Cribbing or crib biting is a compulsive behavior or “stable vice” seen in some horses. It involves the horse grabbing a solid object, such as the stall door or fence rail, with his incisors, arching his neck, pulling against the object, and sucking in air Cribbing is thought to cause the release of endorphins in the horse’s brain, causing a sensation of pleasure A related habit, wood-chewing, does not involve sucking in air; the horse simply gnaws on wood rails or boards as if they were food
Causes and solutions
Cribbing is usually caused by boredom or anxiety, but usually both causes are related to confinement. It is therefore seen most often in horses that are stalled for long periods. Once a confirmed habit, the horse may crib in other places, even out in a grassy field, though extended turnout does, over time, reduce the frequency and intensity of cribbing.Cribbing can be minimized by having the horse wear a “cribbing strap,” a collar-like device that prevents the horse from swelling its neck to suck in air.
Wood chewing is more often linked to simple boredom or to hunger, though there is also a theory that a mineral deficiency may also be a contributing factor. It is seen both in stalled horses and horses kept in fenced areas with little or no pasture. Unlike cribbing, wood chewing can usually be prevented by either covering exposed wood edges with metal or wire, or by painting wood with a bitter substance, such as carbolinium or a commercial “chew stop” product.
While damage to wood caused by the horse grabbing an object with its teeth can be minimized by covering it with metal, doing so will not stop the act of cribbing itself. Painting wood with a bitter tasting substance may stop a horse from developing the habit or stop the habit if caught early, but it has minimal effect on confirmed cribbers.
Problems with cribbing and wood chewing
Cribbing and wood chewing can harm both the horse and the stable. Horses that crib or chew wood will often do considerable property damage by wearing down stall doors, mangers, and fence rails. Horses with these habits may wear down their incisors faster than the teeth can grow out, leading to deterioration of the teeth and malocclusions, which can take years to correct. Tooth problems can lead to other, more serious complications, such as colic. The act of sucking in air while cribbing has been linked to colic, though it has recently been determined that the horse does not actually swallow the air, as was once thought, and air does not collect in the animal’s stomach.
It is possible that horses prone to cribbing also are simply more prone to colic due to the underlying issues that led to the development of the habit in the first place. Horses that simply chew wood rather than crib are also at risk for colic because they will ingest small amounts of wood, which can directly lead to digestive upset.
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
{ 64 comments… read them below or add one }
← Previous Comments
We used the wire kind of muzzle on our cribbing stallion, but it is hard to eat with it, and he cribs the worst during meal time. We cut out some of the wires, but he figured out how to crib with it, too. I am going to look into the cribbing basket as that sounds like a good idea.
yeah it did. i have him in a miracle collar. he doesnt crib when its on. and i didnt judge. i offered friendly advice.
I always loved horses, but was only able to ride trails occasionally as a child, and took lessons for a very short time. I bought a horse when I was about 30, and that was a disaster, as the horse was, "hot". My daughter also picked up the love of horses, and wanted to ride, or buy a pony. We did buy a pony, but didn't know that much about horses. The kids enjoyed riding her, but she soon became unmanageable, because adults could not ride her. Finally, after selling the pony, my daughter (still intent on the whole horse thing), decided to take lessons. This helped her to learn the basics about riding, basics about horses, do a little showing, etc. I still was uncomfortable bridling a horse, saddling a horse, etc.
The best thing to do is find a barn with a very good trainer. You might even like to watch some of the lessons they are giving other people. Do a little checking to find out who is considered good. A person giving lessons can simply have a horse ready for you to ride, give you a lesson while they are talking to other people, and pay little attention to you, or your actual progress. Find someone who is interested in teaching you about riding, fundamentals of bridling, saddling, and horse safety. Often, a smaller private barn will provide a little more hands-on time, than a larger barn that has a production line of people going through, lesson after lesson. They are not necessarily "bad", but you may not learn as much with them, as someone who can spend a little time with you. Also make sure they are a good rider. Have they been showing their horses, or do their students show at shows other than just their own barn shows? This is not a necessity, but it might show that they are interested in getting better in order to be good enough to do well at shows. You would do well to do anywhere from 6 months of lessons to even a couple of years of lessons with a good trainer, before buying a horse. This does a lot of things for you, including allowing you to ride more than one horse, which is very good for you. Then, if you do decide to buy a horse, make sure you have a very experienced person helping you make your decision, because you can get a horse that is not trained well, too much horse for you, or simply of ill health, which is very difficult to discern. Never purchase a horse without a VET CHECK. The money spent on a vet check can save you more than you might even spend on the horse, and lots of heartache, if the horse is not even rideable, and you have to resell it, perhaps with no success. Get to know horse people, and consider joining a 4H club, because the people in these clubs are usually very helpful, and know quite a lot. These are usually good contacts. Good luck.
