Do you know that CRIBBING is not only rough on barns and fences, but it also may be detrimental to a horse’s health? The horse wears down his teeth and swallows air, which can lead to inappropriate digestion and colic. Cribbing can lead to serious health problems, such as poor digestion, colic, and various dental problems.
Cribbing is an obsessive-compulsive behavior when a horse chews on wood and swallows air. The cribber uses its upper teeth to grab a stationary object, such as a fence board, and then arches its neck, pulls backwards while swallowing air and grunting. Other horses crib by resting their incisors on an object without grasping it; still others rest their chin on an object and swallow air.
WHY DO HORSES CRIB?
It’s not known what causes cribbing in horses.
There appears to be an inherited susceptibility to STRESS in horses, so genetics are part of the answer. When a horse cribs, it is believed that his body releases endorphins, which stimulate the pleasure center of his brain as why it is such an addictive habit, and such a hard one to break. This may explain why horses crib when under stress, as well. A horse’s INABILITY TO GRAZE can be a significant stress that is commonly thought to lead to repetitive cribbing behavior.
IMPROPER DIET AND FEEDING PRACTICES are commonly cited as factors that may lead to cribbing. Improper diet and feeding is also thought to contribute to cribbing, perhaps because it may cause a horse more stress.
Another popular theory is that cribbing is due to BOREDOM, AND LACK OF EXERCISE. Horses kept stalled are more likely to become Cribbers than horses that are allowed to roam in a pasture. Semi-wild horses or horses in the wild or in the pasture naturally spend 90% of their time grazing and are less likely to crib.
Every horse handles stress differently, some better than others. It appears that susceptibility to stress in horses is INHERITED, so genetics may play a part also.
WHAT IS THE TREATMENT FOR A CRIBBER?
Food – Horses need to eat throughout the day and keep their minds active lest they become bored and stressed, since boredom is the most common reason why a horse will pick up the cribbing habit.
Cribbing Straps – Crib straps aren’t perfect but they do succeed in suppressing many cribbers, so it’s an inexpensive option that’s worth a try.
Electro-Shock Collars – These collars are worn around the upper neck just like a crib strap; the strap emits an electric shock to shock the horse each time he takes hold of a fence to crib.
Electric Fencing – Stringing electric fencing along the top of any paddock and/or pasture fences is an effective way to stop them from cribbing on fences. Electric fencing is highly encouraged since it will effectively stop cribbing in its tracks on the protected locations.
Chew Stop And Related Products – Some Non-Toxic Products are now available in the market. These can be sprayed or painted on popular cribbing areas to lend a very unappetizing taste and smell, thereby discouraging a cribber from taking hold of the area. These products are typically recognized as the most humane and cost effective methods to stop your horse from cribbing.
Surgical Procedure – This procedure entails cutting some of the muscles and nerves in the ventral neck region as well as the removal of some muscle tissue.
Anti-depressant – It is an injected to the animal, which prohibits the creation of endorphins, thereby suppressing the natural high a horse gains when he cribs. This is not a practical solution since the effects are short-lived, but further research is being done on similar drugs that may have a longer lasting effect.
MORE TIPS AND PREVENTIVE MEASURES
Once a horse starts cribbing it is difficult to get them to stop. The best thing is to try to distract and prevent it from occurring in the first place. One of the most common aids in breaking your horse from the cribbing habit are:
-Allow your horse as much pasture time, in as big a pasture as possible
-Spend time training and handling the horse to help prevent boredom.
-Provide your horse with a companion, preferably another horse, but goats also often make good companions for horses.
-Distract your horse with multiple feedings; pasture time and toys before the habit becomes ingrained.
-Allow your horse access to fresh grass, or grass hay at all times.
To date we know of no proof or studies that indicate a horse learns to crib from being around a cribber, and it is likely that several factors come in to play to cause this disorder.
Finally, if your horse suddenly picks up cribbing and doesn’t seem to have developed it from one of the normal causes, it would be a good idea to ask your veterinarian to check your horse and make sure there isn’t a medical cause for the cribbing.
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{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
Cribbing can be a result of lot of things, sometimes it's just a bad habit, like a drug habit.
This is a very good discussion forum (vets are included, so the comments are backed up with facts) regarding the treatment of Cribbing by treating ulcers.
Cribbing is by no means the same as wood chewing. There are many resources on the net that explains the differences and treatment help for both.
