Behaviour case report:

Intro:

Sandy is an 8-year-old thoroughbred horse who regularly bites and kicks the stable door. Sandy is
kept in a barn style stable block and gets one hour per day turn out. Discuss the potential causes pf
the issue and potential solutions.

- In intro put this plus aims of the essay.

Main body:

Start off by doing a small paragraph outlining what animal welfare is and how it is assessed.

- 2x parts- causes and solutions

- Causes: stereotypies [2] [3] [4] [5](+ reasons – stress, boredom) , copying other horses,
genetics?, medical conditions [1] ?
- Solutions: products to directly stop behaviour- positively e.g. enrichment and negatively e.g.
electric pad. + methods to tackle root of the problem (link to upper paragraph) [4] [5]

Link to 5 freedoms and put a welfare link at the end of each paragraph.

Where appropriate evaluate bits of research (e.g in comparing possible reasons for behaviour).

Steriotype causes:

 housed alone +fear – cant express social behaviours

 boredom?
 copying others
 gastric ulcers + the solution if it is.
 Genetics

Solutions:

 tackle behaviour itself (‘old’ methods) – devices to stop behaviour by punishment plus
devices that stop it more humanely
 tackle root of behaviour – raising animal enrichment and welfare.
 Stable enrichment e.g. horse feeding ball.
 Clinical solutions?
Conclusions

Reach a verdict on which is most likely cause and solution, plus say why this would give best welfare
to the horse.

- Verdict = horse needs more turnout time, plus enrichment in stable, check if gets along with
others or if it is copying others plus vet check to see if ill. Punishment based devices should
not be used as while it does eliminate the behaviour, it oes not tackle the underlying cause
and can have a negative impact on the horses welfare seeing as it may be using stereotypies
as a coping mechanism. – add in will not be able to stop behaviour completely – horse will
always crib bite to some extent.

References:

[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1558787818302508?casa_token=AIAw1fAX-
qUAAAAA:-N1SFZ1QhsJ4I1lfpRT8FU2sXdlyiI_6aAI21AI9FAvi8-8Q7Jdxpyy551kSXagr9nmmEyi1FaY -
crib biting link to gastric ulcers

[2] https://read.kortext.com/reader/pdf/409495/345 - Kortex behaviour and welfare book - for

housing alone vs. In a group and housing in a stable (may also be other bits can use, didn’t look at it
all)

[3] https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.2042-3306.1998.tb05138.x - factors

affecting steriotypies in horses.

[4] https://www.jstor.org/stable/24096951?seq=1 - steriotypies in stables horses; causes,

treatments and prevention

[5]
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227254166_Stereotypic_Behaviour_in_the_Stabled_Hor
se_Causes_Effects_and_Prevention_Without_Compromising_Horse_Welfare - Stereotypic
Behaviour in the Stabled Horse: Causes, Effects and Prevention Without Compromising Horse
Welfare

[6]

https://www.zawec.org/en/?catid=0&id=44 – stereotypies as indicators for animal welfare.

[7] http://www2.univet.hu/users/knagy/books/mason%20rushen%202006%20stereotypic
%20animal%20behaviour.pdf STEREOTYPIC ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR

Fundamentals and Applications to Welfare

[8]
https://www.sheltervet.org/five-freedoms - 5 freedoms

[9] https://www.primestables.co.uk/blog/how-to-stop-your-horse-kicking-stable-walls/#:~:text=One
%20of%20the%20main%20reasons%20a%20horse%20kicks%20in%20their,does%20not%20get
%20along%20with. – reasnos why horses kick- more basic

[10] https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/horses/company - horses social needs

[11] https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1018&context=usgspubs – wild

horses info

[12] https://haygain.co.uk/blogs/news-and-events/stereotypical-behaviour-causes-prevention-and-
management#:~:text=Repetitive%20behaviours%20that%20are%20reinforced,if%20they%20are
%20shouted%20at.&text=However%2C%20genetic%20tendency%20doesn't,will%20develop%20an
%20unwanted%20stereotypy. – horses sterotypies plus some solutions (not research paper)

