A Cribbing horse ... Avoid or buy??

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Liccie

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What are everyone's thoughts on cribbing? I'm interested in a horse who is perfect bar the fact I've been told he does sometimes crib... Is it something to stay completely clear of, or is it liveable?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!!
 
I think it depends where and how you plan to keep it. If it will be stabled on a yard with a door to crib on it could pose more problems than if it is to live out 24/7 in a paddock with electric fencing, for example.
 
I had a cribber for years and other than a mildly irritating habit, was never an issue. He would do it before, and after being fed - a bit like a smoker wanting a ciggie after a meal! I never tried to stop the habit as that can cause more stress, and just tried to turn him out as much as possible as did it less in the field.

However do get your vet to check for any teeth damage, and ask if the horse is prone to colic, as both are possible side affects of cribbing.

I would expect this vice to be declared, and reflected in the price but wouldn't put me off if perfect in every other way.
 
my late sisters pony was a cribber .. we used to say she was having a fag! .. anyway, it never caused any issues. My sis did endurance riding on her as well as showing her, she was a 10 x county standard champion, winning at The Royal Show and The Royal Welsh.

I also know that one of Mary King's top eventers (think it was King William) was a cribber .. and he won at Badminton. So I don't think it matters much!!

although I am sure there are purists on here who will wade in and shout me down!!!! LOL!!! :D
 
You would need to make sure that the place you are going to keep the horse, if on livery, will accept a cribber. Many yards won't due to the damage they can do. If you are keeping the horse at home then that would be up to you to mend fences and posts.

I have a cribber. I've owned her for years now. She's very healthy, never been sick or under the weather. She's a very chilled mare but she cribs. I don't mind it as I have my own place and as she's an exceptional mare in all other respects, it's not something that bothers me.

Some people will give you the spiel about them being prone to colic. This isn't necessarily so however I would say pay attention to the care you give them and how you manage them. My mare lives out 24/7 and always has forage in front of her but she still has her moments where she'll wander over to a post and have a good old gnaw.

Other people will say they are difficult to keep weight on. Again I don't have that problem with my mare (she is a full TB).

And then others will say that other horses copy this vice. I've never seen that. I use this mare mentioned above as a part-time babysitter for newly weaned foals and I've never had a foal copy her, nor any other horse on my farm, and I have many horses.

Ulcers are often the initial thought for cribbers so it's worth having the horse checked for them. My mare doesn't have ulcers, but probably had at some stage.

If the horse checks all the boxes then I would not be put off just because it is a cribber. They are often price sensitively because they are cribbers and it is seen as a vice.
 
My horse of a lifetime was a cribber. I got him from Ireland when he was 8 and tried various methods to stop him but to be honest it made him more stressed so I gave up and lived with it. He took me showjumping and eventing and by the time he was about 15 we concentrated on pure dressage. He was sadly PTS at the grand old age of 28 after a horrible accident on the roads because of two dogs. It broke my heart. I would certainly consider another cribber - if its the right one for you. Best of luck
 
Sidney said:
I had a cribber for years and other than a mildly irritating habit, was never an issue. He would do it before, and after being fed - a bit like a smoker wanting a ciggie after a meal! I never tried to stop the habit as that can cause more stress, and just tried to turn him out as much as possible as did it less in the field.

However do get your vet to check for any teeth damage, and ask if the horse is prone to colic, as both are possible side affects of cribbing.

I would expect this vice to be declared, and reflected in the price but wouldn't put me off if perfect in every other way.
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HERE HERE!!!!

Made me smile that both refer to ciggies and cribbers .... LOL!
 
Mine does it and is a brilliant horse so don't let it put you off. there are far worse 'vices' they could have: bucking, rearing etc. mine has never damaged posts, just wears the edge down a bit. Never colicked and teeth been ok apart from needing a couple out last year but she is mid 20's now so not unusual. If you get him, stick to feeding fibre, avoid cereals.
Ps I see it as having a cig too. :D
 
Cribbing after colic is not a fallacy. I have personally seen it in 3 different cribbers.

The biggest problem with cribbing, is that while there are a lot of ideas, no one really knows what causes it or how to stop it. Cribbing is also a pretty generic term as well and can vary hugely in how bad it is. You could have a horse that cribs after eating, suggesting something like an acid reflex and there are supplements which can help, plus really ensuring ad lib forage. You could have a horse who cribs constantly, even with feed changes, supplements etc text and the only thing that will,stop is something like a miracle collar. I have had a cribbers, he ended up in a collar after exhausting every other avenue, I hated putting in the collar as I had not sorted out what caused the problem but he was getting colicky..

So, if I was offered a cribber, not only would I consider how a yard would react, but I would also look very carefully at how bad it is. I ended up having mine out 24 x 7 with electric fencing, but always knew that I was simply preventing and not curing the problem. Weight and copy cats were never an issue though.
 
