cribbing

[Jennifer]

I have a horse who is somewhat of a cribber...Although he doesn't chew the wood he does pull it with his teeth and do a "wind suck" kind of thing. What is the best thing to get so that he will stop? Do the collars really work?

[Pasogirlz]

Do you have access to pasture? How much time does he spend in the stall?

[Jennifer]

He is on full pasture. Very rarely does he go in a stall. His preference and mine too. So he will put his mouth on anything (posts, wood, metal gate) and pull on it but not chew it...It is driving me crazy!

[Pasogirlz]

You are going to need a collar unfortunately. :-?

My gelding used to crib terrible. He picked it up in training in Miami. However....w/his new trainer....he seems to have stopped or drastically cut back. Not sure if it is b/c he keeps his mind so busy, or lets him out for turn out more, or what. But he has not had the problem nearly as bad as he did in the past. I used to have to keep a Miracle Collar on him.

[PASOFAN]

Storm does the same thing! he too is in a nice big pasture w/two other horses..

I gave them a ball, no luck he still cribbs. Pulls w/his top teeth then sucks wind in.. Adiction!!

I just bought some of the no chew spray $6 sprayed all the stuff he does it on, so far he licked the stuff off, but I havent seen him crib yet, `1/2day anyway..

[cowboy ed]

jennifer, what you are describing is true cribbing. like lori said, try a miracle collar on him and see if that works. i had a horse that cribbed, and the collar did the trick. i sold that horse. horses dont usually quit cribbing, so that collar may be a permanent fixture.

[Mellifluous]

I have one that I can send to you to try, that way you don't have to buy one. I have the fleece pad for it too.

[Terry Wallace]

Yes, you will need a collar. You cannot "cure" this. Horses do it for the endorphin "rush" to the brain that they experience when they do it. It will occur in the pasture or anywhere else he can hang his top insicors over. I watch a gray gelding doing it every day on a wood post of a forty acre pasture next door....

Realize that cribbing is like a drug to a horse. It is very addicting. You have to "mechanically" stop it with a collar (does not work for all horses) if you can. Once they develop the habit..they generally never quit. That is why it is such a vice.

[Pasogirlz]

btw- the collar needs to be rather snug to work. :-?

[Jennifer]

Now that he is in a larger pasture he is not doing it as much but the habit is still there...I call it his cigarette break...The funniest thing about it is that even with all this pulling he is doing with the top teeth he has an underbite! I know it probably has nothing do with his teeth but it is humorous! Go Figure! I'll try the collar...I'll try anything!

[Jennifer]

Oh and Lexi that would be great! Thanks!

[Mellifluous]

PM me with your info and I will get it to you. Or, if for some reason you are around Athens, you could pick it up at my office.

[appyday]

one word...Miracle collar

[CarolU]

one word...Miracle collar

:roll: That's two words. ;-) :razz:

[appyday]

one word...Miracle collar

:roll: That's two words. ;-) :razz:

Sorry...MiracleCollar...better??

[Pasomom]

Yep, Miracle Collar, and yes, it does need to be quite snug. I had to tighten ours several times....I was afraid to do it too tight. He kept cribbing until I got it snug enough. I even called the feed store and told them it wasn't working...they said snug it up some more...it finally worked.

Also, a brand new one will stretch out as they wear it, and you have to continue to snug it up.

I believe the brow band was the one they said to snug up the most......Its been a while since I had to use it......does that sound right you guys?

If you are starting with a used one, you shouldn't have the break-in period!

[motorgypsy]

The miracle collar does work but if you take it off most will revert. We even boarded with a former barrel racing champion mare who cribbed without using a post or anything and she did it constantly. It kept her terribly thin. We had a chance to buy a really nice endurance gelding but he cribbed and we said no thanks. It's a real shame. We also boarded with a weaver. That was creepy! The owner kept him out all the time and he was fine though. If the horse only cribbs on posts it is very easy to run a single hot wire with step in posts inside the main perimeter fence. They can't crib on the plastic posts without getting zapped. That and the collar might get them out of the habit.

[Jaci]

I have a horse who is somewhat of a cribber...Although he doesn't chew the wood he does pull it with his teeth and do a "wind suck" kind of thing. What is the best thing to get so that he will stop? Do the collars really work?

Jennifer

There is some new research out that is suggesting that horses that cribb are doing so due to their having stomach aches. This falls on the heels of the new research that has found that horses produce stomach acid all the time and not just at feeding time as previously thought.

If you find that the collar doesn't work you might want to consider accupuncture. There are currently two methods that I am aware of. One involves permanent staples and the other is putting gold balls under the skin. I allways suggest that a person try the staples first as they are much less money and then if they work you can move up to the gold balls or wires.

