windsucking would you buy?

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horseandshoes77

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if a horse had everything you wanted and could jump1mtr 10 with ease could hunt could xcountry etc if he had great manners on the ground and in stable and was kind of school master type who wasnt spooky etc and was not fased in any traffic even the heaviest and he was a really good price for his type with one fault.....he windsucks? would you still buy him ?
 
OMG yes, in a heartbeat!! I have one, it's no big deal. There are far worse 'vices'
eg bucking, rearing, biting , kicking
Is this hypothetical or are you making a decision?
 
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wouldnt bother me either :)
Some yards are funny about vices though so Id check before you buy. You could always move to one that isnt bothered though
 
oh i feel so much better now ty guys...iv just bought an incredible horse hes amazing but he windsucks quite bad and iv never had one that does that....everyone at my place thinks im stupid and has said hell never be resellable but hes fab n does everything bless him i just thought maybe id gt such a bargain because of this vice but he doesnt seem affected by it in anyway at all, oh i feel so much better now ty xxxx
 
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Ditto. Get a collar....sorted :)

I think vices are a bit mythical tbh...that little bit of knowledge thing, same as leg blemishes....if it had a splint I'd still not be put off it! [Not for showing obv... ;) but for a general horse!] Vices to an extent can be managed, it's not an automatic dismissal, especially if it's perfect in every other way!
 
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personally no, but thats only because i've seen some pretty aweful cases of windsucking...just bear in mind that feed bills 'may' be considerably higher...buy quite a bloody lot in order to keep condition on, but it sounds as though you love him!! So as long as your aware of the problem go for it!! x
 
to be honest feeding etc nt a prob, i dnt mind extra feed n what nt its just i havnt had a horse that windsucks and i didnt think it was a prob, but others hav said oh no u must be crazy....bt iv bought horses before that have had no vices but did not do the job required....i guess i feel i have gt a bargain but with sa fault, hopefully a managable one, my place is mainly turn out so hopfully it will nt be so bored etc, just wondered if this windsucking cn harm his healthy and wether he would be sellable again in the future !
 
Same as Snickers!! Wouldn't have been able to afford him if he didn't crib. He holds his weight, looks fab, dentist even says you can't really tell by his teeth that he cribs. It would not put me off at all.
 
Never again, iv had 3 windsuckers and will not go down that route again plus they were good alrounders but nobody would buy them when I wanted to sell. People kept saying it was the windsucking that put them off and I gave 1 away for stupid money in the end. Everybody is saying it's not a problem but it was when I was selling. Never again
 
Does this one literally stand out in the field at a fence cribbing all day everyday or isit just mild bordom and habit windsucking? Mine "windsucks" but he doesn't actually do it properly... he does the action (the biting) but he never actually sucks in air or very rarely does. When I viewed him they hadnt told me about the fact he windsucked and I was sooo pleased they didn't because I would never have viewed him other wise! Anyways I honestly have never had a problem.... I have never had an issue with finding a yard, feeding, colic (touch wood) etc but I gues that's because he isn't a bad winsucker.... Like someone else said though you may have a problem if selling.

Good luck :D let us know what you decide
 
He's have to be about half the value he would of been without the windsucking and even then I'd have to think twice..

I've known a couple of windsuckers, one was fine, held his weight well although he'd worn his teeth a lot, the other was thin and it was imposible to keep weight on her unless she was out 24/7, sadly she died after a colic attack.

I'd be very wary of a windsucker, he'd never sell for much because of it and a lot of yards wouldn't accept him, a lot of people on the yards that would take him will kick up a fuss about their horses bein turned out with yours..

It would be quite a hassle..
 