I would take a cribber any day over a bucker, rearer, bolter, biter, kicker, etc. My TB cribs the same as what is mentioned here, before and after eating (not in the field though) and is otherwise "normal". She is 17, her teeth are fine (the vet always remarks every year how nice her teeth are when they come to rasp them) and *touch wood*, has never had colic. None of the other horses at my yard has copied her either and she holds her weight well for a TB.

She is a brilliant show horse who wins me lots of prizes, excellent in traffic and in everything else so if I had dismissed her due due to "ciggie habit", then I'd have missed out a a REALLY good horse.

It hasn't put me off getting another if it cribs.
 
I have a cribber at the moment, and for me, it does not bother me at all. If I was buying a horse for myself long-term I would happily have another one (and would probably get a bargain too since it does often reflect in the price asked)

My cribber does not suffer from colic and does not have any tooth damage. There has never been any evidence of other horses copying him. I did suspect ulcers and had him gastroscoped, but the vet told me he had the healthiest looking stomach you could possibly ask for!

I don't believe in collars and would never use one on a horse. I have used strips of electric fencing to prevent cribbing in inappropriate places though!
 
Personally i wouldn't buy a horse that cribs only because the sound drives me up the wall and sends shivers down my spine, i can't stand it, so i couldn't have a horse that does it. But if the YO is ok with you having a cribber and you are ok with the horse cribbing, then i don't see how that will affect its performance in any way :)
 
Would never knowingly buy a cribber or weaver even if they were a school master to teach me to ride properly .
There's too many horses without these faults to choose between ,so if I was looking for a new horse they would be left off my shopping list
 
Biggest problem I can see with a cribber is the damage. My friend had one at my yard, and he was great. He did get colic a few times, but he was totally addicted. All my fence posts and his stable door still bear the scars of it!

He had NO top teeth at all left, and had a a hard pad like a sheep. (before we got him, he would crib on concrete or a metal ring, because they kept him tied up to supposedly stop him).

Nothing in the world would stop him, and we did try for a while, but it stressed him out too much. We too reckoned it was like smoking, and in his case he was a chain smoker! He cribbed virtually with every mouthful. We used to joke if you put him in a massive field with grass only in the middle, he would rather stand at the edge and crib, rather than eat.

He was a great horse and took her to championships. Sadly he died a few years ago, through an unrelated illness.

I certainly wouldn't be put off, any where I go now, I recognise that gulp noise at once :)
 
I said I'd never buy a cribber after my loan horse - but I did!! (After being told that she didn't do it...! ;) )
I don't regret it as I love her to pieces, and the habit itself doesnt bother me -but just a word of warning - depending on how severe it is, it may cost you a fortune in fencing! Mine actually breaks rails in half, is eating her way through her field shelter and has scraped her teeth all down the side of the stable block - makes everywhere look a right mess and I doubt we'd be allowed on any yard that's not our own!! To top it all off she likes the taste of Crib-Stop so I can't even put her off that way. I think it's something she's always done and it's just become a habit, she does it quite contentedly. If I'd have known about her expensive habit then I probably wouldn't have gone to see her due to the damage my loan horse did to everything (ironically nothing like the damage my mare has done!), but I have no regrets as I wouldn't have ended up buying my gorgeous girly!! And theyre not all as bad as her, the odd "nibble" wouldn't put me off at all.
 
If the horse is perfect in every other way, has not health issues from the cribbing or otherwise, then I wouldn't worry about it in the least.
 
PingPongPony said:
Personally i wouldn't buy a horse that cribs only because the sound drives me up the wall and sends shivers down my spine, i can't stand it, so i couldn't have a horse that does it.
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Ditto... it's the one vice that really sets my teeth on edge :o We have two on our yard, they crib whether they're in or out, even in electric fenced fields (usually on the 5 bar gate). Drives me up the wall!
 
Liccie said:
What are everyone's thoughts on cribbing? I'm interested in a horse who is perfect bar the fact I've been told he does sometimes crib... Is it something to stay completely clear of, or is it liveable?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!!
Click to expand...

Wouldn't bother me, personally.
 
But... having had one.. I am really really uncomfortable with having an issue I cannot get to the bottom of. When I used the miracle collar I padded it with sheepskin and hated using it. 1 nasty scare with colic made me stop holding out but it is truly amazing that in our modern age, we can't actually work out what physically causes it and how we can make our horses comfortable and prevent it. If it was purely a habit or reflex action I actually wouldn't really mind and would work around it. Its the concern that there is something wrong that worries me.
 
Luci, when I had Rossdales out fairly recently to investigate for potential ulcers etc. they assured me that in my horses case it was just a habit. Yes, it was probably originally caused by his lifestyle (racehorse in training, high protein feed, no turnout) but he has simply been left with a habit and there is nothing physically wrong. I am fairly happy to let it lie now.
 
I would never buy a cribber, the noise drives me up the wall. There is one at the yard and he just cribs 24/7, bang...suck...lick, lick, lick. Drives me nuts! He has wrecked two doors and all the post and rail. He looks well, bar a huge upside down neck and hasn't had colic but he panics if you clip his door open with his chain up to skip him out as he can't reach the door.
 
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