Jaci

[Terri]

I want to second what Jaci said (and everybody else) I have 2 cribbers in the barn (or what is left of it). It is addictive, so even if you "fix" what was the initial cause, the behavior will remain. There is a higher incident of colic among cribbers. But the research is beginning to show that cribbing doesn't cause the colic, but rather both the cribbing and the colic are a result of a third factor. Maybe the horse's stomach is more acidic than others, maybe stress causes him an upset, maybe uclers...lots of reasons. Some have found a stomach soother, such as alo-vera (sp?) juice in the feed helps. Also to limit the amount of grain a cribber gets is a good idea. Have you noticed he cribs more just after graining? mine do. But the only way to get them to stop is the collar. Unfortunately the collar causes my guy more stress and he seems more likely to colic then. No win. So I gave up, give them plenty of hay, pasture and a stomach soother and they crib less. But the habit is unbeatable. I know, I've tried.

[Mellifluous]

I wish I had kept Chili long enough to see if the shock collar would stop cribbing.

It was supposed to shock the horse every time they flexed their neck to crib and condition them against doing it. I gave Chili's new owner the collar but they never used it as far as I know. From what I understand, he has continued to crib at his new home but not as much as he used to.


BTW - I tried the miracle collar with him and he quickly learned how to rub his head on something until he got the strap across his forhead behind his ears so he could crib with the collar on.

[PASOFAN]

I havent tried the collar on storm because he will prabably rub it off along w/his beautiful mane! My old trainer used some type of suppliment to stop cribbing and it worked. I cant remember what he used though some minneral..
I have hear about apple vinegar in the feed helps cribbing too, anyone else heard this?

[CarolU]

That is interesting Jaci.

My sister rides at a stable in Spain with 27 horses. All horses are stalled and those who aren't riden are turned everyday for a few hours (she has no good pasture there, mostly dirt). The owner, an English woman, feeds her horses chopped grass hay (looks a lot like straw) 3 times a day, with a big enough meal at night to get them through the night. She feeds no grain or pelleted feed. The horses are paste wormed every two months. She's had this stable for 15 years and has never had a case of founder and never a case of colic, except one mare who colic'd after birth. I'll have to ask about cribbing, but I don't recall seeing any evidence of it when I was there.

Makes you think about the stomach gas theory.

[Terri]

Apple vinegar should help any stomach upset causing the cribbing, and maybe reduce the incidence of cribbing, but wont' cure the habit once it is started. Yes they rub off the collar and their mane. Mico has broken his a number of ways. I've never tried the shock collar, but from what I've read it works great as long as you are there to shock. When you aren't around they go ahead and crib.

[Mellifluous]

The shock collar I had was not activated by a human. It had two metal nipples on it. When the horse flexed it's neck, they would press down and make a connection with the shocking mechanism in the little box attached to the collar. The horse would shock itself by cribbing. Pretty neat idea. It did go through batteries pretty quick though.

It had 3 intensity settings. I tried all three on myself before putting it on my horse.

[motorgypsy]

If it is a belly ache there are lots of remedies to help and I'd sure try them all. Cimetidine is cheap and available at discount stores for acid reduction. There are stronger medications also but it would seem that pasture or hay 24/7 and perhaps daily wormer and stress reduction might help also. This is a problem that really needs to be worked on. Kind of like thumb sucking or humans. I wonder if it is related to worming too early? One major stress producer is putting two or more foals together with no adult. They actually have higher stress levels than one foal alone if you can imagine. Weaned foals need familiar adults as surrogates for mom. If any of you with cribbers can get the history of the horse perhaps we can see a common denominator here??? For example does anyone have a horse who cribs who has never been stalled?? Or is it strictly a stall related problem?

[Terry Wallace]

Can't tell you if the gray gelding in the pasture by me was ever stalled...but he cribs daily on a 40 acre pasture. he has been there for four years...maybe five, can't remember for sure. He stands right up by the road, plants those upper teeth on a wooden post, and winsucks. I have driven by him in the morning, seeing him there, and four hours later he is in the same place doing the same thing.

I know he does not get any grain...just pasture. he has gained weight from when he first showed up. No one shows upto that pasture except on weekends.

[Terri]

Lexi wrote:
It had 3 intensity settings. I tried all three on myself before putting it on my horse.

:PICS

[motorgypsy]

OUCH!!!

