A Pilot Study to Determine Whether a Tongue-Activated Liquid Dispenser Would Mitigate Abnormal Behavior in Pasture-Restricted Horses

Stereotypic behavior in horses, including cribbing and weaving, can be attributed to a number of different factors including the number of hours in a stall, number of grazing opportunities, number of times fed hay in a day, and the ability to touch other horses. By providing environmental enrichment that allows for feed availability for a longer time period, a reduction of stereotypic behaviors could be seen. A behavioral tool, a tongue-activated liquid dispenser, was tested to determine whether the device itself could reduce stereotypic behaviors. Four horses, two weavers and two cribbers were studied over a 4-day period. Each horse acted as it's own control in a randomized block design. On average, data trended toward a treatment effect depending on the day.