Stereotypic Behaviours A Summary by Deborah Barrie Feedstore to-your-door inc.
Introduction Horses evolved as a prey animal which spends most of its time grazing, travelling over 80 km per day (Harris et al). The natural environment is rich in visual, and auditory stimulation to which the horses adaptation was essential for its survival. A social herd developed as an added survival mechanism. The continual grazing provided locomotion and continual gut full of its small stomach. The stabled life of the modern horse is far from this nomadic natural life..
From the perception of the horse owner. From the perception of the horses owner stables provide a safe, clean environment that keeps the horse handy and easily accessible for when required. This includes control of the horses diet ensuring that the horse has the appropriate nutrients and energy for its level of athletic endeavor. Control is inclusive of scheduled feeding times- moving away from continual gut full; little turn out-decreasing locomotion; isolation within stalls decrease in social interaction; and decrease in auditory and visual stimulationincreasing boredom
What affect does this environment have on the horse? The affect of this environment manifests itself with the advent of abnormal behaviours, some of which are stereotypic behaviours.
What is Stereotypic behaviour? Stereotypic behaviour can be defined as actions and movements performed by horses in a repetitive behaviour that appears to have no obvious purpose. The prevalence of this behavior is estimated between 2% and 26% (McDonnell). Not seen in wild or feral herds, they are a behavioral extension of the horses unnatural and often confining environment.
What is the long term effect? Once engrained within the animals behaviour they are often difficult and/or impossible to extinguish and in some cases of advanced stereotypies the horse will prefer to perform the activity over eating, socializing and moving
Locomotor Stereotypies Pawing excessive pawing at the ground of their stall affecting the hoof and shoe. Weaving exaggerated shifting of the horses weight between the forelegs, swinging his head and shoulders from side to side. Chronic weavers will put strain on legs, hooves and shoes. Head tossing is moving the head in a vertical or vertical to horizontal plane with considerable force. Stall walking consists of taking several steps from one side and then the other or paces monotonously around the stall perimeter in a consistent pattern.
Oral Stereotypies. Lip flapping moving the lips apart and together with an audible sound Wood Chewing is the nibbling and splintering of wooden surfaces with the teeth. Sometimes the wood is ingested, other times it is not. Wood chewing is not in any specific area but scattered and is thought to be a predecessor of cribbing. It is estimated that 12% of adult horse wood chew(mccall). Cribbing also known as Wind-sucking and crib biting is the activity of horses setting their upper incisors (front teeth) against a stationary object, arching their neck, and then pulling back, frequently emitting a grunt-like sound. This sound is from the expelling of air from the mouth. The posture of the horse during cribbing puts strain on the ventral muscles of the neck, the esophagus and the pharynx. The horse will usually have a favorite spot to perform this vice. Damage to fencing and stalls occurs, but more serious is the damage that can occur to the front teeth, often wearing them down to nubs, which can impair grazing activity. Cribbers have a higher incidence of colic.
Self Mutilation Self biting (flank, chest, shoulder) excessive biting or kicking on body parts Wall-kicking hitting the side of stall, more often at feeding times. Not only does this damage stall walls but horses hoofs and potentially leg joints and bones. Lungeing into objects
The suspected or known cause According to nightmares-uk.com Stereotypies rarely occur in individuals living in the relatively complex environment that is appropriate to the biology of the species, and where a wide range of the behavioral repertoire can be shown. In the case of the horse this change in environment is from the natural rich environment of the plains to the environment of the stable and paddock. According to Hausberger unfavorable housing conditions the tight confinement of stalls, separation from other horses probably make the problems worse (Leste-Lasserre). Weaving and stall walking may be in response to barrier frustration due to anxiousness caused by confinement.
There has also been some evidence of genetic or neurologic link (McCall) According to Leste-Lasserre there is research that is suggestive of the stereotypies being related to the kind of sport that the horse is involved in. It has been suggested that the type of work and/or riding style has an effect of the horses propensity for stereotypic behaviour. More found in dressage horses than show jumping or eventing, English than Western (Hausberger, et al). The research seems to indicate that the kind of sport that the horse performs has an effect, yet there is also some consideration that it could be that the horses of the same sport have very similar living conditions and treatment.
