Yeah. This.
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If you can’t offer this horse 24x7 turnout (excluding very bad weather and show days if needed) I would pass for HIS sanity. Not fair to him.
I had a horse I got from a hoarder situation who had been starved and kept in a stall. He was a weaver all the time I had him unless he was out 24x7. Usually they can tolerate some time in a stall - maybe 10-12 hours here and there, but no way the time you are suggesting. That’s not right to him or anyone else.
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The only weaver I knew only did it at feeding time. He was an OTTB that raced until age 6 or 7. So he was stalled plenty in his lifetime. He got decent turn-out but not 24/7. He lived into his mid 20s and was competitive until age 21. Main barn was 12 stalls but there were about 20 horse on the property and most people tacked up in the main barn. So it was fairly busy.
I would see if you find out how much turn-out he has now and see if you can take him on trial so see how he does in your barn. Treat for ulcers when you get him- as a preventative if nothing else. Keep quality hay in front of him 24/7.
I seem to remember recently reading a study that showed that weavers did not have as much wear and tear on the joints as I had been previously taught. I have no idea where I saw that study though.
My bet it that some horses like a busy barn and like to watch the activity and some horses prefer a quiet barn. I would guess there is not only 1 trigger for all cribbers or weavers. Some barns just have bad vibes that don’t work for a particular horse.
If you can’t take him on trial I would pass.
So, I would have said go buy the horse. But now…
My mare is 22 and had to be retired 3 years ago because of bad arthritis in her neck from her weaving. Some days she’s sound enough to walk/trot on, other days she has trouble walking in the field.
For her, it didnt matter if she was out lots. She has a built in clock and when its turn in time, you better be there on time or she will start weaving. She’s in her stall and there are people around not paying attention to her? She starts weaving…
I wouldnt buy a weaver again.
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I say pass. There is a weaver in the barn I board at and he looks so unhappy most of the time. The stall situation is open on both sides with only a stall guard in front. I can only imagine the stress and strain on his legs/joints. I won’t own a cribber for many of the same reasons. An unhappy horse is just that.
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Pass
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Yes, I am a little alarmed that most of her own horses are cribbers. I do understand why, her horses are only turned out for 2 hours a day, the entire winter. Though I haven’t seen much of that behaviour in the other horses there, only her own.
I talked to the owner again, he is his stall for many hours a day, not sure how many, I plan to ask. When his living situation is good, he only weaves if he doesn’t get fed first, or isn’t the horse that gets turnt out first. She said the only time he was really bad was when she had him at a sales stable. He started weaving when he was 4, and although they say weaving is not contagious, his neighbour where he grew up did weave.
I own a weaver. I have owned him for 7 years. He we have been at 7 different barns, only 3 could give us 24/7 turnout (that is his favorite). (Don’t be alarmed about the 7 barns in just as many years, I went from home to college and internships and then to my real world job in that time, and had to find the right fit for us at each location). He weaves only in the stall, and only when he wants to go out or his buddy gets taken from him. We show, and is stalled full time at the show. He decides to get attached to 1 horse at the show, one of his neighbors, and only weaves when that horse leaves. The rest of the time he is fine.
At home, he does best on a schedule. At the barns where he was stalled, it was either for the night or for the day. If he had a schedule, he would start weaving when it was time to go out. If the schedule changed because of weather, he would weave for a bit, and would calm down eventually. He only weaved at turnout time usually. He didn’t mind seeing horses coming and going, unless he knew it was time to go out. At our current barn, he comes in to eat, and if some commotion starts, like other horses going out, or sometimes them coming in, it will cause him to start weaving, but that’s only because he knows that he should be going out too. My other horse is a cribber, so we just hope we can find 24/7 pasture for both if we ever have to move again. (Also, we have been at barns with 40 horses, but we kept him near the quieter part of the barn, and that helped).
Prince was the best first horse I could have asked for. The seller did not disclose the weaving, but I saw him doing it when we went to pick him up. I did not know what it was, but he was on 247 turnout for the first year I had him. If I found the perfect horse, and he weaved, I am not sure that I would worry about it as long as they don’t do it all the time they are stalled. Since no one knew he did it for 2 weeks, I’m sure he does not do it continuously.
Have owned two weavers, both OTTBs who did not do it as long as they had ample turnout. Both would resume weaving and stall walk if they had to be confined, i.e., inclement weather. Both would have been a challenge to show and stable at a show and hobbles may have been necessary. Both went to owners who managed their own stabling or had their own farms where horses could be kept out. Getting a weaver then keeping it mostly stable confined is asking for exacerbation of the weaving. I would not do it. Both horses trashed their stalls too. There was manure and hay everywhere so that I had to only offer hay in a small weave hay net but this helped to keep them occupied and weave less. One was also very ulcer prone. Never again.
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I have a boarder who has a paso and he came from a bad situation but this horse weaves in the pasture at feed times and when he is board…in the pasture. So weird it actually freaked my mule out who was in the pasture nest to her, he stood about 100 feet from her and snorted and blew at her for 20 minutes. This m are does it with turn out buddies with out turn out buddies,in grass pasture, in dry lot in a boarded fence in a hot wire fence and in the stall. In a pasture with a continuous hay feeder as well. She is hard to keep weight on as well. She is about 9 and I suspcet shes giving her self ring bone from it as well
I once had to drive a trailer for 4 hours with a horse that was a diehard weaver - 2H bumper pull but a large F-250 SuperCab PU.
It was The Worst Trip of My Life.
Horse’s weaving was so strong, he moved the trailer from side to side and took the truck with it. I had to counter-steer against the weaving for 4 frelling hours. I was exhausted by the end of the trip.
So, before you commit, make sure you know all the circumstances in which the horse weaves.
star
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21-22 hours a day in a stall would do it.
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One of my horses weaves. It sucks but manageable.
He stays outside 24/7 with a herd and has his own mini donkey that gets stalled with him if he does have to be in. I let him eat outside and his cross ties are in the barn door so he can see his friends. His is mostly from anxiety about his buddies.
When he does have to be in he has a big stall that he shares with his mini donkey and he gets good alfafa hay to keep him busy. The horses are at my personal farm so I have a lot of freedom in how to manage him. I did sneak out the other night when I kept them in and he wasn’t weaving in the stall, when I turned the light on and went in he started.
This is not a good situation. These horses are bored and anxious. Probably the worst place to keep a horse that weaves. I wouldn’t board a horse there if my horse didn’t weave. Management is not good and the horses are not happy, they are screaming that they need turn out and nobody is listening.
If you really want the horse, find a place that has 24/7 turn out, and nothing less.
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^This x1000. I would never keep a horse in such a situation, weaver or not.
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I had one like that. No fun at all.
It sounds like the boarded horses get more turn-out. It is just the BO’s horses that only get 2 hours per day.
Even if that is the case, I wouldn’t want to be any part of a barn like that. Too many mismanaged horses with major anxiety issues.
Hmm. When mine cribs I tell her “Angel, get a hobby!!!”
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I agree with most above—forget him unless you can give him 24/7 turnout.
My previous horse was a weaver and had to live outside. When I moved and couldn’t find pasture board, he was stalled at night and turned out during the day. It took a LOOONG time for him to settle down and when we changed barns again, the weaving came back until he settled. Also developed mild ulcers that I had to give supplements to correct. He also weaved while on stall rest rehabbing a torn suspensory (amazing that it healed).
