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  Discussion on Wind Sucking
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New Member:
wbreeder

Posted on Sunday, Dec 21, 2008 - 12:30 pm:

I have read all of the posts on wind sucking and cribbing. Most or the posts are dated a year or so ago, so I thought I would post a new thread to get some dialogue and any new thoughts or remedies.

Situation / Environment: I have a coming two year old filly that started wind sucking three months ago. She has 24x7 turnout in a 20 acre paddock, free access to grass through the growing season and good quality free choice hay during the winter months. She comes into the barn 1x daily for her supplements and a handful of grain. She lives in a herd of 20 other youngsters and is upper mid-range in the pecking order. She has almost no stress in her life and a very natural herd environment with virtually no boredom.

Symptoms: She started wind sucking three months ago during the 15 minutes she is in a stall for her daily supplements. She will wind suck while she is waiting for her ration and then again after eating while she is waiting to be turned back out. Occasionally we will see her wind sucking in the field, normally while standing near the gate waiting to come in or immediately after being turned back out. She does not crib on wood. What she does is put her nose in the air and slightly to the left, makes a face like she is trying to get peanut butter off the roof of her mouth, then flexes the muscles near her esophagus. We initially thought the issue was tooth related since she always tips her nose the same way and since it is most often noticed right after she eats her supplements. We had the vet power float her teeth (she did have a couple of points on the left side and is starting to develop a wave mouth on the left). When the wind sucking persisted, we had the vet re-check her teeth a month later and he said that she was in the process of losing her back baby molars and we should re-check her teeth in another 6 months. The only other thing we noticed with her 3 months ago when this started was that she developed a hay belly. We do rotational worming on the herd, but I wanted to rule out any parasites, so we started her on a daily wormer. They hay belly is now gone.

What next? We are now into the 3rd month of this wind sucking and I am concerned that she is developing a vice. I am ready to try a Miracle Collar or other alternatives to hopefully resolve the issue before she gets any older and before we begin her pre-backing training which will be in approximately 8 months.

I welcome any comments or suggestions. Thanks in advance.

Dr. O.... can you help me diagnose / resolve her problem? Thanks. I would also be happy to put you in contact with her vet.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Dec 22, 2008 - 12:04 pm:

Welcome Annetta,
I would consider radiography and scoping for some sort of pharyngeal disease and gastric ulcers. If these are ruled out would it be possible to feed her outside rather than bringing her in? Or possibly one of the metal equine stall mirrors may provide a stimulation that would prevent this.
DrO
New Member:
wbreeder

Posted on Monday, Dec 22, 2008 - 6:05 pm:

Dr. Oglesby -- Thanks for your reply.

My local vet does not have the appropriate equipment for a pharyngeal Xray and frankly, he told me to not worry about the problem until sometime after the next floating (late Spring for this filly). Taking her to the University for the Xray and scoping seems a bit extreme / expensive (but I am willing to do so if this problem persists). In the mean time, how would I diagnose if she has gastric ulcers?

I have been watching her quite closely since my last post and found that she is wind sucking on an off during the day while she is standing at the outdoor hay bin with her friends. She is only in a stall 15 minutes a day and is slated to become a fancy dressage performance mare or jumper, so she will be stalled extensively when she matures (but not now). Thus, eliminating her 15 minutes in the stall would obviously not resolve the problem outdoors and we need to resolve the issue prior to her being introduced to much more stall confinement in her 3 year old year.

Is it appropriate to consider a Miracle Collar as a next step? Any other ideas?
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Dec 23, 2008 - 8:57 am:

We discuss the diagnosis of ulcers with and without scopes at Diseases of Horses » Colic, Diarrhea, GI Tract » Gastric Ulcers » Gastric Ulcers in Adult Horses. I cannot make the judgement of whether this would be appropriate for your case, but I would consider a cribbing collar would be an appropriate next step once you have exhausted all of the other practical diagnostic and therapeutic steps available to you.
DrO
New Member:
wbreeder

Posted on Tuesday, Dec 23, 2008 - 9:23 am:

Dr. Oglesby --
I reviewed the material related to mature (and foal) gastric ulcers. The yearling / coming 2-year old filly in question has none of the clinical signs of ulcer, is not in training, is not stabled and has not ever needed any NSAID therapy. If she shows clinical signs of gastric ulcer in the future, I will certainly investigate and treat ulcers if diagnosed.

In the mean time, we do know that she had (or has) a teething problem with the eruption of her permanent molars that was sufficiently aggravating for her to grind her teeth on the left side. Local vet is guessing that she learned that wind sucking releases endorphins and is pleasurable. Due to the performance career we expect for her, we need to try to resolve either the root cause for her wind sucking or if it is behavioral, work to remedy the behavior. I will order a Miracle Collar today and will also monitor her teething situation and watch for clinical signs of ulcer / stress.

If you think I should try anything else during the next couple of months, please advise. I will update this post on her progress.
New Member:
wbreeder

Posted on Friday, Mar 27, 2009 - 12:16 pm:

I wanted to update the post on this filly. The problem was related to the painful eruption of her rear molars. During the 3-months that she was having the teething problem (first on the top then on the bottom), she would roll her tongue around in her mouth in an effort to massage the painful area. It appears that she accidently learned that sticking her nose in the air and gulping air released endorphins that helped her to cope with the teething process. Our concern was that she would continue to wind-suck after her teething problem was resolved.

What we did... 1) Vet checked her teeth twice during this period and identified the teething problem. 2) We placed a Miracle Collar on her so that she could not wind suck in an effort to stop her from developing an ongoing wind sucking habit.

Result.... Once her molars erupted, her pain went away. She is now pain free and no longer needs the Miracle Collar.

Our advice.... When you first see signs of a wind sucking habit, try to determine the root cause and treat. Also, in our case, placing a Miracle Collar on this filly stopped her from developing a bad habit.
New Member:
dcilia

Posted on Tuesday, Nov 9, 2010 - 1:21 pm:

Hi WB,

I've stumbled upon your posting because I also have a two-year-old that has recently started wind sucking. This summer he had large lumps on his jaw from molar eruptions that I could tell were painful and this is the first time I have put the two events together. Everyone mentions stress but he also lives in a pasture with his herdmates and only comes in for brief feeding times or training sessions. His life has almost zero stress, so your post is a revelation to me. Now that his molars are presumably in (the dentist is coming Monday to double-check) I'm turning my attention to the wind-sucking. I'm ordering a collar. How long did you have to use it? A few weeks...a few months? I assume you took it off for a little while each day. Did she go back to wind sucking during that time? I'm trying to get a feel for how long it took you to break her habit. My colt's isn't too ingrained and I'm hopeful I can also have the success you have had.
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