Previously it was thought that horses learned to perform stereotypic behavior through the observation of other horses with the behavior. However, this is disputed with current thinking that the horses are within the same environment and therefore having a similar interaction with its environment
Some other suspected causes for different stereotypic behavior.. Post weaning there has been a emergence of stereotypic behaviour. Crib-biting to 10.5% from age of 20 weeks, 30.0% of foals woodchewing from the age of 30 weeks. Caused by intense stress of weaning occurring by trainers schedule and not the natural schedule of dam and foal. Trainers usually at 4-6 months, dam at about 1 year. The dam/foal bond is prematurely broken. (Hausberger, et al) Wood chewing is thought to occur due to the varied diet of horses in their natural setting and the lack of such in their stabled environment. It has been suggested that locomotor stereotypic behavior is a result of boredom, frustration and learning rather than being nutritionally driven. Cribbing is suspected of being caused by ulcers. The activity stimulates saliva flow. Saliva naturally has bicarbonate which decreases the stomach acidity reducing ulcer pain. (McCall)
It has been confirmed in research that the behavior becomes additive due to the release of opiats and endorphins into the system.
Some ideas for prevention and solution Consistent within the findings is a need of the horse for adequate forage, locomotion and socialization. This starts at an early age with weaning practices such as :weaning gradually through short repeated separations; use of social conditions such as paired or group weaning; or housing conditions such as paddock rather than box with opportunity for foraging and locomotion. (Hausberger, et al).
Pasture time is preferable to stall time. If a horse must be kept in a stall than have a companion within visual range or a mirror to decrease boredom and loneliness. Stall toys also provide a diversion from boredom. Drastic measure such as very intrusive straps and restraints can be used as well as surgery to cut the nerves and remove muscle tissue
Cribbing and wood chewing are from lack of fibre in the diet therefore an increase in fibre and decrease in concentrates. Use low volume feeding concentrates, such as a ration balancer, to increase fibre intake and ensure the horse receives the proper nutrients for their work level. Proper vitamins and minerals in the diet can help to make up for the different nutrients found in a varied diet. Stereotypic behavior caused by boredom can be decreased by allowing the horse a better vision of its surroundings by adding windows or gate straps and by increasing turn out time.
Take Home Message Prevention is the key. Allow horses adequate turn out time, avoid stress situations such as isolation, boredom and lack of exercise. Proper and adequate amounts of forage in the diet with small concentrate diets. Allow horse proper amount of group time for socialization needs being met.
Conclusion As stated by Goodwin et al When developing their stereotypies, crib-biter and weavers can be regarded as useful sentinels of sub-optimal husbandry, sentinels that should alert us to problems that are being encountered by all resident horses, not just those that produce a stereotypic response to the challenge.
References Box Walking, retrieved from http://wowhorses.com/box-walking.html Equine Self-Mutilation Syndrome: A Sstereotypic behavior retrieved from http://www.usask.ca/wcvm/herdmed/appliedethology/behaviourproblems/eqselfmutilate.html Garrett, Katrina Anne. Recent Research in Equine Stereotypies. vip.vetsci.usyd.edu.au/contentupload/content_3092/garrett.pdf Goodwin, Deborah., McGreevy,Paul., Waran, Natalie., McLean, Andrew. (2009) The Veterinary Journal 181 (2009) 5-11 Harris, Ed.P.A., et al, The Natural Horse and Unnatural Behaviour, Retrieved from http://www.effem-equine.com/waltham%20- %20Horse/behavioural_aspects/the_natural_horse.html Hausberger, Martine., Roche, Helene., Henry, Severine., Visser, E. Kathalijne (2007). A review of the human-horse relationship. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 109 (2008) 1-24 Horse Cribbing, retrieved from http://wowhorses.com/horse-cribbing.html Horse Weaving, http://wowhorses.com/weaving.html Importance of Mental Stimulation, retrieved from http://wowhorses.com/mental-stimulation.html Leste-Lasserre, Christa, Horse Stereotypies Vary by Discipline, Researchers Say, March 04,2010 Article 15919 http://www.thehorse.com/aspx?id=15919 McCall, Cindy (2009) Equine Behaviour: A Nutritional Link? Kentucky Equine Research, www.com/library/advances/409.pdf McDonnell, Dr. Sue, (2011)Normal and Abnormal Behaviour of Stabled Horses, http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/hrs5294#table2 McGreevy, Paul. (2004) Equine Behaviour. A Guide for Veterinarians and Equine Scientists. Toronto: Saunders;2010 Stalder, Kathryn Judith, Performance and Prevention of Equine Stereotypies a Welfare Perspective, Retrieved from: http://vip.vetsci.usyd.edu.au/contentupload/content_2711/stalder.pdf Stereotypies, retrieved from http://www.nightmares-uk.com/stablestress_stereotypies.htm. Wickens, Carissa L., Stereotypic Behaviours in Michigan Horses: Results of an Online Survey. Michigan State University Extension Newsletter.