Stable vices

They are usually undesirable habits that often develop as a result of being confined in a stable with boredom, hunger, isolation, excess energy, or insufficient exercise.

[2] It was once thought that stable vices may be learned by observing other horses already performing the behaviors, but studies on the topic to date have failed to establish this as a cause.

[11] Also, in the wild, horses are constantly grazing; they are called trickle feeders because they continuously eat small amounts of forage throughout the day, except the approximately 2 hours that they spent sleeping.

[11] This can be problematic as this system of equine husbandry completely ignores certain basic needs, such as social interactions, foraging, and locomotion.

[12] Behavioral problems can also develop because the horse is in pain from the ulcers that are a result of the low quantities of forage.

There are stopgap "cures" that can be provided in the stall to keep a horse busy or out of trouble, including increased exercise, feeding of larger quantities of lower-quality food (so the animal spends more time eating and less time being bored), feeding more frequently, or cutting back on grain or other high-energy concentrates.