This is an educational video for people wanting to know about windsucking. We are not experts, but as we run a rescue facility we have learned some things along the way. There are a lot of different trains of thought about what causes windsucking and not a lot of conclusive proof. One supposed cause is early weaning. Whether it be the stress of being weaned too soon, or that they are introduced to the wrong kinds of feed too soon. Other potential causes are boredom or stress, and the list goes on. What is clear is that what seems to start out as something to do, soon turns into a very difficult to break habit. There is some debate as to whether or not windsucking horses get an endorphin rush when they suck. There is also some debate that windsucking promotes increased saliva, which gives them pain relief if they have gut problems. Often windsuckers and gastric ulcers go hand in hand, so this makes some sense. But I question whether the windsucking causes the ulcers, or the pain of gastric ulcers can be enough to cause the windsucking. There is also some belief that other horses can learn the behaviour. I have not personally had it picked up by any other horses here and our horses are in shared paddocks, but that is not to say it doesn’t happen. I personally believe each horse is different and different things trigger windsucking for different horses. Windsuckers cause premature wear on their front incisors, they can be prone to colic, and it is often very difficult …