy.Connemara]

Wind sucking can't be classed as being caused by one specific reason. It is very individual for each horse; windsucking does not cause ulcers but can be related to some health issues due to the build of air. I'd suggest getting his tummy checked for peace of mind but its not necessary, a good indicator is whether or not he's acting as his usual self. If he is, then he's probably not in any discomfort. Things to look out for is discomfort when doing up the girth or his tummy being 'tucked' up just in front of his hind quarters.

My horse is 10 years old, and had a colic scare about 18 months ago completely out of the blue. However since then he has wind sucked. He only ever does it in the stable after eating, never whilst he's out working or turned out. We have tried a collar on him, which didn't really help - it caused him lots of discomfort and rubbed his coat. We believe it is out of boredom, so just kind of ignore it now because he hasn't had any health issues since.
The only decent advice we've been given is to add some camomile into his feed once a day (to sooth any ulcers that may be present.)

Hope this helps!

 

[charli_]

Great, thanks guys. I think he may just be for boredom as I have said he is a very healthy horse, I have had the vet out once for him in ten years. Am now looking up camomile oil, hope it helps him!

 

[Amy.Connemara]

Good luck with it! If it's boredom and he's already out as much as possible then it may just be something you have to carry on living with the only downfall is the stigma attached to wind sucking

 

[Happytohack]

Wind sucking can be a symptom of gastric ulcers caused by too much stomach acid. It can also be learned, stress-relieving behaviour. I'd try a ant-acid in his diet (any of the ulcer supplements) and also cut down on all cereals. Make sure he has plenty of hay.

 

[Pigeon]

Sometimes it is just a habit! It releases endorphins so once horses start windsucking they tend to resort to it for various reasons for the rest of their lives.

We have an oldie who windsucks, we assumed he had ulcers, but scoped and found nothing! We feed a gastric balancer just in case, and he doesn't get any hard feed.

He did come from a riding school so it probably originated from boredom/frustration or he learnt it from another horse (not sure if I believe this actually happens, tbh) - we make sure he gets as much turnout as possible and he doesn't do it much these days - only if he is given treats!! He's retired so is never alone these days - that was the other trigger, if he wasn't within about 15 feet of another horse.

 

[charli_]

Am going to look at supplements just as a precaution, but I think it may be something I have to live with. Will try some stable toys as party of his christmas prezzies! Good job we have our own land and I don't care about stable doors!