Bull…if a horse is cirbbing badly then you can't say they aren't stressed or on a correct diet/exercise program. These are the causes. Horses will not do it because of habit or by watching another horse crib. Is he on a high-carb diet(especially one containing molasses)? Increase his turnout for one, put him on a low carb diet(slowly of course) and if he travels a lot then travel less.
The only thing I have found that is 100% effective is to smear fresh horse manure on the places where the horse is cribbing. Of course, this treatment has it's limitations but it was very effective on the gate I wanted to protect, the horse never grabbed it again. Is he cribbing or chewing wood? These are two different things. Cribbing is where they grab the wood, flex at the poll and suck air in, making a grunting sound. Chewing wood is completely different. Many horses don't crib when they are turned out, is she getting plenty of turnout? Can you build her stall in such a way that there is nothing for her grab on to? I lined my old gelding's stall with plywood sheets so he couldn't grab the wood. I put nails in the top of all the fence posts so he couldn't grab them. I took his feed bucket down so he couldn't crib on that.
The stable manager is allowed to make those decisions, but you're right to be concerned about the risk of potential injuries. Try speaking with the barn manager, and explain your concerns. If s/he is truly concerned about the welfare of the horses, hopefully s/he will reconsider this new rule. Good luck!
Well it wont hurt him my horse eats on my pine trees when shes turned out.
I would go for lessons at a nearby stable first to decide how you like the real thing first. Sign on to clean stalls, groom after you learn how and help out all you can. If they offer lease horses, go in on one before you buy one. This will help you do the best for your own horse. If you just want one to be a pasture . you don't need to know how to ride it, but you'll want a vet who can come out and check it at least once a year and a farrier to care for its feet. Groomimg this horse may be nice also.
DONT DONT DONT!!!
I will never buy another horse that cribs. I paid $6000 for a paint stud that died by the time he was 7. When a horse cribs they suck in air and they think they are full so they wont graze as much. You will notice a weight drop. Then cribbing will wear their top teeth down and they will drop their feed all over the place. It makes them very weak. If i would have known about cribbing horses i would never have wasted my money. My mother actually bought a "shock collar" that is $400 and is gauranteed to stop a horse from cribbing. He ignored it. Cribbing collars didnt work. Even though you can buy stuff to paint on your fences, it wont help. My stallion started cribbing on gates, then the water troughs, soon he would turn his head sideways and crib on the trees.
Hope this helps.
Good Luck and Happy Trails.
AHAH. look who is talking!!! the one that accused me of doing a horse =; EHEM EHEM =)))
I'm really into natural horsemanship and care, and if you can solve your problem with out devices..or "short-cuts" as I call them, witch only masks the deeper problem, instead of solving it, I certainly would! Anyway, cribbing collars only help keep a horse from cribbing in the first place. Once the horse has got a taste of those endorphins, no stupid strap of leather is going to stop him! And Someone once told me that her horse actually liked the taste of those weird fluids, and cribbed more after it was applied!
Whoo! If you really have found a way to stop cribbers, you've just found the equine version of a cure for cancer! Way to go! hehe!
do we have to deal with bacteria since sugar is an organic compound?
Our mare began cribbing a couple years ago, and I had awesome luck with just a French style cribbing strap. I tried the miracle collar first with no results, and then tried this … again with no results. But this one… has worked awesome. She wears it whenever she is in her stall with no issues. I don't generally turn her out with it except in the winter when they tend to get bored a bit quicker.
I am the same height as your friend, and I fit comfortably on horses 15.3h and up. Although a little shorter ( around 15.2) would be fine as well. As far as weight goes, I would recommend a fairly stocky horse. Probably upwards of 1100lbs. Finding a horse with a short back, with no sway is very important- a horse with a short back can carry more weight comfortably.
His breakthroughs are amazing!
I love this horse….I want to sit with him in the car…..love to be able to kiss his sweet face…
You need to be honest with them..If you dont know how to ride that well and if you dont have alot of experience with horses you can get seriously hurt or killed…and if you do not know alot about taking care of horses you can kill the horse as well. Your dealing with a 900-1000 lb animal that has a mind of its own. It can be dangerous at times, and making someone believe that you know what your doing can get you hurt.
Yes. For about 2 days! Horses need room to run. Locking them in a stall 24 hours a day isnt natural…. A healthy horse is an outside horse!
Have you tried a crib halter it works on some horses others they dont care also try stuff for wood that makes it taste bad and hot sauce but otherwise i dont think there is a complete breaker of that habit.
i've seen it done. I personally do not know if the cribbing collar is effected or not by the use of the halter.
In my personal experience, I have taken off the halter when using the cribbing collar.