I've tried everything with my gelding.
I've tried Chew Stop..it worked while it was still wet but once it dried he went right back to chewing…it smells like Elmer's glue..yick.
I've tried hot sauce…no luck.
I have actually tried soap as well, like get some powder laundry detergent and wet it down so it makes a thick paste, then paint it on the places where he likes to chew. This was recommended by a vet who tells people to use it on bandages to keep horses from taking them off. This had the best results (not to mention made the stall smell great, lol), but you do have to re-apply like every 2 weeks.
My horse didn't crib, but he just liked to chew…but it might work on a cribber too.
I can’t think of a situation where you should just “let” your horse crib. It’s a bad habit that can wear down his incisors, RUIN your fences, water buckets, etc … and overdevelop your horse’s neck muscles (which leads to a decrease in performance, if that’s something you might be worried about). I use a collar on my mare, which helps a lot, and you can also make cribbing less enjoyable for them by painting the highly cribbed areas with cayenne pepper and Vaseline or creosote.
did you know that cribbing can be reduced by detoxing your horse? I just finnished a course at the University of Guelph and learned that horses that cribb usually have toxic kidneys. by detoxing them you can reduse there want to cribb as much, in some cases stop it all together.
how to detox… either ask a vet or, product called "kidney flush" by "omega alpha" is a great way. this is what i use. also, baking soda, veggie oil, and selenium/ vit e supplement also work great. the supplement of vit e and selenium is good way to maintain a horse that is chronic such as yours who cribbs. careful with the selenium tho you can overdose. if you live in canada then fallowing dirrections you wont overdose. if your outside of canada you may want to contact an environmentalist to learn selenium content in the ground.
hope this helps
I made stalls espeacially for cribbers, Every wood edge they can get a tooth on had metal flashing screwed tightly onto it. They dont like the feel of metal on their teeth.
Horses crib for anumber of reasons boredom being one, Lack of nutrition another, and whole list of other reasons they might start. But a little well placed metal trim usually does the trick in stopping it
er than hurt her neck and make her look fugly -__- coarse a lot of different opinions are out there. Fact is, there’s no real way to stop it–but you can lessen it. That’s my opinion.. and I have no idea what this person has used or done, and I don’t mind not knowing, because she’s not my horse–or a horse at my barn. But that’s my opinion take it or leave it. Shazzam,
what is cribbing
I have a cribber, Cribbing is such a pesty thing. To help him, when he is in his stall you can use hot sauce. they dont like the pepper smell or taste. Never smack a horses head, it causes distrust and head shyness.
-cribbing muzzle.
-cribbing rings ( i dont like them)
-they have surgery, they go in and cut muscles in the neck.
- supplements.
warning about collars: They can be dangerous. When your horse is eating loosen it up, when a horse is whereing a cribbing collar it squeezes the passage where the food passes, making it hard for the horse to eat and it might cause an abstruction.
None, sweetie. Wind sucking and cribbing are the same… where a horse grabs a rail pulls back, swallows air—you hear a gulping sound… The animal does this repeatedly, and no one knows really why… perhaps they get a bit of a high doing it. And no one knows why one horse will watch another do it and never pick it up. As well, a horse that is with others who do not crib, will pick up the habit. It is considered a stable vice, but even horses in pasture will do it…. even wild ones, tho it is far more common in domesticated, corralled or pent horses.
It makes the neck thicker ( and in so doing, it make the conformation unbalanced. Thick necks in Quarter Horses and Arabs as well as other animals judged in halter classes are marked down for it.), increases chances of colic, and if the horse is sold, and the new owner was not told, it is grounds for a law suit. In public sales, the fact that a horse is a cribber must be disclosed in the catalog.
Truthfully, I have never seen one of those collars work for more than a month. Once you start the bad habit, it is hard to quit- usually cribbing comes along by putting your horse in a stall too long. We bought a cribber from someone who kept him in a stall 18 hrs a day- he is now outside 24/7 (w/ shelter) and has not cribbed since.
You can try putting that icky pepper (but non toxic) horse paint that most horse supply stores sell- though it is a stain so your wood would be a different color there. I have also seen pepper juice used with success on a small area that the horse cribbed- but tried on it on another horse- the horse cribbed more- liked the jalapeno taste.
That is almost impossible!! Worst habit ever.
Those collars are so bad though. I would never put one on my horses. they are pretty cruel. but i understand because that habit awful. Have you tryed the spray?? You spray it on the wood and it tastes really bad and they sometimes stop. Or maybe a muzzle. haha .
Cribbing can cause long term health problems and other horses can learn the behavior when exposed to another with the habit. Take this into consideration! Here is an excellent article with more detail:
← Previous Comments