Windsucking

What is Wind Sucking?

Wind sucking is the aspiration of air, done by the horse arching its neck and sucking in air. Some horses do this while holding onto something with their teeth; others do it unaided. It results in a grunting type of noise. The horse learns to gulp down air simply by creating a vacuum in the mouth.

Traditionally wind sucking has been described as a cause of recurrent colic or failure ‘to do well’, but the vast majority of horses that wind suck suffer no adverse effects at all. If the habit is severe the muscles on the underside of the neck, which the horse contracts when it arches its neck to suck in air, may get bigger and this might be regarded as unsightly. 

How can I control Wind Sucking?

Don't try making surfaces unpleasant to taste as this is only likely to make the horse more frustrated. It is better to allow your horse to crib bite on a suitable surface, such as a hard rubber board, than to try to physically prevent the behaviour with straps or collars.

Make sure your horse has lots of roughage in his diet and plenty to chew on during the day.

Research

Five years ago Michael Peace and his wife Susi came up with a theory that rather than being stress related, wind-sucking could possibly be due to a problem horses have in digestion. They'd noticed years before that wind-sucking horses kept on limestone soils tended to wind-suck less than if they were kept on clay soils for example. They decided to try feeding Rennie (the human antacid treatment for indigestion) to a wind sucking horse they owned at the time. They gave the horse 6 Rennie tablets after his feed and his wind sucking decreased. The results were amazing albeit in just a one horse trial. So simple, yet nobody had come up with it in years of research. They went to De Montfort University with their idea who carried out an extensive trial on 100 horses and the results proved to be significant. This has changed the whole direction of research into wind-sucking in horses.

In a joint project between the University of Lincoln and Feedmark horses fed an antacid supplement did not exhibit crib biting and windsucking as often. Feedmark have launched an antacid supplement for horses - Settlelex. For more information call 0800 585525, email: office@feedmark.com, .