Would you buy a windsucker?

[Skhosu]

Mum has been offered a horse that windsucks, no idea if it is suitable but she wanted to know before she inquired further if we should even consider one which windsucked? I would be inclined to say no, although ours are turned out the majority of the time and our stables have metal strips etc. so I can't see how it would do it, but advice please? If you wouldn't buy one, why not?

 

[JM7]

definately not...associated problems..ie feed costs/vet bills/potential colicking..nope!!

 

[Puppy]

I own a cribber, but I wouldn't buy another one.

See my reply to Itz's post further down the page - bit long winded to go through it all again here.

 

[ihatework]

Possibly but only provided the horse had a proven competition record and had a significantly reduced pricetag

 

[horsegirl]

yes and I did, well a cribber anyway. I would probably expect a reduction in price for this and any other bad habits

What feed costs & vet bills? Why should a cribber/windsucker by more collicky than any other horse? Any horse can develop the habit of windsucking.

 

[Ariella]

We have had a couple of horses that windsucked..... it was never a problem.... had them in electrified paddocks and nothing in there for them to grab hold of really.....

Never had a colic problem with any windsuckers.....

Friends bought a horse for their daughters about 18 months ago on our reccomendation.... horse windsucks.... we told them that was his only vice (we were lucky enough that we had known the horse for a few years while we were living over in NSW, and found out he was for sale when we moved over here to SA and our friends were looking for a good horse for the kids.....)....

This horse is 18 years old, and has never had a problem caused by his windsucking..... he is a fairly chronic windsucker too.... he will grab anything and everything he can and have a good old suck at any given moment.

Doesnt affect his weight, has never colicked and his teeth are normal.....

Old horse that is agisted on our place is also a chronic windsucker.... his teeth are a little worn and his biggest problem is his cushings disease..... windsucking has never caused a problem for him and his weight is great......

Both these horses are only fed on hay, hay and more hay..... occasionally they get some Mitavite Gumnuts (the old horse that is agisted at our place is over 30 yrs old).... and a bit of chaff.....

Windsucking is more of a problem for the owners... its annoying as heck to watch them do it!!

And you can get a windsucking collar if you want to.... and there are medication treatments for it too according to the hubby..... basically antidepressants for horsies....but tend to be rather expensive.....

If the horse fits the description of what you are after in every other way, I wouldnt rule it out just because its a windsucker!

 

[bandit]

well i wouldn't rule one out altogether however only if it was an outstanding competition horse.

we have a few on the yard i'm on and they all ruin the fencing in the field and make a real noise chewing htier stable doors - metal covers do nothign! a cribbing horse will as far as i know always crib - although Weezy says she feeds her horse soemhting which helps.

Bx

 

[tinker512]

If it was grade A material yes...if not no...i can't stand the sound of it!!Horses are a hobby not for hair pulling!!

 

[lordflynn]

what B&J said.

I had one as a kid-would have to be an exceptional horse for me to consider one with a vice as I have to use livery atm.

**although ours are turned out the majority of the time and our stables have metal strips etc. so I can't see how it would do it, but advice please? **

believe me-if it wants to do it it will do it no matter where it is. Coligone apparently works wonders and there are other supplements but have no experience of these.

 

[vicster]

I had a pony that started to wind suck from the age of around 2 1/2 and had him for around 4 years with no problems obviously the owners see that this is a problem and should as everyone has said offer a reduction in cost. Good Luck

 

[GTs]

Nope, I would even go as far to say if any of my horses started windsucking I would sell it or give it away - absolutely can't stand it!!

Same for weaving.

 

[vicster]

I must admit i don't like it but we tried our best and put him in a paddock which we had fenced off with electric taping to stop him getting near the gates and wood fencing, he was out quite a lot as he was New Forest so that helped. Don't have any weavers so wouldn't know what that was like

 

[Ariella]

Weavers drive me absoloutely batty......

 

[vicster]

Well if i ever look for another horse i won't be getting any weavers hehe

 

[Tia]

No I wouldn't consider buying any horse with any vice these days. Way too many decent horses around to bother thinking about ones with hang-ups!

 

[bandit]

interesting point.

know a horse who weaved at old yard - since it was moved to a private yard, cared for by their onwers and not a YO, it's stopped totally. also put on weight and generally much happier, so weaving i think may be linked to environment more than perhaps cribbing..

Bx

 

[Ariella]

My riding horse Ceilidh has what I consider to be a 'vice'..... she is a trollop to catch in a big open paddock!! lol..... However she can be coerced with a bucket of feed and lots of swearing under my breath and perserverance.....

