Crib-biting, wind-sucking, weaving and box-walking are stereotypic behaviours in horses that develop as welfare responses to inadequate management. Their presence indicates underlying welfare deficits that cannot be resolved by suppression alone.
Horse stereotypy welfare reflects the profound mismatch between the natural lifestyle of horses (continuous movement, social grazing) and typical stable management (confinement, restricted forage, social isolation). Stereotypies develop as coping mechanisms for frustration and stress — they represent the welfare history of a horse's management. Horses with crib-biting show reduced gastric pH, stronger motivation to perform the behaviour than to eat, and release of endorphins during performance. Anti-crib devices suppress the behaviour while the welfare driver remains. Genuine welfare improvement requires management change: ad libitum hay, social contact, extended turn-out and reduced isolation. Some welfare improvements are achievable even in established stereotypers, though elimination of the behaviour is rarely achieved.