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Cribbing?

2K views 16 replies 9 participants last post by  Merlinsimage 
#1 ·
I recently bought a 4 y/o OTTB who is absolutely lovely. He's extremely quiet and when he arrived Friday (the 21st) he barely even looked around before going over to munch on hay; he's definitely not the rambunctious type. I've ridden him a few times since he came and he was very calm and didn't seem stressed out at all. However when I gave him some bran mash yesterday (which I don't think he has ever had and wasn't quite sure what to do with) he started cribbing on the edge of the feed bin. Not a lot, but in the 20 minutes I watched him he probably sucked 3 or so times. He went back and forth between the hay rack and the feed bin in an all wood stall and didn't touch anything else. A few hours later I gave him his grain and he again cribbed once or twice. I've noticed out in the field he'll occasionally chew the fence but he is only chewing, not cribbing, and the behavior stops after a few minutes. I purchased him from a private farm (VERY honest seller and I'm certain if there were any indications of cribbing prior to my purchasing him, she would have told me) where he came in at night and was in fields with wood fencing. He didn't crib at all this morning (I was out with him for about an hour) but I want to be sure that he doesn't start up again.
Is there anything I can do to help prevent it before it becomes an issue, or should I even be worried? I could probably buy a miracle collar this afternoon, but I don't know if he would really need it since I've only seen him crib a few times... Could it be stress-related? As I said before, he's very quiet and doesn't appear stressed (eating/drinking normally, normal stool, etc.) but I know horses are great at internalizing things like that. He's also on the thin side, if that makes a difference. (Working on putting some weight on him...he isn't sickly thin by any means, just a typical TB. I know low body weight can be an indicator of cribbing, but I'm fairly certain that isn't the case with him.) Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry in advance for my lack of knowledge on the topic. All our other horses are very very easy keepers and don't crib, so I'm just going off my past experiences from when we boarded.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Some Cribbers do it out of habit, some do it because they have ulcers, Or like my mare, it's an addiction.

Have a vet look for ulcers, and get a crib collar. Some brands of Crib Collars don't work so your going to have to ask around. If the horse does have ulcers my vet told me Alfalfa hay can help as well as an ulcer supplement. If you don't want to call a vet, get the crib collar and watch him. If he gains weight without trouble then drastically drops it he could defiantly have ulcers. If not its a habit out of boredom that probably started on the track.

There is a spray, No Chew type of thing, that you can spray on the wooden surfaces but you'll need to do it often specially if there is a lot of rain. Some horses it works with, some it doesn't.

Another thing is, if its your property a string of lightly electrified wire along the top can help lower the amount of places for them to crib on.



Basically from what I learned from my vet, Cribbing makes them "high" so the more they do it the more of an addiction they can get. I've used the no cribbing/chew sprays with my mare, the crib collar they didn't work but shes a mild cribber, only doing it when shes stressed or extremely bored.

In short my advice is, get a vet to check for ulcers and invest in a crib collar that best works for your horse. Other then that its all you can do till you know what causes him to crib.

Edit:
The miracle collar doesn't really work, my horse, she cribs even with that on and the old TB mare she's pastured with cribs and has the same brand of collar on. I've been told before they really don't work. But dumby me it was cheap and I bought it.

Stress and boredom is usually what causes it. So being in a new place and not having much to do is probably why he is cribbing. Also if he's that mild of a cribber its possible they didn't notice it. My mare was sold to me and the old owner said "Oh she doesn't crib" but like yours when I brought her home, she cribbed a bit, then would eat, crib a bit then eat. She doesn't do it how ever when she has some sweet feed in her diet. I guess it gives her the "energy" thats similar to what she gets from cribbing.

This is what I learned from my vet and personal experience so yours is most likely different in many factors.

Hope it helps ^^
 
#3 ·
Maybe I'll try to get spray. He's only done it in the stall, so it wouldn't be too difficult to get a good coating. We've made our own for a horse we used to have who just chewed wood that seemed to work okay.

