Horse Behavior Management Tips

Horses love to spend their time grazing, socializing and moving around. Modern horse management systems don't always allow horses to experience their normal behavior. Problem behaviors can develop that pose a risk to the horse and to the owner. Problem behaviors can, include cribbing, weaving, bucking, aggression, wood chewing, and rearing. Below are a few management tips to prevent unwanted behaviors:

• Allow horses to spend time outside the stall. Giving horses plenty of turnout and exercise will reduce unwanted behaviors, resulting from boredom.
• Keeping horses in herds and not alone is a good practice to reduce the cause of problem behaviors. If horses cannot be kept in a herd, introducing them to other animals, such as sheep, goats, or donkeys can be an option. Horses are social animals.
• Design horse housing so that horses can see each other.
• Feeding horses a high forage diet and meeting their nutritional needs will deter some of the problem behaviors mentioned above. Limiting forage intake or feeding a high amount of grain can cause colic. 

Providing horses a stress free environment will make for a happy horse and a happy owner.