What's your dealbreaker vice?

[Texarkana]

My mare who I’ve owned since birth (in utero sale, and I worked for the breeder at the time) grew up to be a cribber. She’s 11 now, started cribbing at about 2.5. My experience with some of the common cribber phobias:

Health problems- none, unless you count being too easy of a keeper

Teeth problems- none at this time, although I’ve had one dentist say her incisors might not last into old age

Muscling problems- none

Inhaled splinters- none

Fence/barn damage- The worst she has done cribbing was crack a wall mounted feeder at a boarding barn ($19 to replace). She did wear an indentation into the wood on her favorite cribbing spot, too, which is merely cosmetic. But overall, she and her non-cribbing friends do way more damage scratching their butts and necks on stuff!

The biggest issue, IMHO, is the stigma and assumptions made based on misinformation. I can understand not wanting one because of the stigma alone.

[gypsymare]

Rearing
Bucking
Cribbing
Weaving
Kicking

I don’t compete at all… I don’t need to excuse these behaviors for the sake of a brilliant performance.

[LaurieB]

[QUOTE=talkofthetown;8896217]
My biggest concern has always been that they’ll end up inhaling a splinter or building up that terrible under-neck muscle. Plus the theoretical damage to the fences. What has your experience been like so far?[/QUOTE]

I’m fortunate that my horses are able to live outside 16 hours a day and I’m sure that helps. Under those circumstances, the cribbing in non-existent with a collar, which the mare tolerates very well.

[Nootka]

Absolute dealbreaker? Bolting. I will not get on a bolter, it shows a lack of sense of self preservation that is truly dangerous.

I will agree with the above. I will also add all vices that show the horse lacks sense of self preservation. I had one horse in for training and couldn’t be tied to anything because he would run backwards unpredictably ( I have come across 2 that did this ) . There were times if you were just holding him… BAMM ran backwards. A screw was loose, indeed. Rearers that lack self preservation and flip over are another one I can’t deal with.

Careless bolting
Careless rearing
Careless non-tying
CARELESS ANYTHING

[Jersey_Fresh]

[QUOTE=gypsymare;8896319]
Rearing
Bucking
Cribbing
Weaving
Kicking

I don’t compete at all… I don’t need to excuse these behaviors for the sake of a brilliant performance.[/QUOTE]

In some cases its not disclosed and if you dont have the horse on trial, you dont have a chance to find out about the behavior. My older horse is like that. I tried him twice and no one said anything about the weaving. I didn’t know until I got him home.

[Jersey_Fresh]

I have just a plain old weird vice.

Again, my older neurotic weaver who is spectacular to ride. He likes to back his butt up to his water bucket and squeeze it between his back legs. He doesn’t rub on it, he doesn’t poop in it, he just likes to stand there and squeeze it. For hours.

I have never figured that one out.

[Simkie]

[QUOTE=Jersey Fresh;8896351]
I have just a plain old weird vice.

Again, my older neurotic weaver who is spectacular to ride. He likes to back his butt up to his water bucket and squeeze it between his back legs. He doesn’t rub on it, he doesn’t poop in it, he just likes to stand there and squeeze it. For hours.

I have never figured that one out.[/QUOTE]

I’d be super curious what a truly top notch massage person would think of this, given how useful things like foam rollers and lacrosse balls are at reducing pain from angry muscles. It could be that he’s just figured out how to relieve some sort of muscle pain all on his own. Might not be a vice–might be brilliant.

Sitting on buckets is a common “hock horse” thing so not too much of a stretch that this is also related to some sort of discomfort.

[MsM]

[QUOTE=clanter;8896237]
Ferdinand (March 12, 1983 – 2002) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1986 Kentucky Derby and 1987 Breeders’ Cup Classic. He was voted the 1987 Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year… he was eaten by the Japanese[/QUOTE]

But he wasn’t winning races then. And he wasn’t killed because he was mean!

