Boredom in horses

[chickflick1066]

Hello. I was just curious, how can you tell when a horse is bored? Arent usual signs - stable vices??

How can you tell a grass kept horse is bored?

Thanks in advance.

[amylou_84]

Well in a stable a horse may box walk, weave his head from side to side, wind suck or generally destroy his stable if bored.
The same can be said for a horse out in grass i spose. Biting the wooden posts, weaving at the gate and destrying objects in the field.

Amy:D

[chickflick1066]

and destrying objects in the field.
Ahh thats probaly whats happening with my mare then. I have just posted in Health and care about the current fencing in her field. Stumpy is constantly pawing this fencing - ruining it and therefore wrecking the fence.

She also kicks the hay feeder in there....is this down to boredom?

[amylou_84]

Hmm not sure. Could be general aggression :) Cant really comment if i havnt seen the horse and its surroundings. Sometimes horses kick feeders if they are worried other horses are trying to eat before her. Is she dominant in the herd? Is she in a field with other horses may be a better question lol.

edit - i say general aggression as in a bad mood, not as in she is an aggressive horse in general :)

[chev]

Define boredom. Vices such as box walking, cribbing and so on are usually stress related, rather than boredom. We might define a stressed horse as bored but it's not usually the case. Distraction tactics sometimes help with stress so we tend then to feel that because a horse is now chewing a likkit instead of his door he must have been bored. Not alwasy the case.

Boredom in horses that live out in a field with company is so unheard of I'd actually go as far as saying it doesn't really exist. Again, people will assume a horse is bored when in fact any healthy, normal horse is perfectly happy eating for most of his waking hours. They will exhibit stress signs again if kept alone but it's not really boredom - it's more like insecurity, fear and stress.

Even a foal growing up without other foals around won't be bored as such - they're actually nosy and inventive enough to satisfy their learning capacity elsewhere instead. It's still better not to breed or buy foals if they're going to grow up alone - but mainly from the social aspect. They learn through play how to behave and react - they won't be bored without company the same age, but they don't get the same social learning opportunities.

If one of mine was ehxibiting signs of what most people class as boredom I'd actually be looking at what might be stressing him out, rather than just chucking toys out.

I know there will now no doubt be replies illustrating how x horse did blah and was definitely bored - but my opinion is based on watching the behaviour of all ages of ponies, of varying levels of intelligence, and I do believe that boredom is a pretty alien concept in horses. That's not to say others may interpret their horses' behaviour differently :) .

[chickflick1066]

Thank you both. I understand what you mean Chev - your such a fountain of knowledge!

Is she dominant in the herd? Is she in a field with other horses may be a better question lol.
Well that is what I was curious about, she is kept with an aged creaky horse who she loves dearly but often tires of Stumpy's sometimes playful attitude.

Could another factor is that she has had nearly 5 weeks off due to my injury?

[amylou_84]

Well im no expert but id say maybe she has some extra energy and is trying to get rid of it. But as i say only a suggestion :)

[chickflick1066]

Ah thats what I was thinking. She is a boisterous and energetic young madam!! (but only in the field :rolleyes: )

[Yann]

I do wonder if there is an element of truth in it. Gem lives in a smallish paddock at the moment with food and some company but is overjoyed to see Nat or I when we turn up, presumably because we mean going out for a (generally exciting) ride and a tiny feed. She'll neigh her head off when we turn up and come trotting over.

Rio on the other hand is in a huge field with all the company and things a horse could possibly want. She barely acknowledges me till I'm stood next to her at this time of year and I have to walk all the way to her, not the other way round. Gem is just the same when she's out in her big field. Could Gem find being in the paddock boring and dull? Or is it just the lack of a herd?

[KarinUS]

If one of mine was ehxibiting signs of what most people class as boredom I'd actually be looking at what might be stressing him out, rather than just chucking toys out.


