Equine Health

Medicine & Husbandry

Stall Mirrors Stop Weaving Vice

An English research team has completed a study on “weaving” behavior in horses confined to stalls. The team of scientists from The Lincolnshire School of Agriculture in England placed shatterproof acrylic mirrors in each stall and within 24 hours the weaving had either completely stopped or dramatically reduced. The study suggests that the mirror image reduces the sense of social isolation that horses in stalls may feel. The horses in the study spent about 25% of their time facing the mirrors and a normal percentage of time eating and gazing out the stall door.