crib biting

[hillzydunn]

my horse crib bites when ever he is in the stable or in the school he tries to get to the fence to do it. I have him on loan for a couple of months and he wears a horrible metal collar in the stable to stop him from doing it. He looks like Hannibal Lector in it and it has rubbed his coat away around his neck. I leave it off when he is grazing but have been told that if he doesnt wear it it could kill him. As I am unsure of why he does it or if it is dangerous to take it off so I put it on but I could cry when I see him in wearing it. It looks awful. He is an ex race horse 15.2hh thoroughbred and has become a bit spooky over the last couple of weeks in the school. I am feeding him on calm & condition and coz ashe was really skinny when I took him on and needs fattening up. I have built up his muscle quite a lot with riding him but he still has poverty lines and you can see his ribs quite bad. I am quite a nervous rider as I have had a couple of bad experiences but he is such a gentleman and I want to give him the best life he could have. He is 12 years old and a bit stiff really when I take him in the school and lunge him he just wants someone to love him so any advice b4 I buy him would be appreciated. thanks

[ilovemyboys]

i have never heard that taking a cribbing collar off could kill a horse!! some horses i have at work used to crib and we put the collars on them and when they stopped we took the collars off and they were fine and haven't cribbed since cribbing is caused by boredom so maybe if you get a jolly ball hanging possibly with an apple lick in it to keep him busy he might refrain from this he sounds lovely and it seems to me you could provide a very nice home for him

[Julz]

are you sure the collar is for crib biting and not for the wind sucking that some horses do along side crib biting??

Wind sucking is when horse grabs something with his teeth, ie .. a fence post, or a gate, box door, etc... and arches his neck to intake air.. this could cause him to take colic, which could be nasty... the collar stops them from doing this. when in the box, can he hve either the top door closed, or if it's a door with a grill at the top, with a V for his head to stick out.. you should be able to get a grill to cover the space, and therefore not give him any surfaced to crib/wind suck on.

re his stiffness... i assume he's a bit arthritc?? what do you give him for stiffness?? Cod liver oil, cortaflex, codlivine, cider vinegar (seems to be anything satrting with C..) can all help arthitic horses.. but not all at the same time, trial and error, find out what suits best. Also i wouldnt lunge him if he's stiff, as this could put more pressure on his joints... you could also try Carrot stretches for suppling up.

[wundahoss]

Cribbing, or windsucking won't kill a horse, but the physical cause of that coping behaviour sometimes does. Horses are not mentally or physically designed to live alone in stables & have only 3 (give or take) meals per day. This management practice causes unbearable stress for many horses(tho many cope OK), which can lead to obsessive compulsive coping behaviours, including this and weaving, etc.

Studies have shown that cribbing is related mainly to the physical stress of not being fed naturally. A few years ago, a survey & examinations were done that showed the shocking rate of somewhere around 90%(can't remember exact figures or details) of Australian race horses had stomach ulcers & those horses were just about all windsuckers. Possibly due to a release of endorphines, they believe that this behaviour relieves the pain caused by the condition.

Unfortunately, it soon becomes a stereotypic behaviour that is very difficult to eliminate even after the causes have been removed. Windsucking collars usually prevent the behaviour when they're on correctly. Of course they only address the symptom, not the cause or physical problem tho.

[gordysgirl]

:eek::mad::rolleyes:

Your horse will not die if you take the collar off, he will crib though!
As an ex racer it is highly likely that he will have been kept in a stable most of his life with limited turnout & fed an awful lot of concentrates. He may well have started cribbing as a result of ulcers or simply through boredom. He may be perfectly healthy & happy now but he will most likely always crib. It becomes habit.

You can help...ensure he gets as much turnout as possible. Ensure he is fed a high fibre diet & low cereal. Feed ad lib forage when inside. Give him things to play with in the stable..a ball, things dangling from the ceiling like swedes or turnips etc.

I despise cribbing collars & think they are very cruel. By stopping the horse from cribbing you may well find his distress comes out in other behaviours.

My horse cribs - he too is an ex racer. On discussion with our vets they consider there to be no correlation between cribbing & colic as the air sucked in never reaches the stomach - therefore would not caused bloatedness! The need to crib may be related to bloatedness as this may be causing them discomfort however.

My boy also has no trouble with his teeth or keeping his weight. It simply is not an issue.
Putting a collar, shutting stable doors, not allowing your horse to do it, simply asks for a miserable, stressed horse! If it does him no harm, it does you no harm & therefore I would let him get on with it.

Oh, and just incase anyone mentions...it is VERY VERY unlikely another horse will copy yours cribbing..if they do pick up the habit it is probably because they too are bored & possibly uncomfortable..

[ravenstorrough1]

I would definately try an antacid as the most likely cause of the behaviour is a build up of acid in the stomach. Unfortunately, the habit may stick even if you do remove the cause although it has been very successful with some horses stopping the vice completely. Feedmark Settelex is one make.

I would be tempted to take the collar off and monitor his weight/behaviour whilst feeding the Settelex and if he doesn't get any worse, then probably no need to subject him to wearing the collar. Turnout 100% if possible to keep things as natural as possible. Good luck. :D

[joosie]

I despise cribbing collars & think they are very cruel. By stopping the horse from cribbing you may well find his distress comes out in other behaviours.

Exactly. If cribbing and windsucking are caused by stress, then using devices in an attempt to stop the behaviour is only going to make things worse.

The best thing you can do for a horse with these habits is to make his routine as interesting for him as possible. Stable toys, feeding smaller quantities and more often, grooming, turnout, in-hand walks, and of course regular and varied exercise. I don't think you can "cure" a windsucker any more than you can "cure" hot-headedness, it becomes a part of the horse's character. I have always found it very manageable.