Cribbing contagious? I am VERY sad!

KarinUS

KarinUS

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May 20, 2001
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:( I am so sad today.
I am having a horrible summer semester. I usually try to see my baby at least every other day but this week I was unable to go see him for almost a whole week!!!
The mare he'd been friends with had gone in heat and another gelding kept beating up on my sweetie until DJ decided it's not worth it. Lately he's been hanging out more with another horse that is a terrible "chain" cribber. He cribs all day long.
Since today was the first time for me to see my boy again, I wanted to spend a bunch of time with him.
I tied him to the railing and shortened his mane and clipped his bridle path. I also combed his tail. Just lots of stuff. When I finally got ready to ride, I put his boots on and - ugh! I heard THE sound. The horrible sound of cribbing. :( :mad: :( :mad: :eek:
When I bought him I'd asked about cribbing and the answer was no. I believe the seller.
All during the first month no cribbing at all. Then he starts to hang out with this gelding and I turn my back on him for a week to come back to an endorphine addict! It makes me so sad. He never did it before. He's turned out 24/7. Definitely no boredom like with stall rest or anything.
My instructor thinks he just does it occassionally, but I guess it could get worse. I definitely don't want him to be like the other gelding.
Could he have "learned" it from the other horse?
 
Yes, yes he could have. It's unusual for them to learn it on turnout, rather than in a boring barn environment--but they can learn it from other horses.

Both cribbers at my stable wear their cribbing collars while inside to keep the other horses from picking up on it.

My sympathies :(
 
Sorry to hear about that Karin. Does he do it anywhere else? Just that my horse cribs if he is tied up outside for a period of time - he will be no bother for about 20min, and then starts nosing/licking/cribbing on the wood rail. He never cribs in his box (and our turnout is only 5-6 hours a day). Most of the horses on the yard seem to like the taste of that particular rail, or maybe it's just they get bored of being pampered quicker than we get fed up of pampering!!
 
I talked to my instructor and she said she saw him do it only one other time.
He doesn't do it in his stall. He's turned out 24/7 but they have their assigned stalls for breakfast and dinner away from the other horses.
He also didn't start it until we were about an hour into the "beauty treatment".
After I rode I tied him back to the railing and he didn't do anything.
Ever since we got those railings 2 weeks ago he liked to nibble on the wood.
Maybe the simplest thing will be to spray some of the "no chew" on the railing, before I tie him up.
I really kind of jinxed myself. I just thought about how lucky I was to have a 'perfect' horse when I drove out to see him yesterday...

Oh well. I'm sure it wouldn't be a big deal, if it doesn't get worse...
 
Feeling a lot better today!

I went to visit today. I saw him in the field with his head stuck in the hay bale munching (not cribbing) and he heard my car and lifted his head.
When I went to get him, he came right away and he followed me to the gate like a good puppy dog.
I tied him to the railing and picked his feet and loved on him. He didn't once try to crib. He just licked his mouth like he usually does when I rub him in a good spot.
:) I love my boy.
Maybe everything will be fine as long as I don't bore him to death with an hour long grooming session...?!
 
Yes, that was the only time, but I was so worried that once he figured out how it works, he'd do it all day long like that other horse!
So the answer is 'yes'. He was fine for the first hour into the 'treatment' and then I guess he got bored. He hasn't done it since. Even on the same day when I untacked him, he didn't try it again.
So maybe there's hope for us...?!?!? :)
 
Have you tried tying him up with a net full of hay whilest you are grooming? I would not say that any of my horses are cribbers as they do not do it in the stable, yet when my daughter was preparing one of them for a show and he was tied up for quite a time with nothing to eat he started on the wooden window sill. They do it out of boredom and also as they are designed to eat nearly all day they actually start to get a build up of bad bacteria in the hind gut when left for prolonged periods without food. I ensure mine always have access to some kind of long fibre. Don't worry about it. I'm sure your horse is not a confirmed cribber and it was just something he did out of boredom.
 