[shiloh]

Cribbing and windsucking, especially windsucking. That noise drives me nuts and I feel sorry for the poor horse. Everything else I can either live with or fix.

[Red_Barn]

I think it depends very much on the horse’s age and circumstances.

Both my riding horses are lovebugs now, and both were pretty vice-ridden when I bought them as young 'uns.

A confused kid you can fix, if you’re patient and not an idiot yourself. An old timer with entrenched habits is another kettle of beans.

[PaperPony]

I recently had a horse boarded at my farm that had severe “bucket anger” and a pawing issue. I would much rather have a horse that cribs (at least that can be controlled with a collar), than another horse like this.

He destroyed buckets of all kinds (water, feed) through any means necessary. He would go through a bucket a day, ripping them off the fence, pawing at them, stomping/smashing with his butt, etc. This horse also put THREE of his legs through the fence and became cast right before feed time once. He obsessively pawed at feed time with both front legs, wether he was tied, loose in a stall, or turned out. His teeth were checked and floated by the vet, but it did not solve this problem at all. I tried feeding him in a pan on the ground, a pan in a tire on the ground, a large trough on the ground, a trough filled with rocks, etc, absolutely nothing worked. If he was in a stall for any period of time he would paw at any water/feed buckets, rub them with his butt, scratch them off the wall & them stomp them. If I ever ended up with a horse like this again I would get rid of him as quickly as possible!

[equest]

[QUOTE=SharonA;8895413]
Aww. You all are breaking my heart. :o My horse is a cribber, but she is wonderful in every other way. Seriously, folks would take a horse with fear or training or dominance problems over a sweet, kind, eager to please, loves to go out, gets along with others, cribber?

Some cribbers may colic. So might every other equine on the planet. It’s not just a cribbing thing. That’s like saying, “I’m not going to get a TB because they can go lame.” :)[/QUOTE]

Seriously. My green OTTB boy is 100 percent controlled with a collar. He’s a big easy keeper, sweet, and quiet as the day is long. I’m also fortunate that my BO/trainer did not blink an eye at the cribbing habit despite the fact that the barn/fencing is all wood. BO/Trainer advised me to buy my horse, and is great about keeping the collar on him and my horse has never had an issue.

[Renn_aissance]

I have no time for any horse who acts out aggressively towards humans without a veterinary reason. I’m not talking the grumpy biter or the sensitive horse who gives a hugely outsize reaction when you think about touching it, but the ones who honest to goodness want to kill you. I’ve known a few who would chase you out of the field or try to drag you into the stall so they could savage you. The sad thing is that I think that that behavior is made, not born, so I know that what I’m saying here is that I wouldn’t spend the time on one who was treated in such a way that he learned to be that aggressively defensive.

I don’t like a horse with no self-preservation either, but if I had to pick, I’d take that and not ride it over a horse I can’t even handle safely on the ground.

Cribbing is annoying, but 75% of my family’s horses have been cribbers, so I’m used to it by now. :lol:

[Feliz]

I won’t deal with an ungenerous horse. In fact, I’m currently giving away a horse for this very reason – his actual vice is that he bucks & bucks big, but what has made me give up is that he’s not generous. He’s as sweet as pie 99.9% of the time, really quiet, moves nicely, shows a lot of scope & potential over a jump, but if he doesn’t want to do something he’ll buck & he really means it. He will also cow kick – originally I thought that was when he got a fright, but I actually think it’s when there’s pressure he doesn’t like.

I’m going to lose money over it but he’s got me off 3x and luckily I haven’t been hurt. I’ve had a local pro to come out & work with him, saddle fitter, physio, dentist, then sent him to the cowboy to restart him, treated for ulcers when he got back etc. He’s going back to the cowboy who restarted him.

He’s only young, so hopefully he can be turned into a good citizen but I’m done. I’ve had youngsters before & all have played up at one time or another (including kicking, biting, bucking, rearing) but they’ve all been willing to work with me when I’ve been willing figure them out & work with them.

