Stable Vices and Trailer Problems

doi:10.1016/S0749-0739(17)30710-1

Veterinary Clinics of North America: Equine Practice

Volume 2, Issue 3, December 1986, Pages 623-633

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0749-0739(17)30710-1 Get rights and content

Stable vices include oral vices such as cribbing, wood chewing, and coprophagia, as well as stall walking, weaving, pawing, and stall kicking. Some of these behaviors are escape behaviors; others are forms of self-stimulation. Most can be eliminated by pasturing rather than stall confinment. Trailering problems include failure to load, scrambling in the moving trailer, struggling in the stationary trailer, and refusal to unload. Gradual habituation to entering the trailer, the presence of another horse, or a change in trailer type can be used to treat these problems.

Section snippets

Stable Vices

Stable vices can be divided into oral vices and movement vices. Perhaps it would be best to call the undesirable behaviors of the stabled horse stereotypies, displacement behaviors, and acts of self-stimulation rather than “Vices.” “Vice” implies that there is something morally wrong with the horse—that it would have no vices if it had more will power. In fact, these misbehaviors are coping responses of the horse to a highly unnatural environment. Free-ranging feral horses and pastured horses

Trailering Problems

Many horses exhibit undesirable behavior in relationship to ground transport. By far the most common undesirable response is failure to load. Both heredity and learning contribute to loading problems. The properties of a trailer that release the horse’s innate fears are (1) the dark interior of the trailer; (2) the hollow sound of hooves on the ramp, which is an indication of poor or insecure footing; and (3) the instability of the ramp and vehicle. In addition, horses are generally

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Cited by (34)

