Cribbing

[Equestrianette]

I recently bought an 8yo OTTB mare that was a body score of 3. She was turned out in a pasture with friends. Since she’s been with me I have been helping her gain weight but she still would rather stand there and crib instead of eat. I had her teeth done on the 5th and they were pretty bad. Her pallet is longer than her top teeth. I wanted to give her time to settle before I directly addressed the cribbing, just to see if I could minimize it with management. I have hay in front of her 24/7, she gets alfalfa pellets, triple crown lite, competitive edge, rite trac, nexium, EO3, magnesium glycinate, hemp for horses cbd pellets.

I haven’t owned a cribber in 12 years. I was recommended to try the dare collar. Just wanted to check in here to see if there was anything different to try. She’s very kind and docile and easy going. She’s on her way to a body score of 5 now so she’s getting there.

[LilDunFilly]

@Equestrianette

I recently bought an 8yo OTTB mare that was a body score of 3. She was turned out in a pasture with friends. Since she’s been with me I have been helping her gain weight but she still would rather stand there and crib instead of eat. I had her teeth done on the 5th and they were pretty bad. Her pallet is longer than her top teeth. I wanted to give her time to settle before I directly addressed the cribbing, just to see if I could minimize it with management. I have hay in front of her 24/7, she gets alfalfa pellets, triple crown lite, competitive edge, rite trac, nexium, EO3, magnesium glycinate, hemp for horses cbd pellets.

I haven’t owned a cribber in 12 years. I was recommended to try the dare collar. Just wanted to check in here to see if there was anything different to try. She’s very kind and docile and easy going. She’s on her way to a body score of 5 now so she’s getting there.

I’m not sure if there is much you can do other than give her time. I haven’t known cribbing collars to work particularly well nor would I want one on in pasture.

I’ve known many cribbers over the years. Most did it because they were anxious/bored/unhappy; I live in SoCal where turnout is non-existant so these horses were in their stalls for ~23 hours a day and food was thrown twice a day. Several quit the habit when they eventually moved barns, and recieved more outside time and more food. Others kept the habit. I’ve also known some who had the “ideal” setup with 24/7 turnout, aminacle buddies, constant hay, etc., and they still wanted to just chew wood or windsuck. One tried to crib on his pasture buddies when denied the fence.

The only other advice I can think of, which I think I read somewhere on this forum, is to run a strand of hotwire to discourage chewing and/or coat whatever she’s chewing in something incredibly unpleasant. Not having anything to easily crib on might allow her to break the physical habit.

[fivestrideline]

I like the Dare collar. The Miracle Collar works too, but rubs a lot of horses depending on conformation. For any collar to work, they have to be tighter than you think - they can still eat and drink but you shouldn’t be able to shift the collar around on their neck.

We have a cribber that despite 24/7 turnout with an appropriate herd and good feed will still crib rather than eat. He goes out in the Hotwire pasture where there’s nothing to crib on so he only does it when he comes up for feed. He’s old and not working, so his owner doesn’t collar him anymore and just lets him have at it, he finishes his dinner eventually.

[Foxglove]

Our best horse was a cribber --fabulous 3-Day horse who took the kiddo to the upper levels of 3-Day --he did his job for 20 years, 15 with her and the last few with a lower level rider. In his entire life, he never stopped at a fence and he must have jumped over 1000 –

He was a big time cribber. He would crib on anything --one time when kiddo was icing him, I was holding him (I was his groom for a time), he tried to crib on my shoulder. Another time I saw him in the pasture (all electric fence) cribbing on his own leg.

We used, and I still have, his cribbing collar --a plain leather strap, lined with sheepskin that went right behind his ears and was put on really, really tight. With it on, he never cribbed. We saved his teeth and kept weight on him --lanky OTTB.

He wore the same strap his entire life, repaired many times. We tried to have it copied one time, but the original worked better. It had the shape of him.

He came to me at 25 for retirement (I have huge pastures and run-in sheds) for the remainder of his life. He lived to be 29. People who say “stress causes cribbing,” I don’t agree. That horse had a stress free life with every horsey whim met --20 acre lush pasture, one calm buddy, regular feed/hay/water, 13x13 stall, daily brushing, blankets (OMG did that horse have blankets!) and no work at all. And still he cribbed.

Since he’d been a great horse for us, when he came to me for full retirement, I took off the cribbing collar and let him crib to his hearts contend. Eventually he lost all his front teeth and my wooden fence posts suffered --that was his favorite place to crib --hook on to those 6x6 posts and have at it.