She is perfect to ride..... good as gold..... can be a bit of a trollop when tied up - has a little habit of just pulling back at any given time for the heck of it..... I consider that a training issue that we have dealt with by putting a neck collar on and a good solid rope through the ring of the headstall and tying her to a bloody great tree..... She cant pull away from that!

However that only works with a neck collar, big rope and big tree..... she KNOWS when shes tied to a rail or the side of the float..... and will try it on every now and then.

But shes not a bad horse.....shes got gorgeous looks, movement, and temperament in every other way.....

What it comes down to is pretty much EVERY horse has a little quirk or vice of some kind...... the ones that are PERFECT in EVERY way are .... well, Ive never come across any and Ive dealt with a heck of a lot of horses!.....

You just have to decide whether that little quirk or vice is really going to affect your time with the horse.....

 

[Ariella]

Yep agreed there on the weaving bandit.....never seen a weaver in a paddock.....just in a stabled horse! Stress plays a big part in that vice I think!

 

[kayleigh_and_rocky]

Yep i would indeed, most definately wouldnt put me off now i've seen windsuckers close up and seen the studying into it!

 

[RunToEarth]

Had a county class h/w hunter of my mother's for years that cribbed/sucked and weaved. He was a sweetie...

 

[harvgj19]

Yes...and I did. I bought my horse from a Riding School when he was 10 (now 13) knowing he was a windsucker. He had been at the school since he was 3, and I worked there, but can't pinpoint when it started. He was stabled 23/7 in the winter and during the day in the summer. He wore his collar 23/7 in the winter and whilst stabled in the summer, but it really wasn't effective. When my YO offered him to me I jumped at the chance as he was a dream to ride and 100% in every other way. He never had colic but was hard to keep weight on in the winter.

A week after moving to a private yard where he was turned out 24/7 in the summer and stabled overnight in the winter, he stopped windsucking altogether. He has worn his collar once in the 3 years I've owned him, when he had to be on box rest for 3 weeks, and I couldn't keep him occupied enough to stop him sneaking the odd go (usually when I was around the yard...attention seeking!). The only other I have had no trouble keeping weight on him ever! In fact we have had to restrict his grazing in the summer! He has not had colic with me either.

He really hated being stabled so much and is much more a one to one horse than a riding school horse, so I really think environment plays a big part in it. None of the other horses at the RS copied his windsucking, and there were at least 10 horses on the yard that could see him doing it. We put metal strips on the top of his door, which was also a deterrent.

I think if they have offered you a trial, you should see what he is like in a different environment. I have never regretted buying Harv!

 

[mrdarcy]

After seeing a pony, on the yard we've just vacated, nearly die of windsucking induced colic earlier this year I would say absolutely not unless it was exceptionally talented in other ways. If you're just after a nice middle of the road horse to have fun on there are hundreds out there... you don't need to buy one with a problem.

 

[Happytohack]

I put yes, but obviously it depends on the horse. I owned one in the past - he was brilliant in every way apart from the windsucking. Feedmark did a lot of research with one of the Vet Schools into cribbing and windsucking. They found that feeding an ad lib forage diet (no cereals or sugars), plenty of turn out and supplementing with an antacid helped quite a lot of horses.

 

[kayleigh_and_rocky]

Rennies do wonders with them too!!

 

[Weezy]

Yes deffo wouldnt put me off unless the horse had a history of colicking because of it

Have owned windsuckers and never had a prob with any of them, however this is windsucking and NOT cribbing - would prob be a bit more cautious with a cribber

 

[siennamiller]

no. I had one and she was fab but it drove me mad!

 

[TGM]

I would consider one if it was otherwise outstanding and it came at a reduced price (and with no history of colic). I keep my horses at home and they are out most of the time (with electric fencing inside the boundaries) plus I feed mainly a fibre diet, which all helps with windsuckers. I think it is much more of a problem if you keep your horse at livery because you can't control the horses environment as much, plus are likely to have problems with YOs and other liveries.

 

[briardy]

wind sucking wouldn t bother me ....our mare never wind sucked until she went to stud ...but has done ever since !but holds her condition well and causes no problems .....although i d prefer she didn t!.....judge the horse on temperment & ability rather than dismiss it on a minor vice it may grow out of !

 

[missmorsey]

i did and wouldnt have swapped him for the world,sadly he is no longer with us.i would possible consider buying another but it would depend

 

[Chambon]

Never. I had one many years ago and I honestly was sick of the sight of it. It drives me mad... wouldn't have one in the yard.