By nature horses are designed to live outside twenty four hours a day, rain or shine. They are made to graze and move almost constantly in a herd environment. When horses are stalled all the time because of cosmetic reasons, are injured, etc they can easily get bored if they aren’t socially and physically simulated and this boredom can translate into stall vices.
Plenty of Fresh Air
Some common stall vices include weaving, stall walking, pacing, cribbing, and chewing. All are caused by lack of socialization and exercise. If your horse is required to be stalled most of the time, turn him out as much as you can. Design stalls where the horses are able to see and touch each other. If you already have solid walled stalls in place give your horse other distractions. Have free access hay 24 hours a day for him to munch on. Lower quality grass hay will keep your horse busy without him gaining excess weight. Some horses also like stall toys or balls.
Give your horse a job. This means groundwork and riding on a consistent basis. Even if you can’t ride every day, a few rides or groundwork sessions a week can help keep your horse active so he has less energy, therefore less likely to exhibit vices. Get your horse out of his stall as much as you can, even if only a grooming session or hand grazing.
Corrections and Solutions
For horses that have had stall vices for a long time their bad habits will be harder to break. This does require you to spend some extra time at the barn, but if you are dedicated to solving your horse’s problem you can rearrange your schedule. I like to solve stall issues with positive reinforcement. I will click and feed the horse when he is doing the behavior I want. These behaviors include: standing quietly, lowering the head, facing you with his ears up, or really any behavior that isn’t him performing a stall vice or being anxious. When the horse is not pawing, pacing, weaving, or whatever his habit may be, click and reward. You don’t have to be in the stall either. You can slide the stall door open and put up a stall guard, or open the side of the stall if you have one of these for feeding and drop treats or grain into a bucket on the ground. You can also do this if your horse is in a pasture as well. Be consistent and reward good behavior a lot at first. Once the bad behaviors start to fade you can feed less and less.
Usually, these behaviors only occur at feeding or turnout time, and these will be the times when you will fix them. Most of us can’t be with our horse all day at the barn rewarding him. With that in mind, I will usually only train for those times and the rest of the time the horse should be left alone (as far as training goes). However, give your horse the best chance of performing the correct behavior, as well as being as low stress as possible. Make sure the horse goes out with or near his buddies. Don’t expect a horse to stay by himself in a barn. Horses are herd animals and may panic if they are alone. Don’t try to train your horse when he is alone, you won’t get anything done. If you horse needs to be inside when none of the other horses are or they are too far away from him, get him a mini or bring another horse close to him. Work with the horse’s instincts, not against them.
Many horses get excited and anxious at feeding time. This can result in some unwanted behaviors such as pacing, kicking, aggression, and pawing. Horses that paw at feeding time are telling you “Hurry up and feed me!” The solution is to ignore the horse, just don’t feed him. Come back later when he is standing still and feed him then. Feed at slightly different times so he never knows exactly when he will be fed. If your horse paces, do the exact same thing; pass him by and feed the horses who are standing still.
Aggressive horses should never be fed when they are pinning their ears, as you are only reinforcing the behavior. Instead, distract him by yelling, tossing a bucket, or other object at the stall. Don’t hit him, just do enough for him to stop the behavior then move on. Only feed him when he has a pleasant expression on his face. Treat horses that pin their ears when people walk past the same way the horse who is aggressive only at feeding time. You want the horse to feel uncomfortable for being aggressive.
A horse who starts kicking the walls when he hears the feed truck pull up will benefit by distracting him just like you would an aggressive horse. Only feed him when he is standing still. If you have to enter a horse’s stall to feed, drive him out of your space only letting him eat when they have both eyes on you and his ears forward. None of these behaviors are acceptable and will get worse if nothing is done to change them.
Stall Manners and Catching
Horses that rush through the stall door either feel claustrophobic or they are being pushy. These horses often charge ahead of you and move into your personal space. To fix this problem, practice correct leading and sending him in and out of the stall until he is calm. (Read other articles on basic groundwork before doing this). Also, practice backing in and out of the stall. Do these exercises in other places a horse may be frightened of, like the wash rack. Be creative of how you take your horse in and out of his stall, field, or to and from the arena.
When you walk into your horse’s stall he should face you and look at you with both eyes. If he has his back end toward you disengage his hindquarters. Shaking, waving, or smacking the ground with the rope until the horse turns and faces you will also work. Keep the pressure on when he is facing away from you. Stop moving the rope and back up when he starts to turn and face you. You can reinforce the correct response by walking out of the stall when he faces you or by giving him a treat. I personally give my horses treats each time I go to catch them. I also halter a horse, give him a treat then let him go again. This teaches the horse that seeing you is a good experience and it doesn’t always mean you are going to make him work.