I'm hoping it's just a stress thing, because he hasn't done it since... We've had pretty crappy weather and he was in basically all yesterday and all last night and there were no chew marks and he was quiet every time I was out. I'll just keep a really close watch on him and if he does it again I'll definitely try a collar.
 
#4 ·
Stress will definitely increase or start cribbing behavior, and moving to a new place is a lot of stress, even if the horse seems calm. My horse, who I was told "might" crib "a little," cribbed nearly constantly when I brought him home, even though he's a super mellow, laid back horse.

If this really is a new behavior, I'd definitely try and nip it in the bud before it becomes a habit. I used the Miracle Collar at first on my horse, since that's the only collar I saw other people using, but the front strap had to be SO tight that I felt bad, not to mention it rubbed on his forelock and temples, even with the fleece covers. I switched to the Dare Cribbing Collar, which is now (after about 6 months) leaving a small rub on the bridlepath, but overall I still like it MUCH better.
 
#5 ·
I agree with the above comments, I do also know a ottb who wouldn't stop cribbing and she would do the grain cribbing, she did out of boredom and also just getting used to it and getting addicted, you could try some toys in the stall like a jolly ball or a lick it to keep him busy. Also I think the spray is a good option as well, and stress could and would play a big part in it. Maybe just wait to see if he stops after he gets more settled in or if he just does it more. Hope I helped!
 
#6 ·
we have a consignment mare that came in from a dry lot. She went from being outside all the time, and being in direct contact with other horses, to be in a 12x12 show barn stall. While our facilities are very nice, and the horses can see everyone and everything going on, I think the confinement and the move just stressed her out. Unfortunately she began cribbing, and what started as just a couple times here and there, is now bordering on pathological. Nothing works for this mare. Owners have even used shock collars, if you can believe that.
 
#7 ·
I'll look into that one, verona, thanks! I've always hated cribbing collars; I know they're almost always more helpful than anything, but I'll feel horrible putting it on...

I was hoping he would stop as he's settled in, but I still notice it every once in a while. It's just been on the feed bin until earlier today, he went at one of the fences until I yelled at him and he walked away. I'm going to go out and spray his stall and the areas he's most likely to chew tomorrow and see if that helps until I can get a collar.
He also has a lickit in his stall already and doesn't have any interest in it. (I've tried a few different flavors too, as we have a couple.) He has a regular hay rack in his stall (like the metal ones that are easy to eat out of) and a small-net bag, both of which are always filled. He actually prefers the slow feeder for some reason, which I think is helpful because he's occupied for much longer with that than "loose" hay. The paddock he is normally in is just around our barn, and his stall has dutch doors so I often leave that open during the day with hay inside and out so he and my ponies aren't stuck in all the time. He's really only locked in at night because it's been bitter cold and since he's thin I want to make sure he stays warm. As soon as the grass starts to grow back and he puts weight on, he'll be out all the time in an 8+ acre field with more grass than he could possibly eat, so if we can make it until spring I think that'll keep him away from the fencing...

Thanks for all the help!
 
#8 ·
My new mare, that I've had only for 3 weeks now, OTTTB, 7 yrs old. Rescue, so she's pretty skinny, is cribbing all the time. she's on free choice pasture to eat. Even when I feed them, she'll take a bite, crib, take a bite, crib. When she'll trailer properly (too an act of God to get her in the trailer), I'll take her to the vet, so I'm looking for remedy's also. She'll walk across the pasture to the fence to crib. No wood to chew, it's all metal. Thanks for all ya'lls advice.
 
#12 ·
Have you scoped for ulcers? OTTBs have an extremely high rate of ulcers, and there seems to be a genetic predisposition as well that is more prevalent in TBs than other breeds.

Cribbing so much, particulalry while eating, is a pretty good sign that something is not quite right. Unfortunately ulcers are very expensive to treat and can reoccur if management practices aren't changed. It's very challenging to do so with a hard keeper in particular because large and/or infrequent meals are very hard on the digestive tract but may be required to keep weight on.
 