Cribbing didn’t kill him --the years of jumping really big fences caused all four legs to bow (at different times). Finally, when he stopped being able to walk to the barn at night, we gave him one great summer, and in the fall, sent him to the start gate for the last time. He’s jumping really big clouds now. He is still on YouTube --cross country is the best but like watching it all.

Michelle Weeks & Hail Caesar at the 2009 Maui Jim Horse Trials

[Pico_Banana]

I recently acquired a cribber. DWB, 22 years old. He’s my first so I’m not sure how to rate him but it’s not as bad as some described on this thread.

He’s got a pretty low stress life. Daily group turnout with my two mares. On grass when possible , which is all day in the warm months, for an hour during the cold months, and no grass when the ground is soaked or covered in ice. 10x15 stall with attached paddock that he has access to when stalled. Free choice hay. I feed him 9 lbs triple crown senior daily, spread over three meals. Alfalfa cubes at dinner. An extra flake of alfalfa hay at dinner.

I have a dare collar but I don’t like to tighten it enough to completely eliminate the cribbing. So our compromise is no collar during turnout and use it when stalled. It does seem to reduce the cribbing a little. Honestly, the only reason I use it at all is to try to get him to eat more hay - the fence on his attached paddock is HDPE so the cribbing doesn’t do much to it.

But the first thing he does when I turn him out in the morning is go over to the fence and crib. And then he‘ll do it periodically through the day.

I think he ends up cribbing more when stalled, even with the collar, then when turned out.

But from what I’ve read, the current advice is to mostly just let them do it, so that’s the balance I try to strike, along with getting enough food in him.

[NancyM]

There have been many thread about cribbing here over the years. Many opinions. Here’s mine…
Consider the cribber to be an addict. It’s not a “habit”, it’s an addiction. It comes from being a bit of a sensitive personality, and needing a crutch to get through life… to feel whole. Some people are like that too.

Horses are subjected to “stress”. Humans usually do this, meaning well, but putting stress on the horse. Few if any wild horses crib. Stalled living, training techniques, riding quality, owner’s goals are often the sources of stress. Other times… unknown. But for whatever reason, that horse is needing and looking for a crutch to get through life. And endorphin release. A bit like a cigarette smoker, alcoholic, or drug addict, or fingernail chewer, hair twister, etc. He gets addicted to the endorphin release he finds in a repetitive behaviour. It makes him feel better. It doesn’t mean that he’s a bad horse, or that he isn’t the horse you will enjoy being with, riding, training and competing with. It means that he’s got a personality flaw. He may be a bit “sensitive”, which isn’t a bad thing sometimes. Probably the same as many of us.
I’ve had a number of cribbers in the barn, both as racehorses, and show jumpers. I have two now, one that I bred and raised, and one broodmare that I bought. Both are happy and healthy. I used cribbing straps on cribbers decades ago because that was the “thing to do”, haven’t used one in many years. I find that they usually will “self limit” so as not to get gas colic. The one I have now, who I bred and raised, started cribbing as a foal, out in the field with her mother and other mares and foals. No other cribbers to show her how. I walked out there into the field to visit the mares and foals, and there she was, sucking air on the fence at 3 months old. She’s lovely, so soft, kind and tries SOOOOO hard to do the right thing, always. She has had very few tasks to perform in her life, she jumps well, great mover (when given a task, she executes with maximum attention and effort). She’s an over achiever in every way. Very kind. I love her to bits. Show her something ONCE, and she understands. If I think about a flying change, it’s done already… since she was 3. She’s smarter than most people I meet. I feed hay in a large tire tub, free feed. She can crib on the tire as she eats, and the rubber doesn’t wear her teeth down as badly as some other surfaces. She doesn’t have much in the way of top incisors, but she eats just fine. I prefer that she uses the tub to crib instead of harder surfaces. Also, she cribs from the BASE of her neck, rather than from the throat. She has no “cribbing muscle” at her throat… she has one on her chest LOL!!!
I appreciate her for what she can do for me. I appreciate her sensitivity and her work ethic, and her intelligence. She’s not ever been offered for sale. She’s mine. Such as she is. I’m sure that I’m not perfect either.
That’s my take on “cribbers”.

[Inimitable]

@NancyM

I find that they usually will “self limit” so as not to get gas colic.

