# What is WindSucking??



## smrobs

From what I understand, wind-sucking is a form of cribbing (or maybe it's the same thing). A horse puts his teeth on the top of a fence and stretches out his esophagus allowing air to go down into his stomach. I THINK. As for a way to stop it, they make many different cribbing collars that are often effective. It is usually caused by boredom from being contained in a stall or small paddock by themselves for long periods of time. Fencing; I think it is most common with wood fencing but a horse can use anything he can get his teeth on to crib from metal T-posts to solid wood fencing to metal pipe panels.

I don't have a lot of experience with it as I have never owned a cribber/wind-sucker. :/


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## Tayz

Me neither, but I found an ad for a beautiful chesnut for beginners and it says "He is a windsucker, so requires the correct fencing."
So I'll probaly dodge this one then


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## smrobs

I am not sure that I would overlook him. He may be just the horse you are looking for and if windsucking is his only vice, that can be managed. I would go ahead and give him a shot before you just completely count him out. I don't know about there but here, proven beginner safe horses are not exactly easy to find and if you are looking for one, it is not easy to take your time and shop around or they will be gone.


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## Tayz

Yeah, well I am kinda just looking around at the moment. I also have my eye on bay beginner horse what sounds really good...I'll defiently not overlook him


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## ohmyitschelle

I own a windsucker.
He's an anxious boy, and doesn't latch onto fencing to do it... he will just twist his lip and suck in air, or even open his mouth and suck it in like an air junkie... 









Idiot boy :lol:
Windsucking isn't something I'd turn a horse down for. If you don't have post and rail, then I wouldn't be too worried. Most windsuckers do latch onto fencing like post and rail and suck in air that way... I haven't looked into it scientifically, but it can be caused by boredom or stress... and I find Evo only does it when he's worrying about something... the photo was taken in the first week of owning him in 07, and he windsucked for a good couple of weeks, as he was nervous about all the new things! Now he tends to just do it when he's separated from Honey his lover, and shes being a little minx and chatting up the gelding in the paddock next to theirs :lol: Or when he's anxious.
If the horse you're looking at is, windsucking aside, very suitable for your needs, I would enquire more. There are collars you can put on them... but there's no real cure to it really... 
I found this for you: 
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.

I hope this helps!
x​


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## Tayz

Thanks.  helped a lot


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## Nutty Saddler

Having owned two windsuckers I know it's not really a huge problem . One used fencing to crib on whilst windsucking the other needed nothing at all . 
I would rather have a windsucker than one who weaved or bit or kicked . 
Makes it easier to negotiate on price as the horse has a vice but as my vet said - it dosen't really effect the horse.
If the rest of the horse behaves as you want then don't overlook it.


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## ridingismylife2

My old riding school had 2 windsuckers and it didn't affect them at all 
They just had the collars


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## iridehorses

I HATE the sound they make. It's like chalk on a blackboard to me. I've sold a few good horses over the years that were found to be cribbers/windsuckers. They are difficult horses to resell and usually develop digestive problems as a result of the habit. They become addicts to the habit since it releases endorphins and gives them a high.

This is a horse that I sent back after I found that she sucked wind: (I posted this a few days ago in another thread)


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## ponyboy

I thought that if other horses see a windsuker they will start doing it too?

and yes swallowing a lot of air effects the digestive tract - Even in humans.


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## sandy2u1

I just wanted to add that my friend has a wind sucker. My friends horse will suck wind using her pasture mate. My friend had a consultation from a professional trainer...she said that if the horse wasn't being kept in the stall to much then it was pretty much something you cant do anything about. She said you can try and keep the horse busy all day and it might help...but not even a cribbing collar would help in the long run. If the wind sucking bothers you or you are worried about the horses health...I would pass on it.


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## dustygirl

*windsucking??*

O.k!!! my daughter bought this horse at a sale he is 10 when I first heard him it just sounded like a big groan I was brushing him and he was relaxed and he did it! BUT today when I was brushing him and he was relaxed he made a gurgeling and then like a burp or groan sound right after, sort of like us having to burp and it works its way up and we can hear it and then we burp it out!
Could this be windsucking as well!?! or burping??? do horses even do that?
don't tell me I lucked out and am lucky enough to have got another lemon? :-(


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## family

*Windsucking*

I have recently been to few a section a pony for my niece, the ride went really well, he was a sweet pony, however when he was eating his feed the owner pointed as you can see he windsucks. The pony only windsucked a couple of times, when we got to the stables the pony wasn't windsucking at all and stood at then I of the stable, should I've put of by this? We are planning to go back on Sunday