Personally no, two on my yard have had surgery for colic, as one gets colic at the slightest change in routine, I believe long term you could have problems. It wrecks the fencing and the stables where they still do it even though they have collars, the miracle ones, don't seem to work tbh
 
Nope, I wouldn't. I had one (although more of a cribber as did it when yanking down on a haynet or actually holding onto doors etc.) - drove me nuts. The noise is HORRIBLE! Plus, I dont know if it is caused by ulcers but she got spasmodic colic while I had her... May or may not be linked. Either way, she destroyed our fence posts. I just can't put up with it. In fact, there's no vices I would accept after having her I dont think!
 
yes I bought a horse that windsucked big style and she was great:)!!!!I kept mine in livery and some people were really helpful but there was one girl on the yard who made our lives hell and wound the yard owner up about it. we then moved her into livery at a local arab stud and the lady was so helpful.. she was almost cured of windsucking in the end ( with out using collar, barbed wire or electric in stable) we just removed the opportunity to do it and kept her out as much as we could, also using CRIBOX helped eventually we could take places and she wouldn,t do it. it makes meso angry when people use electric etc..I saw a horse at livery a few years ago wearing windsuck collar, and the poor thing could hardly move or touch anything cos the entired stable was electrified, and barbed wire around to stop her getting her mouth rund anthing.:mad:
 
I wouldn't because it would be uninsurable for colic. I checked with my insurance company when I was horse shopping over the last few months as I found a good horse that windsucked. Didn't even bother to go and see it once insurance company said no.

To be honest it's a buyer's market at the moment and there are quite a few good horses at very good prices that have no vices, so I wouldn't look at one that did. Sorry!

That said, I expect you'll have years of fun with your new horse and I wish you all the best!
 
No. They are more prone to colic - not the windsucking that causes the colic, but seems to be that whatever problem they have that causes pain causes them to windsuck to combat the pain, and in many cases the original problem will cause some catastrophe. The most common seems to be epiploic foramen entrapment ie colic that requires surgery. Have seen two die of this - both chronic cribbers.
 
Depends on the severity - I would consider it as currently own a cribber who is the best hunter I have owned, and his vice has never caused a problem ie tooth wear, colic, condition loss etc. The only thing I did was to have his stomach scoped to check the cribbing wasn't ulcer related, which it wasn't. I allow him to crib in the field, but has a stall chain instead of a shut stable door, as will crib on the door at feedtime otherwise.
I would have a vet's opinion and look carefully at his health record to ensure the windsucking has never caused any issues. Weirdly enough I would rather a windsucker or cribber than a weaver?!


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My best friends horse is turned out with my girl 24/7 and he drives me mad.

Absolutely addicted to it and grabs any thing he can at all times. She refuses to collar him and he has wrecked the brand new post and rail that has been put up as he grabs the posts and they are now wobbly. He pulls matal gates off their hinges and no amount of cribbox works :mad:

I have had one in the past who windsucked mildly but did not hold weight and was a real problem to sell on.
 
I bought my mare 9yrs ago and every one was quite shocked by her wind sucking. She is an absolute saint though, and will jump anything, go anywhere and do anything for anyone. She has perfect manners and there is nothing about her I could fault. I've got so used to her wind sucking that I don't notice anymore and I get quite cross when people new to the yard make derogatory comments about it! They're soon jealous when they see how good she is in every other way!!

Don't be biased by other people's ignorance. There's many worse things they could do than just wind-sucking (bite, kick, not load/be caught, buck...the list goes on!!)

P.S I never put a collar on her as I had to once at one yard and I've never seen her so miserable! ( i left that yard ) She's been with my other horses for years (including many youngsters) and it has never caused a problem, apart from the odd fence rail needing replacing, and I keep an old rug folded over her door to protect her teeth from the metal lining xx
 
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mine is the only one on the yard who does it and we have been there 5 years so nobody copied her. In fact in the 8 years i have had her i have never seen anything copy her.
She has never had colic, her teeth are fine, she is fine weight wise, i do have to be careful but that is more because of her type etc.
Please don't use the collar, they are really horrible. I put one on her once and that was enough. still feel bad about it.
If you just accept him for what he is and don't get wound up about it.
as for re-sale value, why would you want to sell him, he sounds perfect.
 
I would buy a windsucker, if the price was right. I believe most vices can be eased with a different approach to management.

I am completely against the use of collars, they simply heighten the stress levels and make the horse want to windsuck / crib even more. Horses use stable vices to relieve aggitation / stress and I really do believe that strapping them up so they cannot do it is cruel.

There is also alot of research out there to show that horses do not copy these behaviours, so don't let anyone blame you if another horse starts to crib / windsuck.
 
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