Motivation for cribbing by horses
Publication Type: |
Journal Article |
Year of Publication: |
2012 |
Authors: |
K. A. Houpt |
Publication/Journal: |
Animal Welfare |
Keywords: |
animal welfare, crib, crib-biting, horse, horses, operant conditioning, stereotypic behavior, stereotypic behaviour |
Abstract:
The motivation to crib was compared to the motivation to eat. Eight horses (Equus caballus) were operantly conditioned to push a switch for the opportunity to crib. When a progressive ratio was imposed, they worked as hard for a cribbing opportunity as for the opportunity to eat sweetened grain indicating a high demand. Another measure of motivation is the effort expended by the animal. The force exerted when a horse cribs was measured by attaching weights to a door and observing how heavy the weights had to be to prevent the horse from pulling a door toward itself when it cribbed. Seven horses were tested. Each neck flex of a crib-biting action was forceful enough to lift 29.4 (± 5) kg. The motivation to crib and the force involved indicates that thwarting cribbing is a welfare issue.