[13] https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/778414/1-s2.0-S1751731114X70874/1-s2.0-
S1751731113002346/main.pdf?X-Amz-Security-
Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjED8aCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJIMEYCIQDpIMpmEnPQuQJHarqUsGmr9EMihQB8p
O4latASusamXwIhAJY0UuRQdUqHPqkHT0RX3AD%2FBvK1uwIBedYTxsMkiG5JKr0DCNf%2F%2F%2F
%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F
%2FwEQAxoMMDU5MDAzNTQ2ODY1IgyuhjO6mk8zLsmDsYAqkQNIoVcXHQN
%2F7cSqDvFQVeUF7hh3MwG17jf
%2F2HTY5x3yHArumc7rtuUnuegyaB9iuGQL8D73xTcDDHKRhqN1eU1s0t5NUgFFSyMecR8f4JWQhNR
AJRALWFnSaSKZ1izebdCk5xkwGQuZ%2B9%2FYT0Ly2RA4CbK
%2BjpFbiETPqP0yDvYK6ted3sp0nKLfqxwaXOIBKPkVJ1UGX60gFT8cLQEIR334LvBQlJ4TvMk4iNTXIuse8
Rp8C30CCvdSxfmNA1ylPXZOw2oE5n8GTOfmtyU3xWqqUPzG6EOF%2BuIDq8Kn0%2FBY
%2BRY2w1qQw1V%2Bd3QNElsCpdLtQjG2CJ46li1Ep5%2F
%2FEn2eTT5rMX0%2FfBP44iNeSMkTZws15dcCe8t8KtOMezcGTMJlbZjDUJ
%2Fz5uerYoNPKOPgnwOcQfJj5ErMKWgQ5LiwmkhIPl%2BDkc2oafy98u
%2B4QjrU3iUYlPwh0jCWkRQwATYBzM5Bm59p635gD8mRq
%2FlxLot3xIUsxwBjaASxDJnmMysHeOL6nPdeZmqr4WV4RVxhXTCFw6mFBjrqARLD%2FcQcfqG9c
%2F2Q0lX88GzYXkEarlcwicpfea%2BNuM6SROHWhVnYbVdm%2FhE5QyOZEfr
%2FzCxw9oR1wrxf1Ksw58UZJLt7EhCnp8dlbTlpbXro6otKLQ%2FpYfgkpFA1%2BHRN%2Fx
%2F7qyAcOaVvbv0i2vAraZ0h1c
%2FCQJatDYfJ1Ur0mX5UqeVJxMYM9x4qIn3rMNdkdlBZIoTX4BV49OaYTlAlvFt29RgVeeAgo5s9BMp5ff
AKgPflPURz%2FqZrbb4zO1CZ5nD4oq9yeWu2Ptr5P41iYDa3wk
%2FGnyDvtHqQhcr5h00dZxhNkhF2jIJoMQ%3D%3D&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-
Amz-Date=20210523T145839Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-
Credential=ASIAQ3PHCVTY7JEJNG5A%2F20210523%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-
Signature=c44508d0071230f72adef18549802e8bb2945e7d2f37a246d580f6552b64f8d1&hash=ac3d
9912a6a25a0c20a47b4899eaa04f101dd0370a54c5b9f68d4e597b8b861a&host=68042c943591013a
c2b2430a89b270f6af2c76d8dfd086a07176afe7c76c2c61&pii=S1751731113002346&tid=spdf-
b5a7e7e8-0289-43ad-9294-
34fbe9727639&sid=2123dfb12642064860496ec26254c2b8dac9gxrqb&type=client

[14] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0301622686900989 - old study, prevalence

of stereotypes in throuroughbreeds.

[15] https://www.vetequine.theclinics.com/article/S0749-0739(20)30025-0/pdf - good article for a

varitety of causes to stereotypies.

[16] https://liphookequinehospital.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/gastric-ulcers.pdf - gastric ulcers facts

[17] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1558787820301398

[18] C.J. Nicol, H.P.D. Davidson, P.A. Harris, A.J. Waters, A.D. Wilson

Study of crib-biting and gastric inflammation and ulceration in young horses

Vet. Rec., 151 (2002), pp. 658-662

[19] Albright, J.D., Mohammed, H.O., Heleski, C.R., Wickens, C.L. and Houpt, K.A. (2009) Crib-biting in
US horses: Breed predispositions and owner perceptions of aetiology. Equine vet. J. 41, 455-458.

[20] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0737080612009082

[21] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11314230/

[22] https://www.thetba.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/VetsForum_jul_2018.pdf - good

alround resource.

[23] https://www.paardenwelzijnscheck.nl/app/webroot/files/ckeditor_files/files/Gezondheid
%20en%20gedrag/McGreevy%20%26%20Nicol%20(1998a)%20Prevention%20of%20crib-biting%20-
%20a%20review.pdf

[24] https://practicalhorsemanmag.com/health-archive/are-there-alternatives-to-cribbing-collars

[25] Cooper, J.J., McDonald, L. and Mills, D.S. (2000) The effect of increasing visual horizons on
stereotypic weaving: implications for the social housing of stabled horses. Applied Animal Behaviour

Science 69, 67–83.