[AprilH]

The gelding I purchased almost 6 years ago came with one flaw that was pointed out to me; cribbing. I had never been around a horse that did this and since the gelding was perfect, other than that, I couldn't see why I should not buy him because of the one flaw. I have over the years tried everything that was listed by the other members and realized that I would just have to live with it. I felt so sorry for him with that miracle collar on and realized that the minute it came off he would go back cribbing so I tossed it aside. You read all kinds of things about the bad effects it has on them and then the next article tells you that it has no health effects at all other than being annoying and maybe causing wear on the teeth. At first I was afraid it would be a habit the other horses picked up from him when they were being stalled together but that has not happened. From what I was told, my gelding was boarded years ago with no pasture turn out and was never being ridden so he probably developed this problem then. Apparently if your current horses are "stable happy" and getting to be as much a horse as possible, then you probably won't have cribbing to start or become a habit by just watching their buddy do it.

Over the years I have gotten so used to it I don't even notice anymore. He is almost 17 years old so I'm hoping old age will get him years down the road before any possible effects from cribbing!

[Jaci]

Have any of you ever tried the accupuncture on a cribber? I have seen pretty good results.

Not real impressed with the shock collar idea... It didn't work on mental patients in the 50's so...

But I do understand getting desperate enough to try anything...

I have only had one horse that cribbed. I tried using the miracle collar. She was naturally high headed so when it was tight on her with her head up she just lowered her head to crib. I kept tightning it, according to directions until she wasn't cribbing. The problem was that when she raised her head it was tight enough to cut into her neck and make a really nasty raw sore.

That was when after seeing the results that others were having with accupuncture I did that.


Jaci

[PASOFAN]

My boy storm cribbs and is NEVER stalled, he has access to 4acres of pasture, 2 other horses with him. A jolly ball which he ignores..

I think I will try the apple viniger and see what that does if this no chew-crib spray doesnt work..

[CarolU]

Chewing wood and cribbing (windsucking) are two different things. Most horses will chew up wood.

Are you sure your horse is cribbing?

[PasoPerson38]

I don't personally like using the cribbing straps (miracle collar, etc.) Because I almost choked a horse with one.... :duh
But under my defense the box said, tighten it until the horse no longer gulps the air...well he was definetly not cribbing... :roll: Horise turned out fine though...I jumped on him and took it off.

I would rather use the muzzles. Not the big heavy ones for biters, but the lighter aluminum ones for cribbers. They can eat, drink, graze, everything. And to prevent rub (since the muzzle is connected with a halter) you just buy the fleece halter things. (You can even make your own with fleece and hot glue) Then if the fleece gets dirty or sweaty you throw them in a washer machine.

I have heard of cribbing wearing down the front teeth so much that horses can no longer graze. That can't be good for the acid in thier stomachs :-?

[motorgypsy]

A lot of people do confuse the two but most horses will indeed eat wood of any kind. SloughP beavers down sapling trees and eats the whole thing.

[PASOFAN]

My boy cribbs on steel gaits, puts teeth on, arches neck and sucks air.. :roll: Never on wood, that is weird. yes his front teeth ARE wearing funny, I hope he stops w/the spray.. I will keep you posted if it works for storm!

[Terry Wallace]

A muzzle really won't stop cribbing...they can crib with a muzzle on just fine. It is the endorphine rush that you are up against with a cribber.
The muzzle will just be between the mouth and the post, or whatever the horse chooses to hang his inscisors on.

JMO...

[Jaci]

Alrighty then... I guess accupuncture isn't an option to be addressed here... lol

Jaci

[Brigitte]

A muzzle helped Marinero, he kept it on for a few months then he stopped a bit with the cribbing...now he's kinda picking it up again :roll:

[Pasogirlz]

Alrighty then... I guess accupuncture isn't an option to be addressed here... lol

Jaci

I never heard of accupuncture for cribbing. Does it really help?

[PASOFAN]

I think storm would hate hate hate needels even more after acupuncture..lol I can barely give shots now..lol

But I have no idea, never heard of acu for horses..

[Jaci]

[/quote]

I never heard of accupuncture for cribbing. Does it really help?[/quote]


Yes, in many cases it totally eliminates the problem and in others it may only slow it down.

You don't poke needles into the horse daily as suggested... A few staples are inserted into the horse at the correct sites. Some people say to massage the sites daily... I found that just going over them with a magnet worked really well and I wasn't agravating the spots where the staples were.

As I stated earlier some horses will have a reaction to the staples over time and may get a bit shy of that area. If that happens then you can get gold beads or gold wires as the horse won't react to them. I always tell people to get the staples first though. They are cheaper than the gold. If the staples work then at a later date you can have the gold inserted.

They are using accupuncture here for founder with great success as well.

Jaci