Stall Walking

I have a yearling Thoroughbred that constantly circumnavigates his stall. This is causing an uneven wear pattern on his hooves. How do I stop him from doing this? We do not want to put him in a standing stall, and have tried hanging a tire…
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Q:I have a yearling Thoroughbred that constantly circumnavigates his stall. This is causing an uneven wear pattern on his hooves. How do I stop him from doing this? We do not want to put him in a standing stall, and have tried hanging a tire in the stall to no avail. He is outside when the weather is good and is quite happy there.


A:Stall walking is commonly thought of as being a problem brought on by boredom. However, evidence has shown that this behavior is caused more by confinement, lack of interaction with other horses, and the lack of grazing. These two behaviors are basic to horses, and it is when they are deprived of these very basic equine needs that stall walking and weaving generally show up.

Stall walking can be further broken down into two categories. The first one being frantic stall walking, where the horse is walking around rapidly and probably defecating. This indicates that the horse is extremely upset, commonly caused by separation. Separation anxiety is characterized by the horse neighing, which is an isolation call.

The second type of stall walking is classified as a stereotypic behavior. This is generally a response to a poor environment, which some horses can cope with and others can’t. This is seen with the horse walking slowly around the stall leaving a worn-down trail

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Written by:

Katherine Houpt, VMD, PhD, Dipl. ACVB, is Emeritus Professor at Cornell University and the Director of Animal Behavior Consultants of Northern Michigan.

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