In this case, Sandy, an 8-year-old thoroughbred horse was presented for regularly biting and kicking
the stable door. Sandy is kept in a barn style door and gets turned out for one hour per day. This is
an undesirable behaviour as a horse that repetitively and regularly kicks his door can cause
significant damage to his legs, causing problems such as fluid-filled swelling and chronic
inflammation. A horse that crib-bites can also cause damage to its teeth and aid the development of
gastric ulcers, making it a welfare concern. A horse may bite and kick its’ stable for multiple reasons,
such as boredom, fear or attention. [9] In this report, I aim to discuss and evaluate the potential
causes and solutions for this behaviour in order to find the best methods to stop prevent this
behaviour in a way that adds to the horses’ welfare.

In this case, Sandy may be exhibiting stereotypic behaviour. A stereotype is defined as: a repetitive,
invariant behaviour without an apparent or immediate function. [6] This behaviour is likely to be
stereotypic as biting (likely to be crib-biting, the horse grasps a fixed object with its incisor teeth and
contracts the lower neck muscles to retract the larynx caudally, inducing an in-rush of air through
the crico-pharynx into the oesophagus, producing a ‘cribbing’ sound [13] ) and kicking the stall has
no function towards to animal’s survival (and if anything is detrimental to the animal as can result in
injury [9]). One cause for this behaviour is stress, likely coming from being housed in a solo stable for
most of the day. Horses are highly sociable and in the feral populations are free roaming and live-in
groups of approximately 2-20 individuals. Since horses have only been domesticated for
approximately 6000 [11] years, they still share most of their physiology and behavioural traits with
their wild counterpart and so are not adjusted to many of the condition’s humans keep them in (e.g.,
housed in solo stalls). This causes stress in many horses, as their instinct is to stay in a group for
safety from predation and to receive stimulation through social contact. [2] Without this group, a
horse is left feeling vulnerable which can lead them to start exhibiting stereotypies as a way to cope
with the stress.

However, Sandys’s door kicking may be a repetitive behaviour rather than a stereotypic one, as
repetitive behaviours are reinforced and goal-directed unlike stereotypies. Here, Sandys’s door
banging is likely being rewarded with attention from the owner, either by them trying to sooth or
shout at Sandy in an attempt to stop the behaviour. when it is having the opposite attempt, as the
horse likely sees any type of attention as good. The owner may even feed the horse early in an
attempt to get the horse to ‘quieten down’. However, they are working to condition the horse to
associate kicking with a reward (as the kicking serves a function – to get attention / food, it cannot
be classed as stereotypic. Therefore, solutions surrounding this cause mainly involve working to
break the horses associating kicking with a reward, meaning the owner should immediaty avoid the
horse when it stops stable kicking and only give it attention/ food after it has been quiet for a few
minuets (thi may involve delaying it’s feeding time if sandy is prone to kicking for food) [12]

Genetics may also play a role in \sandys behavious. Throughbreed horses have been found to have a
30% chance of preforming crib biting behavious, while most other breeds display a 3-15 % chance of
crib biting, suggesting a genetic influence. [14] However, this study is putdates compared to newer
research. [13] found no genetic connection to the performance of stereotypies, although they only
tested 8 potentioal genes and the paper [15] found some geetic link but admitted it needs further
investigation. This suggests that while there may be some genetic factors influencing a horses’
lik;eihood to preform stereotypic behavipur, environmental factor play a much bigger role. This
means it is best for us to focus potential solutions to this behaviour around environmental
intervensions, such as stress management and gradual post partrem weaning, rather than
medications. It is also a common bielief that horses on a stable yard will copy the steriotpic behaviur
from another horse, picking up the hibit and exaccerbting the problem. Albright et al. (2009) [19]
examined US horse owner's perceptions of crib-biting behaviour and when owners of crib-biters
were asked ‘Do you believe cribbing is learned from other horses?’ 49% of the respondents
answered ‘yes’. As a result, owners of a crib biting horse may be tempted to isolate this horse to
stop others picking up the behaviour, however this may exaccebate the behaviour as horses who are
socially isolated have a higher chance of developing strryotypies [2]. This perception horses may
copy steryotypies from other horses has also been larely disproven by [21] who found horses do not
copy steryotypies from neighbouring animals that display them. Therefore, solutions for this
problem should not include isolation of the animal.

Ninomiya et al (13) suggest that it could be imitated by means of social learning; however, Clegg et al
(27), discard that.

