ASKHQ: ARE STEREOTYPIC BEHAVIOURS CONTAGIOUS?
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Q: The horse standing in the stable next to mine has a habit of crib-biting and wind-sucking. My horse has started a funny habit of opening his mouth and crossing his jaw when standing in his stable. I have only noticed it recently and I am worried he is picking up on the other horse’s mouth habits. Is there a way to avoid this without having to move him from his stable?
Asked by Charlene Venter
A: Crib-biting and wind-sucking are called stereotypic behaviours. The horse develops stereotypic behaviour, when one of his basic requirements is not fulfilled. For example if he is bored, if he has a lack of time to move freely, if he has a lack of social contact with other horses, or if he faces some kind of stress, he may start to display stereotypic behaviours.
Research indicates that stereotypic behaviours are not contagious, so it’s not really possible that your horse is picking up on the other horse’s mouth habits. However, horses who live in the same stable often experience the same issues with their basic needs being met, so this often leads to horses in the same yard developing stable vices.
You can avoid stereotypic behaviour by striving to meet your horse’s basic needs. The easiest thing to adjust is providing the horse with enough roughage. In the wild, horses are used to eating small amounts of roughage throughout the day. Make sure your horse has access to roughage 24/7 and that you are feeding at least 1% of his body weight in forage each day.
You might also consider giving your horse more turnout time. Otherwise you could walk your horse once or twice a day for 15 minutes.
To simulate the natural environment and to provide social contact, the best thing is to put the horse in the pasture or paddock with another horse or a few other horses.
As for the stable, check if the horse can look around, for example, through a stable window, and if the horse is able to get body contact with horses around him. This is important for meeting his need for social contact.
Answered by Margo Haans, Equine Support International trainer