Yay! So he’s a little ADD , easily distracted (and made anxious by his distractions), so when “sent to his room” for some quiet time, he settles and eats well. Fantastic 
Yup! I actually put a blanket over the front bars at dinner time. It’s over the portion where his haynet it. He LOVED it. Watching him on the cameras, he snoozed by the mirror, ate and laid down. He didn’t even pace to look out the back of his stall just chowed down like a piggy. I spent SO much time giving him more space when maybe he just need a quiet more contained space to retreat too.
Between 5pm and 9pm he finished off about 12lbs of hay. Another 45 is in the net now for the night and he’s chowing down. (Let me tell you how helpful stall camera systems are!!!)
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I have no suggestions but just gotta remark that this horse is darn lucky GPj found him.
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Yay!!! So glad you are finding the answers.
There are some that need privacy to feel safe. Had one years ago that would not urinate away from home unless the front of his stall was completely covered with a cooler.
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Isn’t that what she is doing by asking for ideas and input from others, reconsidering her management practices?
Asking for help is not a bad thing that should lead to the person asking for help getting pounced on.
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Some horses just need their alone space. My guy was a problem in his stall at first. He would reach over the gate that was his door and bite at horses going by, he would spin around and kick at the walls at his neighbors. Changing stalls didnt help if it was a similar setup (except he didnt have neighbors) What worked for him was putting in a solid door. Now he is totally content and well behaved, even with a new rowdy neighbor! Sometimes they like arrangements that surprise us.
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I have to say, some horses just like their quiet corner. My guy is much better with a mostly closed off stall (both when stalled 24/7 due to weather and turnout options and turned out up to 16 hours a day).
It sounds like you are doing your best to listen to your horse and give him the best life possible.
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I didn’t say asking for help was a bad thing and I’m also not the one who “pounced on” anyone. I gave my honest take, knowing everyone here would bite my head off, and that’s what they did. I just personally think entertaining supplements is silly when we have research demonstrating that cribbing can be a result of a lack of turnout. It really blows my mind, this should be a no-brainer but I guess nobody likes hearing advice when it’s inconvenient so that’s why people need to be internet bullies.
Link the research please. I believe most of that research is on horses stalled 24/7 with little to no exercise.
Also, this may be true for some horses but not all. For example, everyone says the same thing about weaving horses. Owning a mare that weaves, and having spent years researching and trying different things…it boils down to, she weaves when she wants something, or wants company (me). She weaves outside, at the gate, when it’s time for dinner and it’s late, or if its too windy or the weather sucks. She would do terribly with 24/7 turnout, which is common for a lot of TBs. Not every TB wants to live outside! Many horses still crib when they are turned out. Just like many horses love their stalls. It doesnt have to be so black and white.
24/7 turnout is not the answer for every horse and as someone who claims to be super knowledgeable you should know that every horse has to be approached differently. They are all different and to paint them with the same brush because of studies focusing on 50 horses who live nothing like this horse is just plain silly.
OP I am glad you found a solution! I wonder if he likes the door closed because he has food anxiety about others getting his meal?
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Sometimes when we forge ahead into the thick of those who would “bite my head off” holding a shield of popcorn and a rubber pickle sword, we should maybe stop a moment to think about why we knew ahead of time that there would be head biters and yet we forged ahead anyway. It really blows my mind. This should be a no-brainer but I guess nobody likes hearing advice when doesn’t fit their one-track mind.
Rude? Maybe. But really, think about it. There are LOADS of solutions to the OP’s problem. There is not only one. Not all horses do well on 24/7 turnout. Not all stereotypies can be solved by 24/7 turnout.
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Firstly, I’m glad the cribbing stopped but I also don’t know how you would know that if the stall door is shut.
Secondly, I don’t have access to specific research but this is what I’ve found from several veterinary schools. There is a lot we don’t understand but as far as I’ve read and understand, the leading theory is that is has something to do with isolation/ confinement/ boredom because cribbing isn’t observed in wild/feral horses.
University of Florida:
“There is no known reason as to why horses crib, but it is most likely due to boredom from being in a stall for long periods of time. There is also no evidence showing that it is a learned behavior from other horses.
Cribbing could be reduced or prevented by letting the horse out in a pasture as much as possible, preferably with other horses.”
Link: https://largeanimal.vethospitals.ufl.edu/2012/12/11/horse-owner-alert-cribbing-and-colic/
University of Michigan:
“We can’t be certain as to what causes cribbing, as horses from around the world in varying conditions and lifestyles present this behavior. However, it is believed some horses crib out of boredom or if stalled for extended periods of time without exercise.”
Link: https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/cribbing_in_horses
University of Ohio:
“Cribbing has not been reported in free ranging feral horses (Wickens & Heleski, 2010), therefore aspects of human management may cause cribbing behavior. Specific causes of cribbing are yet to be determined and the behavior may be due to a combination of factors. Diet, genetics, boredom, stress, and copying another horse have all been suggested as causes of cribbing (Litva, Robinson, & Archer, 2010).”
Link: https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/anr-89
I also have a book somewhere about equine behavior from someone at UPenn that I can’t find right now but the author had pretty much the same thing to say about cribbing. I read that forever ago and maybe why that’s why I think this is common horse sense and not some radical idea that the cribbing is probably a management issue.
Statements like this make it very obvious that you are not bothering to read anything the original poster is saying. Which is not only weird, but sad. Note the things taken from the OP’s posts I have quoted below.
It is like your desire to be right has over powered your desire to open your mind and actually help.
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No kidding. Very well put.
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Ok I didn’t see the bit about the camera because I’ve tried to remove myself from this mess, but even then I’m not trying to be right. My whole point is that I think it’s very likely the cribbing is a management issue and it’s crazy how people think that is so radical.
@Equkelly just curious - what do stalls look like where you are from? I am clearly thinking of a different thing for a stall than you are. I have yet to encounter a stall that is sound and site proof. They are not closed solid walls on all sides with no place for the humans to see what is going on inside unless the door is open. But, they must build stalls differently where you are.
Management includes feeds, supplements, vet care, etc. So you are right, it is a management issue. It sounds like the OP is doing a great job of looking at all aspects of this horse’s management (which you would know if you read their posts).
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I personally don’t believe in stalling so I couldn’t tell you what normal stalls are for me because I’ve never used them.
I’ve tried to follow OP’s posts but I sometimes lose them because they’re not marked on the new forum update… or maybe they are and I am just missing it? They look like everyone else’s replies so I keep missing them, my bad on that front.
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You are not missing it. That is one of the items on the list of things that they will fix for us once they are doing dealing with the log-in issues that some users are having. There is another way to read just the OP’s posts. Give me a minute and I will be back to explain it for you.
Edit to add:
If you go to the original post you will see the information bar at the bottom of it. You can click any of the poster avatars and get a pop-up about them and their posts on this particular thread. In the screen shot below the red arrow is the OP’s avatar that I clicked. In the pop-up the green arrow is what I clicked to get a list of just their posts.
What a helpful feature!
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So when the OP says he has a stall and describes the set up you really have NO idea what that means, for the horse or for the owner. And yet you repeatedly spew vitriol about it, and trash the owner for housing the horse in a way you don’t understand at all?
Ah. Gotcha.
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Thank you, that is super helpful!
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What a great answer to my question. Don’t we all wish everything was so easily resolved!!
