Winsucking vandalism! Help!

Iceni

Iceni

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In June I bought myself a 14.2 9 year old cob x (probably Dales). Turns out she windsucks, not something I've personal experienced before, but my horse helper said not to worry about it too much. Trouble is she's starting to cause serious problems in the field and making gates/posts/fencing come loose.

She lives out 24/7 (will only come in if the weather turns serious like last winter) in a 7 acer field and has my TB to keep her company, she's not stressy at all by nature, and at the moment used purely for hacking (she was a successful SJ in previous home). Collars seem to be unpopular understandably, but what if anything can I do to either help her (i.e the source of the problem) or to stop her pulling over all gates/fencing/posts etc! She has no other vices of any kind and is just a good straightforward pony in all other aspects.
 
I know how you feel,our old boy used to do it.We couldnt really stop the damage as he would hold on to anything.
Maybe its worth checking for ulcers????
 
our oldest pony is a windsucker, unfortunately she likes the taste of all the foul tasting stuff including mustard! She will stress in other ways if prevented from windsucking, so what we've done is bang in her own fence post in the field.....saves her constantly chewing the other fence line as much.
I should warn you though, that our old girl is getting more prone to colic now.....induced by her windsucking and the intake of gas in the stomach. She is 23 now though and has been healthy all her life (bought as a weanling)...she had her first bout of colic 2 yrs ago aged 21.
 
Up until two days ago nothing but grass, but if she's given a polo or apple etc she does it straight away after. Now getting a bit of haylage and some chaff twice a day. Is there anything I should avoid or be given her that would help?
 
Iceni said:
Up until two days ago nothing but grass, but if she's given a polo or apple etc she does it straight away after. Now getting a bit of haylage and some chaff twice a day. Is there anything I should avoid or be given her that would help?
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Nothing to stop her unfortunately.....but I'm sure there's something on the market to help..We've never given our mare anything apart from normal hay/haylege/grass and feed if in work. Our mare cribs more at mealtime tbh and does better living out as m,uch as possible,less stressful. Mealtimes, or after any food or treats is the time they will windsuck more.
It is a pain, but something you live with and get used to. Incidently, ours was a broodmare for us and bred 5 healthy foals.....not one of them windsucks, and neither has she passed on the vice to any others at home.
 
Sometime high concerntrated feed can make windsucking/cribbing worse, but as she is not having a feed as such, I would say it may be wise to get her checked for ulcers especially if she does it worse when given something to eat.
If anything, it will put your mind at rest, so have a chat with your vet.

It could also be just a habit, and all you can do is be prepared to pay for any damage caused. :o
 
[/QUOTE]It could also be just a habit, and all you can do is be prepared to pay for any damage caused. :o[/QUOTE]

Oh blast it! She's so good otherwise so maybe I have to have a pay off one way or another!
 
Our mare wind sucks but not all the time, she might not do it for ages and ages but then suddenly she will get on one and do stuff as you describe. She has a high fibre diet, always has forage, plenty of turn out but I think she just likes the feeling she gets.

We're on a livery yard, the YO is brilliant about most things and he asked that we put a collar on her when she's in at night, and for a couple of weeks when she begins to wind sucks in the field. We were upset about having to put a collar on her so he suggest the Miracle Collar which does seem to help.

Here's our horse modelling hers
IMG00208-20101102-1013.jpg


In terms of ulcers when we first got her we did a couple of weeks on Gastroguard (I think-it was a few years ago) which the vet advised was cheaper than the scoping. It reduced but never stopped so the vet explained that some people believe it releases endorphins and was thus addictive in a similar way as smoking is for us.
 
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I was just looking at Settelex, sounds like it's worth a try, especially if you've had good results with it. Will have a chat with my vet first though. Definitely don't want it being pasted on to my TB or cob getting colic so want to nip it in the bud. What I'm confused over is that she is turnout out the whole time, has company, isn't stressed and I hope has a nice varied life where she's loved and looked after. I was told the people before the lady I got her from were perhaps not that kind to her, as she was somewhat head-shy, moving as if she thought she was going to get a smack and apparently used to be bad about having rugs on and general trust. So perhaps at some point she's not been treated particularly nicely in her past, which created stress, which in turn set this habit into motion?
 
Thanks for that Skint1, very useful. Can she be turned out in it? Worried it gives her a buzz, though in general she doesn't do it other than after 'nice' foods, so suggests something more gastric?
 
Cribbing and windsucking is usually first triggered by stress or boredom, but if the horse has been doing it long enough it becomes a habit even if the living situation has become better. Very hard to then get out of the habit - without having lots of distractions.

You may find as your cob settles in his new home the windsucking reduces or stops and it may have just started again over the stress of moving to a new home.

I guess it can be similar to smoking. Someone who has beaten the habit and stopped smoking and then finds themself in a stressful situation may crave a cig or even smoke even if they have stopped for many years. Like when you say you give her a nice treat she then has a windsuck (many people go out for dinner/have a drink and then have a cig to relax!)

Crbbing and windsucking becomes a bit like a security blanket.
 
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I believe that environmental stressors/ulcers may lead to the habit starting, and I think once it starts it will continue even if the environment is completely not stressful, even if you give them supplements, paint everything in something yucky, put a collar on, you may reduce it to almost nothing but I personally don't believe a horse will ever be cured of it.

I personally don't believe other horses will copy, even young horses but I do believe there is a link to colic so it is well worth doing what you can to prevent it.

When my vet explained about the endorphin thing it totally made sense to me, and I can now understand why I see horses doing it even when they have nothing to hold on to.
 
She was doing it in her previous home, but they didn't realise it was windsucking (non horsey parent owners).

Think it will be a case of trail and error from what you're all saying, but worth a try so many thanks for all your suggestions, appreciated!
 
skint1 said:
I personally don't believe other horses will copy, even young horses but I do believe there is a link to colic so it is well worth doing what you can to prevent it.
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I think in a situation like a field the chances are hugely reduced - unless they are best of buddies and are stuck to the hip!

In my personal experience, I found Tb's/young horses do copy but only really if they are stabled very close to watch for a number of hours every day! They may not have the complete wind sucking but do grab hold of the door/fence and rock against it.

Perhaps get some balls and toys in the field for them to play with. Or make they work harder for the hay/feed.
 
Iceni said:
Thanks for that Skint1, very useful. Can she be turned out in it? Worried it gives her a buzz, though in general she doesn't do it other than after 'nice' foods, so suggests something more gastric?
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Could indeed be something gastric so things like Settlex or maybe even Pink Powder are worth a try to reduce her urge to do it after eating. That Gastroguard stuff we got from the vet was hellishly expensive if I recall...but apparently cheaper than a scope so God knows how much that would have been!

She can be turned out in her Miracle Collar, you just need to make sure it's put on correctly.
 
Think I'll try the Settelex first then, and if no good try the collar. When is Settelex given? I am concerned this is only going to get worse this time of year when I'm going to have to feed her. She doesn't do it after eating haylage thank goodness. Plan on getting one of the rockies field licks, they also do (sadly!) have a jolly ball, which my TB plays with, but he's a character like that! Cob isn't interested. Their field has a single track road down one side so there's always plenty going on for entertainment, so I don't *think* she's bored.:confused:
 
Settlex is just a white powder that can go into her food. If I can remember rightly you start off with a high amount(like 2 scoops) for a week or two and then reduce(like 1 scoop). Cant remember if it was once or twice a day though. Also it may take a few weeks to notice a difference.

I think feedmark were doing a discount on it too!

Mine mainly did it after feeding as well. Dont worry too much - hopefully the Settlex will help reduce.
 
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