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Unfortunately, this behavior is not curable, but with proper care and attention, it can be managed. In a last attempt, there’s a surgery that can be performed to modify the muscles in the neck. There are products you can paint on the surfaces around your barn. Some people swear by hot sauce or soap on fence rails and posts. Cribbing cannot be cured entirely, but there are steps you can take to reduce the behavior and limit the damage it might cause. Different methods of deterrant will work for different horses, so you may need to experiment to find the right solution for your needs.
In this surgery, some of the horse’s neck muscles or nerves are cut, making the cribbing flex impossible. It can cause physical injury to the horse who indulges in it. One major issue is air in the stomach, which can lead to potentially deadly colic. Bear in mind that horses can neither belch nor vomit, so trapped gas in the stomach can lead to rupture. Even if it doesn’t get that far, swallowing air can lead to discomfort, which in turn might encourage the horse to engage in more cribbing, thus making the issue even worse. The first and most obvious issue you might encounter as a horse owner is damage to property.
Preventing Boredom to Discourage Cribbing
Boredom, temperament, stress, diet, and genetics may play a part in developing the vice. Another way to reduce cribbing is to make the surfaces your horse cribs-on less desirable. Cover tops of door with rounded metal edges or paint boards and doors with anti-chew spray or cayenne pepper. Recovery from the habit of cribbing is not likely to happen totally and permanently. If you have several horses who engage in this practice and if you feel they may be teaching each other, it would be wise to separate them if at all possible.
Digestive issues There is evidence to suggest that horses may crib to alleviate gastrointestinal distress. Talk to your veterinarian about adding an antacid to your horse’s diet. Early weaning Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do about this one if your horse comes to you as an adult. However, find out when and how he was weaned – foals weaned early and fed too much concentrate can have a higher risk of cribbing.
Cribbing Collars
Regular exercise to eliminate excessive energy and to provide stimulation is also important. Since cribbing is considered a behavior rather than a disease, it will likely be a challenge to stop or prevent. Total prevention is likely not a result that you should expect. There are cribbing halters and straps that can be utilized which will make it uncomfortable for your horse to engage in the repeated motions necessary for cribbing. Giving your horse the opportunity to lick or chew on a salt block throughout the day and night is another possible option for treatment.
On the surface, the behavior doesn’t seem like it should be especially damaging. It produces a measurable physical effect in the body by slowing the animal’s heart rate, lowering cortisol levels and releasing endorphins. Cribbing an also boost saliva production, which may help to ease some kinds of stomach pain. “Those are likely horses that at some point had a management where they were stalled more often than a horse in the pasture,” said Riggs. Shari Frederick, BS, NMD, LE, a nutritional educator, assists horseowners in making healthier, more natural choices in horse care.
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Another common belief that turns out to be true, at least in some cases, is that cribbing can be caused by feeding too much grain. Horses whose diets contain mostly hay and pasture are much less likely to develop cribbing tendencies than those who frequently receive grain or sweet feed. If a freshly weaned young horse is immediately started on grain, the likelihood of cribbing goes up even higher. Because cribbing produces so many pleasure signals in the horse’s brain, the behavior can become addictive. This is why it can be extremely difficult to curb the behavior once it’s started. Toys may be a good idea to encourage natural oral behavior and prevent the development of cribbing in young horses who must be kept on stall rest.
And, even if you do control it well, and then sell the horse, it many start cribbing gain in its new home. So, if you’re selling a cribber, you must tell the new owner that the horse has this vice. Information in this article is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for evaluation by an equine professional.
For the past two years, I've been writing for a living, and I enjoy every opportunity to combine my two passions. Cribbing has not been reported in feral horses that are free ranging, explained Mastellar. Here is a comprehensive guide to cribbing – what it is, what to watch out for, and how to stop it.
Because stomach discomfort may contribute to cribbing, have your horse seen by the vet if you haven't already. That way, the vet can rule out any stomach problems, such as ulcers or other intestinal issues, that you'll want to get taken care of. In some cases, a horse may become so addicted to the cribbing behavior that he stops eating or engaging in other healthy activities. The cribbing obsession becomes all-consuming, even causing behavioral issues and distractions while riding.
Rather, horses in the same vicinity that all share the cribbing habit, are most likely exposed to the same stressors. Since horses have limited ways in which to show their stress, they each choose to crib. They have chosen this independently of one another, not learned from one another. Also referred to as wind sucking, cribbing can be described as the horse gulping air at the same time as biting on an object, such as a paddock fence or stall door. Cribbers should have access to turnout and the opportunity to socialize with other horses.
You can eliminate cribbing surfaces or electrify cribbing surfaces such as fence posts. A toy has been shown to reduce cribbing rates, as has more outdoor activity and socialization. Cribbing is characterized by a horse grabbing a horizontal object with its upper incisors and pulling against the object with an arched neck. Then the horse sucks in a large amount of air and makes a characteristic grunting sound.
Horses on open pasture, especially those who have a buddy or two, are much less likely to develop cribbing behavior. Horse chestnut is an herbal extract from horse chestnut trees. It's a traditional European herbal remedy for horse hoof pathology and varicose veins in humans. It can improve blood circulation and relieve swelling in the horse's hooves, but it seems to have no effect on cribbing or wind sucking. A mineral block is a type of cribbing deterrent that releases bitter-tasting pellets when the horse licks it.
There are two reasons for cribbing that I feel are most important to address, due to the fact that, if true, your horse could be suffering. These are that horses crib out of anxiety or out of stomach/gastric pain. One option might be to provide the horse with a board with a rubber surface he can grip with less damage to his teeth. It may take some training, but the horse can be encouraged to use the board rather than the fences or other structures. “There is no way to really stop the cribbing but a person might redirect it—to be better for the horse and the facilities,” Munsterman says.
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