Effects of different LED lighting conditions on young horses during trailer loading and stationary confinement
2023, Applied Animal Behaviour Science
Transporting horses, particularly during the loading phase, is known to be stressful and dangerous, especially for younger horses. Different factors help create a reluctance to enter a trailer, including internal and external lighting conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate how LED lighting affected the loading and stationary phases of transporting horses and the impact this had on behavioural and physiological parameters. Specific moveable white LED lighting fixtures were positioned on the ceiling of a two-stall rear trailer with diffused homogeneous lighting. Twenty young trotter horses, in their early stages of training (with little experience of loading and travelling), were loaded three times into the trailer following a standardized protocol (Loading Phase) and stayed in the stationary trailer for two minutes with the experimenter (Stationary Phase). For each loading trial horses were divided into two groups and each group was tested in three different lighting conditions:
Group One: neutral white light 4500 K (Luminous flux=100 %), neutral white light 4500 K (Luminous flux=50 %) and natural lighting which changed throughout the day; Group Two: warm white light 3000 K (Luminous flux=100 %), cold white light 6300 K (Luminous flux=100 %) and natural lighting which changed throughout the day. Each loading trial was assigned randomly to each horse within his group and took place every 20 ± 2 days.
During the Loading Phase and the Stationary Phase, stress-related and investigative behaviours did not differ significantly between the conditions in each group. Moreover, the colour temperature (warm or cold) during the Stationary Phase had a positive influence on the horse’s heart rate recovery when the horse returned to their stable.
When the first loading trial was studied regardless of the initial lighting conditions, it appeared that horses loaded into the trailer with a high illuminance level inside the trailer (>4500 lx) took significantly less time to approach the trailer. They expressed significantly less stress-related behaviours during the Loading Phase than those loaded when the illuminance level (<3000 lx) was low/moderate. Furthermore, the Hierarchical Ascending Classification on all trials showed that specific lighting conditions, including external factors such as the weather, can have a positive, negative or neutral effect on the subject’s physiology and behaviour. We conclude that the use of LED lighting in the trailer is valuable making it possible to adapt the lighting parameters according to specific environmental and natural lighting conditions during Loading and Stationary Phases.
Investigations Into Equine Transport-Related Problem Behaviors: Survey Results
2017, Journal of Equine Veterinary Science
Citation Excerpt :
Notwithstanding these limitations, our study is the first to report and compare the effects of training methods on problem behaviors and injuries related to transportation in horses. To date, the majority of training advice focuses only on loading and unloading horses [17,27,41] rather than taking a more holistic approach which includes purposeful habituation processes [7]. This lack of awareness of the benefits of purposeful habituation is reflected in our results where habituation was applied only by 20.2% of respondents.
Transport-related problem behaviors (TRPBs) in horses are an animal welfare concern, and many training methods in loading/travelling have been recommended to reduce their incidence. This study aimed to investigate the incidence of TRPB and training methods in Australia and to identify risks for and consequences of TRPB. An online survey was conducted, and respondents reported whether and how they trained horses for loading and/or travelling. They were also asked whether their horses suffered from transport-related problem behaviors or injuries, the industry sector in which they participated and details of the vehicle used for transport. TRPB were classified into preloading, loading, travelling (TPB), and unloading. Training methods were classified into operant conditioning (OC), self-loading (SL), habituation (H), and no training (NT). TRPB were reported by 38.0% of respondents, mainly at loading and travelling. Although 43.5% of respondents did not train their horses, OC, H, and SL were applied by 25.5%, 20.2%, and 10.8%, respectively. In 98% of cases, OC was applied by negative reinforcement/positive punishment. Training method was identified as a risk factor for all types of TRPB: their odds were higher in horses trained by OC and NT compared to SL and H. Racing horses were at high risk of TPB (P < .001). Two-horse straight float was associated with a higher risk of preloading (P = .018) and loading problem behaviors (P = .007) and injuries (P = .022). While loading and travelling problems were a risk factor for transport-related injuries, H and SL reduced this risk. These training approaches are recommended to safeguard horse welfare during transport.
Loading horses (Equus caballus) onto trailers—Behaviour of horses and horse owners during loading and habituating
2016, Applied Animal Behaviour Science
Citation Excerpt :
Due to the natural behaviour of horses, loading is often challenging (McGreevy and McLean, 2007). Horses are innately neophobic and show a natural fear of crowded, dark spaces, which seems logical considering the horses’ evolutionary background (Fazio and Ferlazzo, 2003; Houpt, 1986b; Waran, 2002). Evasive behaviour combined with the horse’s size and strength may lead to loading problems being a potential risk of injury both to the horse and to the humans involved (Shanahan, 2003; Cross et al., 2008).
Horses are transported for many reasons, and loading habituation is potentially affecting animal welfare and human safety. Horses are neophobic but may be habituated and trained to perform complex behavioural tasks in novel environments. Before transporting, horses should preferably be habituated to the vehicle and transportation. However, not all horse owners know how this can be done or how to apply common ethological methodology. The aim of our study was to quantify loading problems experienced by horse owners through a survey, compare horse behaviour during the loading procedure at a veterinary clinic with at competition sites and to perform a controlled experiment to investigate the effects of a standardized loading habituation procedure. Part 1 of the study was a horse owner survey. In study 2 we observed horses loaded at competitions and horses loaded at a veterinary clinic to compare two populations with differing habituation levels. In part 3 of the study six 2–3 year-old Icelandic horses were observed during loading habituation and heart rate was measured during these procedures over three consecutive days. Swedish horse owners’ written survey answers (n = 99) showed that 21% experienced problems when loading their horses. Loading at the veterinary clinic took significantly longer (5.8 min) compared to at the competition site (28 s) (P < 0.0001). Horses showed a significantly higher number of evasive behaviours when being loaded at the clinic (16.0 SE ±9.4) compared to the competition site (1.3 SE ±0.5) (P < 0.0001). The Icelandic horses had significantly higher heart rate inside the trailer (73 bpm) compared to before loading (59 bpm) and when outside the trailer again (57 bpm) (P = 0.001). The time taken to load decreased significantly with number of times being loaded during the 3 experimental days (P = 0.001). We conclude that training, in accordance with learning theory, reduce fear when being loaded.
Equine stereotypic behaviors: Causation, occurrence, and prevention
2013, Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research
Citation Excerpt :
Walking around the box for hours on end, in a repeated pattern, irregular directions, or figure 8–shaped track are the telltale signs of box walking (Devereux, 2006; Normando et al., 2011). This may be associated with loss of condition and sometimes poor performance (Houpt, 1986). This stereotypic behavior also makes it difficult to keep the bedding clean and fresh, leading to further degradation of condition (Devereux, 2006).
There are strong suggestions that equine stereotypies are connected to poor welfare and a suboptimal management and/or stabling environment. Different forms of equine stereotypic behaviors have been described. Crib biting, weaving, and box walking are considered the most prevalent. Several studies have been conducted to establish links between the underlying causes and potential function of such behaviors. Both experimental and epidemiological studies have indicated management factors specifically feeding practices, housing conditions, and weaning method as crucial in the development of stereotypies in stabled horses. Some neurological studies on equine stereotypy demonstrated some forms of central nervous system dysfunction as being associated with the performance of stereotypic behaviors. Different researchers hypothesized that the functional significance of stereotypies is that they reduce stress in captive environments and should thus be considered as a coping mechanism. In contrast, the owner's perspective is often that a stereotypic horse has a “stable vice” that needs to be stopped, and different kinds of methods have been developed to control or regulate stereotypic behaviors. However, if the stress-reducing hypothesis is correct, controlling stereotypic behaviors particularly by physical and surgical approaches without addressing the underlying causes is of great concern to the horse's welfare. Although there is ongoing uncertainty about the exact function, the growing knowledge about causation should be applied: under all circumstances prevention is better than cure.
Biology and Management of Muscle Disorders and Diseases
2012, Equine Surgery, Fourth Edition
A Neurologic Perspective of Equine Stereotypy
2009, Journal of Equine Veterinary Science
Discussion on the cause of equine stereotypy dates back nearly 400 years and has remained as speculation until recently. Research now provides empirical support to many previously untested hypotheses identifying restricted feeding, reduced social contact, and diminished locomotor activity as being critical to increased risk of stereotypy development. This review critically assesses this and other current research into equine and nonequine stereotypy and concludes with a neurologic model of equine stereotypy development that highlights genotype-dependent upregulation of transmission in midbrain dopaminergic pathways as being extremely important to the underlying causes. Dismantling this model may provide additional strategies of stereotypy impediment and reduction.

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Stable Vices and Trailer Problems

Section snippets

Stable Vices

Trailering Problems

Vet. J.

Physiol. Behav.

Aerophagia (windsucking) and aversion therapy in the horse

Proceedings of the American Association of Equine Practitioners

Reducing equine hauling stress: A review

J. Equine Vet. Sci.

Coprophagy by foals: Effect of age and possible functions

Equine Vet. J.

Feeding and drinking behavior of mares and foals with free access to pasture and water

J. Anim. Sci.

Bilateral ventral accessory neurectotny in windsucking horses

Vet Rec.

Treatment of crib-biting: A surgical approach in the standing horse

Equine Vet. J.

Windsucking treated by myectomy and neurectomy

Equine Vet. J.

A new surgical procedure to control crib-biting

Proceedings of the American Association of Equine Practitioners

Misbehavior of horses: Trailer problems

Equine Pract.