Possible Solution for the Vice of Weaving for Stalled Horses


by Fran Mullens - Date: 2007-04-27 - Word Count: 371 Share This!

Unfortunately not every horse owner has the luxury of allowing their horses the benefit of unlimited pasture or turnout time. Horses kept in stalls most of the day can sometime develop a vice such as weaving. When a horse weaves he or she is standing in place but weaves its head and neck back and forth as it rocks from side to side. This can cause stress on the horse's legs and may cause lameness to occur. Sometime horses that weave can lose weight or become physically exhausted caused by their weaving. The horses do not have a problem but are responding to a problem instead.

Behaviors such as weaving are usually only seen in horses where there environments are bare with no access to grazing forage or horses in confinement with little or no exercise. The horse has a problem it can't resolve and has no control over the situation. The horse simply responds to its situation by weaving. There have been recent studies in the United Kingdom for horses with this particular behavior. The studies have discovered that placing a mirror in the horse's stable the horse no longer feels isolated. A specially designed stable mirror is a simple solution.

The study had a high success rate fairly quickly. Research continues to discover if this solution is long term or not. The best solution for the problem is still social interaction with other horses and exercise but this is not always available. In such situations a stable mirror could be the solution. If you choose to try a stable mirror make sure it has been specially designed and constructed specifically for this purpose. Acrylic and glass mirrors can break and injure your horse making them a danger. Highly polished stainless steel mirrors are the best choice.

If a horse does not like other horses and behaves aggressively toward them it could have the same reaction to the mirror. Using a stall mirror can have positive effects for weaving horses rather quickly but with some horses it could take a period of time. Mirrors incorrectly positioned or of the wrong size may cause problems for some horses also. The choice is ultimately up to the horse whether to use the mirror or not.


Related Tags: horse, horse management, horse behaviour problems

Fran Mullens has been a barn manager, trainer and riding instructor for several years, and has worked with horses for nearly 25 years. Fran is co-author with Skimbleshanks the Farm Cat at his blog.

To learn more about the farm cat go to http://skimbleshanksthefarmcat.blogspot.com/

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