My horse occasionally takes a chunk out of the nearest piece of wood. I've had her for 16 months and she's done it 5/6 timses in total. Similar situation to yours, she's tied up and after an hour or so gets fed up and takes chunks out of something. She never does it in her stable though, even when she's in overnight.

It isn't really a problem for me as I rarely tie her up anyway but when I do I make sure she has a fresh haynet, large holed ones are better than small haylage nets, she ignores those as they're too much like hard work. I also make sure she has water nearby and try not to keep her there for too long.

If he's only done it a couple of times its probably just boredom that makes him do it rather than a compulsion that needs to be satisfied. Just try not to leave him tied for long periods and it shouldn't be a problem.

I think I read that research has been done and it hasn't been proved that behaviours like cribbing can be passed on by having a non-cribbing horse with a cribber. It was deemed most likely that horses on yards without vices that suddenly seemingly pick them up from a neighbour are most likely to have started the behaviour due to being managed in the same way as the horses that already practised the behaviour. E.g. the first horse is kept in 23 hours a day and gets bored so starts cribbing. Then another horse comes along and that doesn't crib originally but is then also kept in for 23 hours a day, boredom and stress kick in and so he starts to crib too.

Amanda
 
none of the horse by use crib but if there are 3 mares that have coem from another yard toegther and when they are tied up for too long they start trying to eat the walla nd the sound drives my crazy...its lie someone scratching their nails down a blackboard(chalkboard) *shudder*

maybe keep your beauty sessions a bit shorter say 30mins or so max. Or just concentrate on tidying up different parts of you horse on different days and just give him a general good groom over :)
 
where i rode when younger we had a horse that cribed (and he still does) but he was turned out with 8 other horses 24/7 and would crib all the time, none of them every picked up the habit, i think it is just a case of wether or not the horses around a criber looks up to the horse doing it Hunter was fairly low down the line of comand in the group, and even the one horse that was "his" never picked it up and for a while they shared a padock by them selfs.
 
Just asking for attention?

I think my horse does it to get attention. I know it sounds daft but no-one has seen him do it unless he has been given treats first. So it could be a way of saying ' can I have some more?' or do you think I've flipped??? :D :rolleyes:
 
My pony Lili chews wood. In fact she's chewed through the rails on the post and rail fencing in the field in two places. She has a mineral lick in the field, she has ponies to play with, I visit her at least twice every day and play around with her, she goes for walks with us and is never in a stall or stable. I can't see that boredom causes it in her. She's just a very tactile, intelligent pony. If we leave anything in her reach - tack, brushes, buckets, whatever - she'll carry it off and play with it.

The thing is she's been turned out with loads of horses in her life and not one of them has ever learnt to crib by being with her - even foals, who I guess would be the most likely to pick up a habit like that. It doesn't really affect her, the only real problem is having to mend the rails when she's finished with them! It's just Lili. I feel that if she was a person then she'd bite her nails or twiddle her hair or maybe jiggle her foot when she's distracted. It could be said they're all irritating habits but they don't make the person a basket-case.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is that there's no reason why DJ should pick it up from this other gelding, but even if he does, it doesn't mean he's not perfect any more. Lili is about the best pony I've ever owned. Her character and temprament are second to none. Her chewing, while one of her more irritating habits, will never change that.
 
When I was a boarder I was in a similar situation and I for one think they can learn it from another horse. Or theres something about the smell of saliva where the other ones have done it that attracts their attention to particular spots. I would observe if they bite wood or start licking after sweet treats, like peppermints too. I always gave my horse a mint or 2 with no problem, but my friend was giving him a handful at a time and I think it was too much as he started biting wood when the mints ran out in frustration. With carrots theres never been a problem of that nature, atleast with him. Theres a product called Cribox thats really a good deterent.
 
Karin, there's an article on cribbing in the July issue of Equus. If you can't get hold of it, I'll try to precis it for you (once I've torn the mag from my daughter's hands).
 
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