My wonderful horse C is very spooky, sensitive, can be hard to catch, is a fence jumper & gate opener extraordinaire but is the best horse I’ve ever had.

[Justmyluck]

Bolting…

I have a bolter.

I love him and he is brilliant and its 100% preventable if I am paying attention and controllable if a professional is riding. I screw up and off we go.

[Jarpur]

I guess my dealbreakers are vices, period.

I only want horses of good character - I consider that to be the single most important quality of any horse I would own. I’d negotiate on athletic ability (assuming horse is up to the demands of my chosen discipline, at least at some level) or personal appearance (always assuming soundness, meaning I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy an unsound horse just because it’s a solid citizen), but not on basic character.

Wouldn’t want a dishonest horse no matter how beautiful or talented. I have horses for fun, and it’s not much fun to be scared or injured.

[saddleup]

I also swore I’d never own a cribber. Then bought one for my then 13 year old daughter. To this day he’s the best horse I’ve ever owned, and I don’t say that casually. I bought him when he was 14 and he died at 27. If I’d passed on him due to cribbing I’d have missed out on one of the nicest horses ever. It was manageable with a collar and once I moved to my own place and he was outside most of the time he didn’t crib. It made me rethink that previously held position. But he also wasn’t one of those who would crib and become oblivious to the outside world. So, I guess it depends on the degree to which he’s addicted.

[sophie]

I would not own a truly mean, aggressive (to humans) horse. I’ve known and had to ride / handle a few (not my own) and will not own one, even if they are great under saddle.
I want a horse that is happy to see me, loves attention, and is happy to go to work, like my current Ottb mare.

I can deal and have dealt with rearers (but not “ingrained”- I nipped it in the bud early) but I don’t like true buckers, the kind that want you off NOW and are powerful enough to do it. I don’t bounce back as well anymore!

There are a few cribbers at my barn, with thick under-neck muscling and very tight collars…but if the horse is good in every other way, I might overlook that…I think…

[DJohn]

Most of them!

Ones I can’t tolerate:
-Lack of self preservation (blind panic/turn and bolt before assessing situation). These types will eventually kill someone (or themselves).
-Cribbing or windsucking (that sound!!!). Just plain irritating.
-Pawing. Also incredibly irritating.
-Bolting (usually related to a lack of self preservation).
-Rearing. Terrifying (also related to lack of self preservation).
-Kicking/biting/bad temper. I don’t ever want to own a mean horse.
-Hand nibblers. The ones that are constantly touching you/grabbing at your fingers/hands/arms.
-Food aggression.
-Lazy/lack of work ethic. I don’t want a horse I have to kick and poke and smack. Nu-uh.

Things I can handle:
-Slightly herdbound (fixable).
-Weaving (usually fixable).
-Bucking (fixable and sometimes entertaining).

My horse has very few requirements in his life other than to be kind and enjoy working. He is a glorified trail horse who is the jack of all trades but master of none. To me, he is perfect. To someone else he could be the opposite. Oddly enough, he has all of the traits that I’m willing to deal with (weaves VERY rarely, and only if confined to a stall; bucks when excited and can be herdbound in the summer).

[ReSomething]

[QUOTE=SuckerForHorses;8895423]
. It was her “zone” when she was stressed out. And she would weave frantically, panic-like.

I have found that with management changes that decrease her stress, her weaving has 99.9% completely disappeared . . . [/QUOTE] the mare I had was like that. She found a spot on the fence and sliced the heck out of her chest and neck, so I did fence repair, then there were the inch long splinters, more fence repair, then the splints she would pop, but over time we added another pasture adjoining, changed her pasturemate and had ponies in the adjoining pasture and things were now different. She would get so worked up that I had to run out and get her out first, leave the other horse, or she would be completely nuts and unsafe to take out, manners completely gone, all attention focussed on the missing herd member, my God did it suck.