#9 ·
Eek, I'm glad he's not that bad! I walked all the fencing in his paddock today to renail anything loose and found a few places with fresh bite marks. I got a collar for him and he hasn't been able to crib since, so hopefully that will continue working. I've also noticed one of my mares has started to chew occasionally, so we're trying to keep them separated so she doesn't start too. That's just what we need! Good luck nuisance, let me know if you find anything else that helps.
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#10 ·
A friend of ours had a stud that cribbed. Almost always the same spot and non stop. He tried a lot of options. I gave him some ghost peppers I grew to rub on the fence, he quite cribbing there! Lol. And spent more time trying to put out the fire in his mouth then cribbing. It worked for a while......
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#13 ·
No scope yet. I've got to get where I can load her without a fight first. According to the Jockey club, she's had 4 races (didn't place) you think she would be use to trailering. Or maybe it's my 2 horse trailer. she wouldn't get in a stock trailer either, but that may have been, she's so tall, she kept bumping her head on the roof. but, as soon as i can get her to load without a hassle. She's going to the vet. I brought her shots home to her.
Thanks for the advise.
 
#14 ·
One of my horses when I first got him was a terrible cribber- He came from a big show barn with very little turn out. He would destroy his water buckets by cribbing on them (and drench himself in the process, which was a problem in the winter!). He was constantly cribbing. No cribbing collar seemed to really do the trick, and after coming to the barn to find his neck and head all swollen from the collar being tightened too much by a frustrated barn owner, I was hesitant to ever put another on him!

He never completely stopped, but he did stop doing it so frequently when we changed his routine. He went from being out by himself for 12 hours to going out with a herd on grass, which helped with the boredom issue. We removed as many possible cribbing possibilities from his life as possible- hot wire across wood in the turn out, feeding in a rubber pan on the floor vs a bucket, changing from water buckets to a lower water trough in his stall (the angle wasn't right for him to crib as he was 17.2 hands lol). Even though he came up a negative when scoped for ulcers, we did end up feeding U-guard as a precaution since he was cribbing SO much, and it did seem to help! Towards the end before I sold him it seemed like he was cribbing less and less, and then only at feeding time, where before it had been nearly 24/7.

Best of luck! Hopefully this is just in the beginning stages and you can nip it in the bud with a cribbing collar! Just be careful that it doesn't get too tight- I ended up vet wrapping over all of the holes above a certain point so that it COULDN'T be tightened past that point (helpful if you are in a boarding situation with fluctuating barn help)
 
#15 ·
Thanks saddle. They're at our house, so I'm out there all the time to adjust things as needed. Right now I have it a tad loose (I'd rather it need to be tightened than be too tight) but I haven't seen him crib with it on. He chewed once but as soon as he realized he couldn't crib he stopped. The lower buckets/trough is a great idea though. If I ever notice him start with the collar on I'll try that as he's 16.1 but seems to have trouble getting at anything low. Never would have thought of that!
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#16 ·
I also came across this device a little while back. UC Davis did a small study with it that showed a decrease in the amount of cribbing done, but it wasn't clear to me how often you had to use it and just how much the cribbing was decreased.

Happy Halter

I thought it was pretty interesting and would be worth saving up for if it would decrease the cribbing enough that my horse wouldn't get gassy and ruin his teeth. If I knew a vet that had one I'd give it a try :)
 
#17 ·
I have a mare that is a windsucker(form of cribbing). We have done everything we can to get her to stop. She does have ulcers and they are being treated. She gets free choice hay but still windsucks everywhere and anywhere. She is a hard keeper and has worn off her front teeth doing this. My vet says that we could try the surgery but it probably won't work. We had the Miracle Collar on her and she almost tore off her ear trying to get it off. A word of advice if you do try the Miracle Collar keep a close eye on it.
 
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