What your horse is doing is not cribbing, but it could lead to this. This habit can cause damage to the teeth and cause injuries from splinters. This may begin as a result of a dietary problems – lack of mineral/vitamins and fibre. To stop this you can smear cribox over the wood.If the problem persists, call the vet. In extreme circumstances the use of a muzzle, cradle or grass reins may help. Try also to give the horse something to take his mind off of it, by giving him a mineral lick, or you can get these balls which can be filled with treats, or a fancy lick which you can hang from the middle of the stable top. Cribbing is where the horse grabs hold of projecting wood and with his inscior teeth and bites.
– this again is caused by boredom, and can damage the teeth, and when progressed on to wind-sucking, can cause rispiratory problems.
Wind-sucking is where the horse arches his neck and takes in air – it is associated with cribbing and is again caused by boredom.
Do try to get the horse out of a stable as much as possible, look at his diet, and smear cribox onto the wood.
OK, from a horse owner i know this problem is not rare and to fix it is different for each horse. I have a horse that doe sthis too, and i have a collar on him, which wokrs most of the time, just a basic collar, you can buy extravagant ones, but they can look ferochous and deadly, just go to your feed suplier or saddlery and ask for a collar, and pick one for your price range.
I also made this herbal remody, which i saw work really well, so long as it doesn't rain, i'll go into that in a sec…But….Its a bordem thing, they get bored and they only thing to do it crib! So try to find toys such as treat balls and even soccer balls. Carrots hanging from the roof, apples with molasses in them.
OK, the herbal thing, i used heaps of chillies chopped up thinnly and boiled to get the hottness to become a pulp. Then add heaps of pepper, and garlic, things that will tase yuk and make the horse think otherwise. Just spray on the areas he's cribbing, or, make it into a think paste and paint onto the fence posts and around the stable walls. After he trys to crib, he wont go back, repeat when he starts to crib again, and sooner or lter, he'll stop!
stuff2tweet: How to stop horses from cribbing
patches will be one of the few horses to die of cholesterol caused cardiac arrest. because he trys to defy these laws its like a kid starting crack and then his parents buying it for him.my point is its not healthy and it will eventually kill him,painfully most likely. also just because you like it and can doesnt mean you do thats for people and animals
damn my big horse does the same thing and he has worn his front teeth pretty bad i have use everything from used oil to vinager paint thinner and nuthing has worked i have ever pissed on the barn steps and he still does it i don’t know how to make him stop
I had a gelding once that literally lived to crib. It is SOOO annoying, isn't it?
He loved to crib certain things and finally I just doused his entire stall in McNasty and then again with Tabasco sauce. When we went to shows, I'd do it again in the show stall. Then one day he finally quit.
I'm not sure this is a full-proof method but it worked for me!
RT AP accuses CNN of cribbing material after canceling wire service…
that causes colic
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’m also at a loss of what to do. I have a 14yr old warmblood who is a chronic cribber and i suspect has been for many years. (i only bought him 18 months ago after he had been thru hoof rehab – poor sod has alot going on).
The dentist has said that he MUST stop cribbing as his teeth are practically worn to the gums.
For the first year i had him at a riding school – he arrived there as a cribber and unfortunately, he had to stand in for most of the day and he just cribbed all day – on the water feeder. I have since moved him to a place where he is out 24/7 in a large field with other horses, grazing and plenty of haylage. i have managed to stop his nasty in-stable cribbing (where he would take a mouthful of food – crib – mouthful – crib … etc by spraying the spot he tried to crib on with that stop-bite stuff. he now does not even try to crib while in the stable (well, at least when i’m watching) – and i always turn him back out asap (i believe horses need to be out – and him especially as he has a rubbish lymphatic system & needs to keep moving to prevent circulation issues) He is the top-dog in his field, so there is minimal stress out there.
He’s often seen cribbing on fence posts & gates & I tried the spray outside on the post … and he simply moved away and went straight back to it. (sigh)
Now it is heading for winter and they have a large hay feeder in the field – made of metal and he is back to eat-crib-eat-crib.
HELLLP! i can see that stopping him is going to be difficult and tbh i really just want to protect his teeth. does anyone have any ideas as to what to cover a metal hay-feeder railing with to at least protect his teeth?
And yes, i do suspect ulcers … but i need to deal with both issues together or it will be a vicious circle – ulcers cause cribbing for relief – causes more ulcers – causes cribbing … or so i’m led to believe.
Help please (sorry its soooo long)
Thanks