[black horse 123]

whats a windsucker can anyone tell me please?

[CANDYGIRL]

Windsucking is classed as a behavoural Problem.

It sometimes goes along with crib biting, where the horse bites onto say the top of the stable door, or fence posts.

Windsucking it self is when the horse arches it's neck and sucks in air. This can be the cause of colic. It can be helped by using a crib biting/windsucking coller, which is a tight leater strap, sometime with metal bars, which help stop the horse, from being to arch it's neck and suck in air.

[Cntrysass20]

This may be a matter or opinion per different vets. But a friend has a mare that has a defomity of the vulva lips due to a foaling where she ripped and she would suck air in through her vulva. They had to have her vulva sewed shut to prevent this from happening. They called it "wind sucking" and it can cause infections and later breeding problems as bad as not ever being able to get pregnant. They leave a small opening to let her urinate. After a while they take the stitches out, but the vulva has "grown" together. If they ever want to breed her again she has to have it cut open prior to breeding, let it heal, breed her, and then sew it up till foaling. If this is called by another name then wind sucking, please correct me.

[CANDYGIRL]

I have never heard of that ever being called wind sucking, in fact never heard of the complaint, know of mares, especially thoroughbred that have the opening of their womb sown, so they carry the foal to term, and not abort .

Wind sucking in general is what I described above.

[Blistering Winds]

There is a Vaginal wind sucking. Called pneumovagina. Most just call it windsucking. The conformation of the perineal permits air and fecal material to enter and pool in the vagina area, resulting in a constant source of bacterial infections. Usually seen in elderly, thin, and one who has had several foals over the years. It can occur by aging, weight loss, loss of vaginal fat, tears, etc.

As long as the Cervix is closed, they won't lose the baby normally unless the vagina drops really low or is really long, creating a pull from gravity. But generally, those horses with this issue are sewn up to prevent bacterial infections, which can cause early delivery or loss of the foal.

Then you have what is known as "Cribbing", not windsucking.

Cribbing, by definition, is when the horse sets its front teeth on a horizontal solid object, arches its neck, pulls back, and swallows large gulps of air.

There are different levels of cribbers. Those that just set their teeth on the object and pull, and the severe ones who gulp the air as well.

The cribbing can be "taught" to other horses so it is recommended to remove a cribber from the general populous to prevent the spread of this bad vice.

Does that help at all?

[CANDYGIRL]

That's real weird, cause over here in UK,

Definintion of cribbing is wood chewing, tops of stable doors, post.

Windsucking is like I said, arching of the neck and sucking air in through the mouth either by holding onto something like the top of the stable door, and arching the muscle underneath the neck so they can draw in the air.

Both are considered as behavourial problems, or vices, usually seen in bored, continually stabled/stalled horses, but also as a habit in horses that live out.

Suppose another difference between us and the big blue divide. LIKE IS SAID, THAT IS IN UK, and wouldn't want to argue with my friends.

[Blistering Winds]

Wood Chewing is just that. Wood Chewing.

Yeah...more of us Americans rebelling against the british ways...lol

[CANDYGIRL]

No it's not against anyones ways, just different terms. LOL

[Blistering Winds]

I know...my hubby just got done doing American History class and we've been laughing at everything that American's have changed...down to words just to not be "british" anymore.

It's just so dang hilarious chatting with ya'll and seeing what we use to say in the old days.

[Dawn]

Well, what I've always heard is this. Windsucking could be vaginal as BW described. Or it is a horse "cribbing" without grabbing onto anything. Cribbing, I've never heard called windsucking (even though they do). Wood chewing, is just wood chewing (because they aren't sucking.)