Windsucking...

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thedunthing

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I have a TB ex racer that windsucks...I was turning him out through day and he was in at night, he has winduscked since I got him but when he came in after being out all day he would be colicy.
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So thought he could have gastric ulcers after reading up on internet and reading things such as 80% of ex racers having ulcers and thought he could be colicy because hes not having much to eat while he was out (not much grass and he spent most of time running about!) So we got him some Global herbs acid ex and started turning him out for 2 hours a day, once in morning and once in afternoon and hes ridden almost every day (when its not snowy and icey!
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) He's fed twice a day on sugar beet, baileys topline conditioning mix and blue chip.
Anyway hes still windsucking! Maybe slightly less but not a huge change, although hes not showing any signs of colicing anymore.
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So don't know whether he's now just windsucking through habit or whether hes still not right we are going to try global herbs no suck i think its called which is just improved version of acid ex i think.
Not really sure why I'm posting this, suppose looking for advice/suggestions?!
running out of ideas now.
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thanks in advance
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I would change him to a high fibre diet and ensure that he has adlib hay/haylage. Definitely no mixes, and no sugar (use speedi-beet/unmolassed sugar beet instead), carrots or garlic. Basically anything that can irritate the stomach. Something like unmollassed chaff e.g. Hi-fi lite, and a fibre cube with unmolassed sugar beet.

You could feed him an antacid instead. There are various ones on the market but I think a lot can be achieved with management alone. You might try coligone if he is a bit colicky - not used this myself but have heard it is very good.

I would also ensure that he eats a couple of handfuls of chaff just before riding - it will help to prevent splash ulcers.
 
Mine is fed as per the low starch high fibre low sugar theory (and has been since he came home from tarining 4 years ago) and still sucks for britain!! He likes it! Some just won't stop - you do need to make sure it is habit not discomfort but you need to accept sometimes there is no "cure".
 
Give him probiotic, natural yoghurt in his feed - I have no idea why but I was told to do this by an ex racehorse trainer, very old school.
 
ditto the high fibre/low starch diet.
Also, current research has shown that cribbing/wind sucking could be the result of an abnormality of the dopamine receptors in the brain. The old fashioned views that boredom/copying other horses have long been dismissed by researchers.
 
Mine does it when stressed or excited ie at feed times, or if another horse is turned out and he is left in etc. Have tried everything too but have given up now - he is 13 and an ex sj so imagine was stabled predominately in his former life.
He is on a high fibre non cereal diet, coligone and ad lib hay, and given as much turnout as possible. He is out 24/7 in the summer and I rarely see him do it then, but resumes the habit when stabled overnight in the winter.
 
even though your horse is probably more comfortable now after everything you have done, windsucking is usually a habit that they will always continue to do. some do it more than others.
 
With windsuckers the thing the vets told me to watch out for was a sudden drop in the temperature at night if it was only a couple of degrees then they probably wouldn't get colic but if it was a drop of say 5 or 6 degrees so that temp went below freezing that this can cause colic so we had to monitor the temperatures and we moved him right to the top of the block well away from the doors and kept one of the double doors shut. I can't remember what else the vet said now as it was a long time ago but it was something to do with the freezing air they were sucking in but would suggest you clarify this with the vets.
 
My little pony windsucks for England! I tried just about every remedy available - Coligone etc nothing works. I also keep him on a high fibre diet but he still windsucks - on tail flaps of other horses rugs, they don't seem to mind, his lead rope, hay nets, my jacket, as well as any rail or door top. I have decided it's habit & was confirmed well before I got him so not much chance of changing him now though I have tried. The only time he doesn't windsuck is when he's resting or being ridden.
 
The trouble with windsucking, cribbing and weaving is it's the horse's response to unnatural management. The stereotypical action releases endorphins in the brain which is the horse equivalent of a couple of glasses of decent wine. Even if the poor management is changed and they have the most natural horsey lifestyle imaginable, they still enjoy the feeling that the endorphins give them so most will still do it but usually to a lesser degree.
 
My mare had ulcers and sucked non-stop when I got her. Within three days on limestone flour in her four tiny feeds a day, she was vastly improved.

However, she still seems to be sucking to the casual onlooker. I think that's half the problem, they aren't gulpibng down air once they're on a more suitable diet, etc, but they still like the dopamine rush from going through the motions of windsucking. They act out the whole routine yet don't actually swallow much or any air.

By the way, mine's been on sugar beet all the time and it's not upset her stomach at all.
 
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