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## ThoroughbredBug

Others have described windsucking/cribbing well. In terms of proper fencing, I knew a horse who was in a large paddock made completely of round piping (similar to a racetrack) with hotwire. Second photo attached is similar to the fencing, then drill on the plastic isolators used to hold hotwire away from the fence (the black object in the first photo) and boom! A crib-proof fence that they cannot latch onto, that is solid enough to deter any run-through or pushing (the horse I first saw restrained with this fencing was a fat old guy with cushings and like to try and reach through/over to access the grass, so just the round PVC was not enough).

PSA/rant: I would be careful with the hotwire. I know THREE different horses (one arab/morgan/saddlebred, and two thoroughbreds) with terrible anxiety and/or boredom issues who were given crib-proof fencing or had collars put on and they all resorted to sucking on the hotwire. One was moved into a large hotwire-free environment at a different barn and did fine. The other two were very aggressive and hot, and the BO refused to move them out of the hotwire enclosure for fear of property damage (fair enough...). The owner of the two horses was, simply put, a moron. They both got nasty bloody mouth sores, lost weight, wouldn't eat, and became a sorry sight. One was claimed by the local animal-police (like ASPCA type of people) after myself and two other boarders complained. Not sure what happened to the other, I left that barn pretty quickly. Horses _need_ to mouth things (ideally forage, obviously) and will often do anything in their power to do so. Some crib, others suck on fencing or chew apart empty hay nets, some eat dirt/rocks, others chew out their own hair on their legs and sides. The only "real" fix: proper forage spread around enough space to reduce boredom. Other things (special fencing, cribbing collars, etc) are just band-aids, sadly.

Fencing and hot-wire isolation examples


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## Chasin Ponies

I have a horse who _used to_ windsuck and crib. He no longer does either of these things as he's been moved to a stable where he is out in pasture all day long. The pasture is all Electrobraid but at this point, he's not even interested in doing it on gates or posts. His boredom is gone and so is his vice.

The windsucking _never effected his health_ and he would only do it in his old stall where he could lay his teeth on a gap in the boards. I wouldn't turn down a horse just based on this vice with everything else being equal.


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## family

We went to see a Welsh section a pony at the the weekend, the ride went really well and the pony wasn't bothered by the fact there was a small person in the stable messing around with him. My niece rode it well and seemed to like it. While he was having his dinner the pony windsucked on the stable door and the person said as you can see he windsucks but it doesn't bother them, and he was a fat little pony. When we got to the stables the pony wasn't wind sucking he was stood at the back of his stable, should we give this pony a wide birth or not ? We are going to see him again at the weekend.


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## Smilie

Depends
Some horses that crib , do not do it to the point that they wear down their front teeth, lose weight, ignore good pasture, while rather standing and 'sucking' a fence post, and the habit is only a bit of an annoyance
Many that aren't too confirmed a cribber, will simply stop, when allowed to live like a horse, on turn out full time
However, cribbing is a steriotypi behavior, that starts usually when a horse has his coping ability exceeded,beyond his ability to adapt, by things like confinement, but once established, that habit then becomes a need onto itself, much like compulsive obsessive 
behavior
Sounds like this pony has not reached that point, and with proper management, might be fine, esp if his good points out weigh that vise


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## BlindHorseEnthusiast4582

I agree with what has been said. While some cribbers do have problems later in life because they wear their teeth down like Smilie said, most are okay. 

A friend of mine owns both a draft mare and a QH gelding that crib/windsuck, and neither has any adverse health effects. Both are on 24/7 turnout too, so that may not necessarily solve it.


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## knightrider

My "World's Greatest Pony" is a windsucker. He doesn't put his teeth on anything; he just stands and grunts like the horse in the video. He only does it for a few minutes after eating. He doesn't have digestive problems and rides like a dream. He is worth his weight in gold. 

I have read in Equus Magazine that stopping a cribbing/windsucking horse actually is not good for them. It just makes them more nervous. Better to let them crib/windsuck if, like my pony, it does not affect their health. Also, the article in Equus said that in several scientific studies, horses do not learn to crib/windsuck from other horses.


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## Foxhunter

Windsucking is when they can gulp down air without having to latch onto something.
Cribbing is when they have to hold onto something and then swallow the air.


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