Silly question but what does it mean? I have never loaned before so please no nasty comments if I'm meant to know it Thanks xx. Sheep Well-Known Member 29 July It should mean that the horse doesn't have any stable vices, such as crib biting, windsucking or weaving, and may also be used to mean the horse doesn't buck or rear. Wiz Well-Known Member 29 July Joined 28 April Messages Causes are many and varied and colic ranges from mild and transient to severe and fatal so it should always be treated seriously.
The carbs can be starch from concentrate feeds like grains, or sugars including fructans in pasture or hay. Gaseous distension of the bowel causes stretching of the wall and pain. Complications locally can include gut stasis and displacement of parts of the bowel with subsequent compromise to the blood supply.
Toxins from leaky bowel wall can enter the circulation and precipitate an attack of laminitis. In foals, a specific obstructive colic can be caused by intussusception when a length of gut sleeves in on itself compromising its blood supply and choking off the flow of ingesta.
Hernias both internal inside the abdomen, and through the abdominal wall can also obstruct lengths of gut. Enteroliths are accretions of calcium salts forming stones in the gut which may occasionally cause obstruction. Requires surgery to correct. Causes are too numerous to cover in detail here. Abrupt changes in feed predispose to colic as does stabling and lack of access to pasture. High grain low forage diets are strongly correlated with higher incidence of colic as highlighted in the graph below.
Crib biting is unknown in wild free living or feral horses but once brought into captivity it will show up. Something about the captive environment, feed or feed management must logically be a causal factor.
The ability to move around and socialize with other horses is also curtailed by stabling and the diet often changes from low energy fibrous forages to include some high energy Concentrates Horse feeds are divided broadly into two types, the forage feeds like pasture, hay, silage and haylage, and the concentrate feeds including grains, seeds, by products and manufactured feeds.
This change in diet may frustrate the natural drive to graze, compounded by the inability to exercise and socialize normally by foraging in groups. Cause and effect however is extremely difficult to establish.
The abrupt weaning of foals significantly increases the incidence of crib biting. Lack of access to milk and separation stress render the foal more likely to have an empty stomach which in turn increases acidity and the likelihood of stomach ulceration.
One theory suggests that crib biting and wood chewing is a response aimed at stimulating extra saliva production, which buffers stomach acidity and helps relieve stomach discomfort. Cribbing often begins at or soon after weaning though some pre weaned foals will crib, prompting the suggestion that their behavior is learned from the dam.
Crib biting foals do show more stomach inflammation than normal foals, and feeding antacids tends to reduce stomach acidity and lessen cribbing. Possibly the additional saliva produced during cribbing coupled with its acid buffering effect may be doing the same thing.
Further evidence to support this comes from the rate of cribbing which increases after feeding, peaking hours after meal delivery. The anticipation of discomfort caused by eating can be learned and was shown in one study to increase the rate of cribbing by up to sixteen times within ten minutes of providing a small concentrate meal.
It seems these horses were actually cribbing to prevent the onset of stomachache. This will also improve digestion, nutrient absorption and general health of your horse. Adding chaff to concentrate meals will prolong feeding time, and reduce standing rest. Toys such as balls in the stable, and distractions around the yard can also be helpful. Vices tend to be more prevalent on the bigger busier racing yards. This is due to many factors, the thoroughbred as a breed are more likely to develop vices than the draught types or ponies, the racing yard environment can be quite stressful, the horses are fitter and more active, even in a busy yard the bustle of the day is usually watching other horses move about which can cause anxiety.
Anecdotally adding other distractions may help, chickens wandering about the yard, a bird feeding station, even a radio playing in the background may be helpful. There is no quick cure for stable vices and most owners learn to tolerate moderate bad habits.
But if you do have a horse that crib bites or wind sucks one of the main reasons to complain is the endless destruction of stable doors, fences and anything else that a habitual crib biter can get his teeth onto.
In order to reduce the general destruction or as part of a management plan to try to reduce the incidence of crib-biting barrier methods may be used. Chewing, particularly wood chewing is often observed in horses but is not a vice.
The behavior includes the horse grabbing onto something solid like a fence board, bucket, or door with his top incisors, arches his neck, and sucks in air. An audible gulping or belching can usually be heard. A gelding is a castrated male horse, donkey, or mule. Unless a horse is to be used for breeding purposes, it should be castrated. Gelding can make horses more even-tempered and easier to handle. A stallion who is gelded later in life may retain more aggressive stallion-like behavior.
A vice is an undesirable quality in an animal. Or bad habit or unnatural habit or undesirable habit of animal. The degree of this undesirability may, however ,vary considerably. Some vices are dangerous while some are injurious either to the owner or to the animal or to both. Windsucking predisposes horses to colic and dental issues due to excessive wear on their incisors.
As they flex the muscles in their neck, these muscles can increase causing increase tension in the neck and extending down to the shoulders. Whilst it is not possible to stop horses from weaving, wind sucking or crib biting, overnight, it is possible to significantly reduce the incidence of these behaviours. Crib biting and windsucking are often referred to as vices and may have a significant effect on the sale-ability of horses, especially pleasure horses.
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