Hello! I recently moved to a new barn with my 8 yo OTTB gelding. He is a cribber and is now happily (for him) surrounded by wooden fences and is turned out 24/7. I need to stop him cribbing before I end up paying for new fences! I have read several places that cribbing may be linked to horses trying to reduce stomach acid discomfort. I have him on U-Guard digestive type supplements and am steadily reducing his grain, but I can’t keep weight on him like that! Does anybody have feed recommendations that won’t hurt his stomach like a lot of grain will? I am thinking plain hay pellets along with some sweet feed already available at my barn. Any other tips are appreciated as well!
You would have better success putting a strand of hot wire along the fence at cribbing height. For my horse it was a behavior he learned all on his own as a yearling when his buddy left and he was alone for a time.
Once other horses were back in his life it had no effect on his cribbing and neither did housing changes. He never got grain then so I know it wasn’t diet related. He happily cribbed his whole life. I just used hotwire to keep him off certain spots. It was easiest for us all.
I’ve owned many a cribber, and I do not think a supplement, even an ulcer supplement, will stop them. The only real way to stop a cribber is a good collar. I prefer the wide ones myself, as they distribute pressure over a wider area to help keep the horse from getting sore, yet still prevent the horse from being able to crib.
http://www.bigdweb.com/Leather-Cribbing-Collar-Horse-Size/productinfo/05-30-1255/
My trainer refuses to put a jot wire around the fence. A collar has not stopped him because of the height of the fence, he has to reach up to get his teeth on it, which sadly makes the collar useless. I’m looking for more of a dietary solution or a paint/ coating for fences that is known to make a difference
I have noticed a reduction of cribbing after doing 28 days of ulcerguard and keeping hay in front of him 24/7. He also gets a cheap antacid in his feed. But nothing stops him from cribbing completely. If you can’t run hot wire along the top board, and the standard collar doesn’t work, my next step would be a muzzle. They make cribbing muzzles that look like baskets and they can eat and drink through them.
Has he been scoped for ulcers? If he has ulcers, a dietary supplement isn’t going to help until the root problem has been addressed.
[QUOTE=gracieandrory;8586765]
My trainer refuses to put a jot wire around the fence. A collar has not stopped him because of the height of the fence, he has to reach up to get his teeth on it, which sadly makes the collar useless. I’m looking for more of a dietary solution or a paint/ coating for fences that is known to make a difference[/QUOTE]
If the horse is still cribbing with the collar on, then the collar is not properly adjusted. Height of the fence or where the horse can put his teeth has nothing to do with it. The collar needs to be tighter.
If stopping cribbing were as simple as giving a nutritional supplement, we would have no cribbers.
Cribbing collars have to be really tight to work. You will feel bad tightening it, but that’s the only thing that works.
When my cribbing OTTB sweats, he loses all of the hair under his collar and then his skin opens up, so I don’t put it on him any more. He is more sensitive than most, so don’t expect that to happen. Covers for the collar delay it a bit, but they don’t stop his skin from dissolving under it eventually.
The only thing that reduces the cribbing is having a nice round bale. If he grazes and starts walking around, eventually he finds a fence and starts cribbing again. It is so frustrating.
Food alone will not stop a cribber. My mare is a cribber. The strap she wears will get tight when she lift her head to crib on the boards or will tighten when she starts to crib. When her head is down lower (drinking, eating her grain/hay or grazing I can easily fit three fingers between the collar and her throat. I had it made for me, it is all leather, doesn’t twist or rub etc and is perfect for her. The only think I ever do is clean it regularly. Because it is leather it will stretch and she will start to crib so I just tighten it 1/2 hole.
I have a dedicated cribber. All medical reasons have been eliminated. He has cribbed through all collars, and the collars themselves have to be so tight they rub him raw. The only thing I’ve found to work is a cribbing muzzle. He can eat, drink, and even get cookies through the muzzle with no problems. I am currently boarding him so he has to wear the muzzle until I have my own place and can electrify fences.
https://www.smartpakequine.com/pt/cribbingfree-to-eat-muzzle-4213