I have a cribber who, unfortunately, did not self-limit and ended up with repeated bouts of gas colic. I was very against collars and just let him do his thing, until it caused larger health complications. He’s been in the DARE collar ever since and it manages the behavior - no colics since he’s been collared. BUT, I recently switched his feed to the Unbeetable Forage Only blend and his cribbing has been significantly reduced. He’ll still do it, especially in anticipation of feeding time, but it’s reduced to the point where the collar is off more often than it is on. I cannot believe the change in him. This is a horse who cannot have any concentrates or a hint of sugar, not because of IR issues, but because it triggers him to crib. But seeing him calmly hang out with the herd recently and not attached to a fence board 24/7 is such a relief - for both of us.

[Pepsy]

Hi,
Look up cribbing and selenium deficiency. There was a study that showed a link Might apply to some crabbers

[Pepsy]

Cribbers, that is

[LCDR]

Cribbers gonna crib no matter what and all you can do is reduce it and the wood damage as much as possible.

Several decades ago my daughter did a Pony Club project on cribbing. She mailed short questionnaires with SASE’s to as many boarding barns across the Southeastern US as she could find addresses for to gather numbers on overall incidence and mares vs geldings.

There was not a comments section, but a surprising number of stable owners wrote in “I don’t allow them in my barn” or “I never take cribbers as boarders.”

[Texarkana]

If she wants to crib instead of eat, can you remove all access to cribbing surfaces? Maybe that means feeding her in a paddock with electric fencing. Maybe there’s a way to block off ledges in her stall.

I’ve never seen a cribbing collar that actually works. They only seem to deter horses if the horses are infrequent cribbers in the first place or they are cranked so tight the horse can barely move their head.

[LCDR]

There gave been studies using naloxone (Narcan) in cribbers. It appears to extinguish or significantly reduce cribbing for a brief time. This implicates opioid receptors cribbing behavior. So it makes sense that cribbing is a manifestation of an addiction to endogenous opioid substances which are released by the cribbing act.

My one cribber evidently developed his problem during a time when he was confined to a stall, with only every other day one hour turnout. He was 8. He died peacefully at 36, still a cribber. The behavior did significantly improve with 24/7 turnout with grass to graze on and the company of other horses.

[ZuzusPetals]

@fivestrideline

He’s old and not working, so his owner doesn’t collar him anymore and just lets him have at it, he finishes his dinner eventually.

I want my own retirement to go just like this.

[Equestrianette]

I have a whole bottle of naltrexone I wonder what that would do? I know that one is used for alcohol addiction.

[Equestrianette]

I think my mare cribs from the base of her neck too.

[LCDR]

In no way was I suggesting that anyone administer naloxone or any other drug to their horse as a cribbing remedy!

[Simkie]

I used a Barclay collar on my cribber and preferred it to others. It didn’t have to be tight and delivers a mild shock when they flex to crib. It’s really the only collar I’ve ever used that actually stopped the cribbing behavior when it was worn. The shock was very mild, like static, and there are no batteries.

I ordered from the Australian manufacturer, which I don’t recommend. There was a distributor selling on eBay, or email the AUS guys for a US contact. (If it’s still hard to source, I don’t even know anymore, I bought several years ago.)

[jherold]

Cribbing and ulcers go hand in hand. There is also a genetic component so not all horses with ulcers crib. Treat her for ulcers and you should see quite a bit of improvement. It will probably never go away. I found that it was best to just let my guy crib.

He was stalled at a show once where the bars were placed so he couldn’t crib so instead he walked the stall all night. I gave him a bucket to crib on and he immediately settled down after a couple cribs. I equate it to smoking!

[Equestrianette]

Don’t worry I won’t. Was just out of curiosity

[NancyM]

Yes, looks similar. You can see the muscle at the base of the neck working to force the air down, just like you can with a regular cribber’s throat muscle flexing. Using a strap is ineffective with horses who have developed the habit/addiction in this manner. There are circumstances when using a strap is necessary, if a horse can’t learn to self regulate. Or if a barn owner insists on it with a horse in a boarding situation. But, try physically taking an addiction away from an addict, and see how that effects stress levels…

I still maintain that many humans have way worse, way more self destructive habits and addictions than horses do. If every smoker, drug addict and alcoholic took up cribbing instead, the world would be a better place. JMHO. I always laugh when a human cigarette addict announces, “I’d never own a cribber”.