It has been hypothesised that crib biting behaviour could be a clinical sign of the condition gastric
ulcers rather than a stereotypic behaviour. The horses stomach evolved in animals that continually
foraged for fibre-rich and low-starch food up to 16 hours a day. By contrast, the modern-day horse
has daily exertional demands that require an increased quality and quantity of feed intake and they
have restricted feeding patterns, which can lead to a build-up of stomach acid that damages the
squamous mucosa epithelium in the stomach, causing gastric ulcers. The theory states that this
makes a horse prone to crib biting in order to stimulate slaiva production to buffer gastric juces (as
horses can only produce saliva when they are masticating) [16] Nicol et al., 2002 [18] found crib-
biting foals had a higher incidence of squamous gastric lesions, therefore crib biting my be a
behavioural indicator of gastric ulcers rather than stereotypic. Whlile this was an old study, its
finding have been backed up by [17], which found horses displaying crib biting behaviour had the
most affected stomachs. However, there are varying results from studies attempting to find a link
between crib biting and gastric ulcers. For example, [1] the stomachs from horses that crib bite are
not anatomically or physiologically different from stomach of control horses. But overall there is
enough evidence to investigate the presence of gastric ulcers in sandys stomach inorder to find a
solution to this behaviour. Although this is unlikely to be the only cause of crib biting. It is possible
that stress from gastric ulcers (1 showed a link between gastric ulcer and the prevalence of stress
hormones,) combined with social stressors from being in a solo stable most of the day may
contribute to the development of crib biting as a stereotype. Regardless, [20] showed low rate of
gastric ulcers in horses that crib bite but are able to graze for the majority of the day. Therefore
solutions to this potential cause involve letting sandy out to pasture for extended periods of the day
and diagnosis and treatment of potential gastric ulcers. (go into some detail on this if need more
words).
Many solutions for management of horses presenting with crib biting revolve around prevention of
the physical behaviour, however this can have adverse effects on the horses welfare. Methods
include; anti- crib collars. See appendix one. These work by preventing the horse from arching it’s
neck to suck in air either by being wide enough to stop the horse from flexing or use a jointed metal
piece that closes on the throatlatch, or a sharp piece of leather that pokes the horse when it arches
it’s neck. These collars are affective in preventing cribbing ni the short term, however, In one study,
Christine Nichol and Paul McGreevy, [23] assessed the effectiveness of anti-cribbing collars in eight
horses. They found that the collars prevented the activity in six of the eight, but when the collars
were removed after 24 hours, these horses showed a rebound in crib-biting behaviour, increasing it
well above the frequency seen prior to prevention. Furthermore there is a welfare concern involved
in using these devices, as wearing one impedes of 2 of the 5 freedoms. The freedom from pain,
discomfort and distress (as the horse is pinched by some types of anti- cribbing collar) and freedom
to express normal behaviour (as is unable to arch its neck). There are more humane devices on the
market to address welfare concerns, such as a cribbing muzzel (See appendix two) that use metal
bars across the bottom to allow the horse full access to eating and drinking while stopping him from
biting onto a horizontal surface to crib. [24] While these have better welfare for the horse than a
cribbing collar, there is also the question of whether we should be stopping these behaviours in the
first place.Ccrib-biting has been shown to lower heart rate and alteration in pain threshold, they also
showed a three times higher level of beta-endorphin. This could indicate that crib-biting actually
induces a pleasurable experience and that it is likely a coping mechanism for the horse in response
to stressful situations [22] (e.g. in Sandys case, spending 23 hours a day in a stable).

Therefore, a better method to reduce crib biting without compromising welfare is to alter
management strategies in the stable. Cooper at al., 2000 [25] found increasing social contact with
other horses drastically reduced the presence of stereotypic behaviour, like crib biting and kicking
the stable door. In Sandys case, this could be done by moving him to a traditional type stable, where
he can poke his head out to watch other horses/ people to help him feel less isolates, or install
windows in the sides of his current stable so he wan view his neighbours. Other management
strategies include increasing Sandy’ turnout time, as increased exercise levels have been shown to
decrease stereotypic behaviour and the provision of ad-lib forage between concentrate meals, so
allowing them to forage whenever they feel the need to eat [22]

Overall, Sandys behaviour is likely to be stereotypic as a result of a genetic predisposition (as he is a

thoroughbred), stress from lack of social stimulation, as well as a lack of exercise. His kicking may
also be learned behaviour if he is receiving attention/ food in response. In order to reduce the
prevalence of crib biting and kicking, horse needs more turnout time, plus enrichment in stable, plus
vet check to see if ill gastric ulcers are present. Training to associate door kicking with no attention
should also take place. Punishment based devices should not be used as while it does eliminate the
behaviour when worn, it does not tackle the underlying cause and can have a negative impact on the
horses welfare seeing as it is likely to be a coping mechanism However, it is important to note that
while these strategies will improve Sandys behaviour, they will not eliminate it completely, as once a
horse begins preforming stereotypes they are unlikely to ever completely stop.
 Appendixes:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stop-
Horses-Cribbing-Windsucking-
Leather/dp/B07BV2V5VK

https://www.amazon.com/Cribbing-Muzzle-Equine-Behavior-Management/dp/
B000HHJH4G/ref=as_li_ss_tl?
dchild=1&keywords=cribbing+muzzle+horse&qid=1588199274&sr=8-
7&linkCode=sl1&tag=activeinteres-ph-
20&linkId=29a26fb17da529c143144aba368500f1