Chev,
I am always impressed with your posts. There are times when I think I am the only one thinking this way. It's somewhat reassuring to read it from somebody else :).
Especially having to deal with a horse with stable vices myself I get so frustrated when people recommend to others to put a stable toy in his stall and it all will be better. All it really does is give the horse two choices rather than just one.

I don't think horses get bored like people do. I do think they get stressed and frustrated. I think the best thing I did for my horse was to give him choices. I guess in a very broad sense having 'choices' eliminates boredom?
He can decide when he wants to be inside his stall or outside, wallowing in dirt or dozing under a tree, go and eat hay or splash water around in his trough, put his nose on his field buddy's bum or wander off and have some space to himself.
It gives him an opportunity to deal with or reduce stress on his own.
I think choices elmininate 'boredom', stress and frustration more than any toy we could hang on a rope could ever do. :)

[jUmPingIsLifE]

in the stable you will get horses that start woodchewing or even cribbing. or they will pick up other vices like windsucking, weaving, kicking..ect...

if the horse is grass kept i really dont think they would ever be board, they are very quite content eating away. plus they have things like bird, bugs, and other things to keep them either annoyed or entertained and stuff like that. however, if there is no grass you would find your horse perhaps chewing woodposts

[chev]

I don't think horses get bored like people do. I do think they get stressed and frustrated. I think the best thing I did for my horse was to give him choices. I guess in a very broad sense having 'choices' eliminates boredom?
He can decide when he wants to be inside his stall or outside, wallowing in dirt or dozing under a tree, go and eat hay or splash water around in his trough, put his nose on his field buddy's bum or wander off and have some space to himself.

In other words, you give him the opportunity to live a life that's about as close to what he's designed to do as possible. I think horses that have been highly managed (like OTTBs) tend to suffer stress and frustration more than most - every instinct they have to roam, browse, groom and so on is frustrated or denied. It's no wonder they end up with so called vices - they're a bit like the high-powered execs who go down with stomach ulcers and hypertension through living every day at such a high level of pressure.

Giving DJ the chance to rediscover all the things that drive him as a horse, adn use them in his life every day, isn't so much curing boredom as reducing pressure, frustration and stress.

I think it's important to differentiate between the two for one important reason - I hear a worrying number of people telling me that their 2/3 year old is bored doing nothing.... so they need to work them/work them more. You might feel that boredom can be cured by working - but very few people, if they recognised that the horse was frustrated or stressed would recommend that course of action.

[Just.Jump]

Theres alot of boredom. Like us, we'll go on the computer or Tv when we're bored, some dogs will tear houses apart. I'm not sure how you stop boredom in horses though. In the wild they travel all day long to survive, and most stables have then shut up in small feilds and paddocks. You need to go big and get them in the 10 acre feilds :p

(Now, if only there was such a job to get you the money to buy land with a barn and a house)

[angelfben]

I sometimes think that Gem and Alpi look bored half to death but then even when they have plenty of grass to eat, each other for company, canal boats going past over the hedge to watch etc. they still seem to have extended moments of staring aimlessly into space :rolleyes: I don't think its a matter of boredom so much but perhaps just that they're not being stimulated as much as if they were wandering across hundreds off acres in a large herd with all sorts of things to consider which they don't have to in smaller fields with the same company and food on tap etc.?

[Just.Jump]

Yeah, thats what I think as well. Isn't there an average of acres one horse needs just for grass alone?

After looking it up, you can keep three horses, on avergae, on 1 1/2-2 acres,and if you've got more you'll need 1- 1 1/2 acres of open pasture per horse. As far as I know, most people's horses are shoved into a pasture thats less than an acre big. No wonder their so bored all the time.

I hope to one day have a HUGE section of land (as in, hundreds of acres) and rescue/take in injured horses and rehabilitate them and re-sell them as useable animals. I'm still trying to figure out how many years of being a regular physiotherapist it would take to save up to $500 000+ I would need.