Crib biters....

H

Honeypots

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How do you deal with yours?

Do you just let them get on with it or do you try and stop them? If so how?
Do you add anything to their feed?
Does it concern you or others? What concerns you? Is it the effect on their teeth or their insides...colic maybe?
Is there a pattern?

Can you ever get them past it or will they always do it?

20 questions
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sorry!!
 
My friend's 15 yr old arab has done it all his life. He was a stallion till he was 6 so I think it was a boredom thing.
She used a crib stick on all the wood in his stable and he wore his collar out in the field. He always does after a meal and when he's turned out he'll do it but as soon as theres no one in sight he wonders off to eat lol!

Touch wood he has never had colic, his teeth are fine.
Its never bothered his owner, and it wouldn't bother me as long as it was controllable.
 
Hi,
I am just about to take on a cribber, and have actually looked into feeding supplements to help prevent or decrease her doing it. I have sent an email to Hilton Herbs, and they are looking into it more for me, after asking alot of questions about her, i.e when does she crib, does she bolt her feed etc, so be interesting to see what they say.
My cribber seems to do it all the time, but I don't think it is mainly due to stress, as she is such a laid back mare (TB, ex-racer)
I am also looking into the supplement side to help prevent disgestive problems (thought to be one of the reasons that causes crib biting)
It doesn't bother me at all, as she is so sweet, and such a lovely ride, I just think nobody is perfect, and EVERYONE has their vices - I'd rather have a cribber than a rearer or bolter!!
She has a crib collar on when in the stable (and sometimes in the field) and the yard I am keeping her on have no issues what so ever.
If the horse is everything you want, then why let it worry you?

Lippy x
 
My TB gelding is a cribber. My inital worry was that it was pain related and he might have an ulcer. He's on a high fibre diet and always has adlib hay etc. I stopped feeding him haylage or anything that might irritate his stomach and he gets as much turnout as possible.

I've had my vet check him out several times and they think he is ok. He's never colic'd or shown any signs of it with me but he can be sensitve to the touch over his stomach. TBH I think it's just a habit now, he's 7 so not sure if it can ever be broken. I know that given the chance he was start cribbing again.

I found that Pink Powder was the best suppliment to add to his feed and he also gets mint.

I try to leave him without his collar as much as possible. I've covered his stable in cribbox (not a good stable, lots of inviting wooden ledges at just the right height...). He's normally turned out in an electric fenced paddock but just now he's out in a "normal" field so I pop a miracle collar on him. He doesn't mind getting it on and puts his head down for it to get fasten. I bought the fleece protector set to make sure it doesn't rub him.

Good luck with your horse
 
Thank you both...

I've just taken on a crib biter. I don't know alot of history on him only that he's been passed around a bit before Feb this year. His teeth are quite worn down at the front but not so much that he can't graze.
He always cribs just after he's had his hard feed and then wonders off to graze.
He;s 13 so I don't imagine I'm going to stop him doing it now but would like to understand why he does it .
I guess its the possiblility of digestive problems that concerns me the most so would be really interested if there is anything that would help that..

He has a favourite tree stump he uses (he lives out).. is there anything I can cover it with that will stop him wearing his teeth down?..

Overall..it doesn't bother me.. I just want to make sure I'm doing all I can to make him comfy and stress free
 
Thankyou..

Is mint something that is meant to help? or is that just something you give him?
He lives out 24/7 but does have access to trees and has a stump that he uses to crib.
He has so much grass atm that he won't eat any hay but does have 2 feeds a day which are very high in fibre.
It does seem to be associated with feeding. His stump is across the other side of a 4 acre field from where he feeds and he goes straight over once he's eaten..
HIs tummy does rumble alot too...
 
My 18 year old has always done it (I've had him 16 years) and has no adverse effects from it. He was very thin when I got him and I dont know if it was a stressy thing at the time which is now just habit. He does it after a feed and when he is first put in the field but wanders off after about 5mins. Over the years I tried everything to stop him as it can be quite annoying but collars and cribbox (the paint stuff) just stressed him even more so now I leave him to it and he's much happier. I have my 'vices' and he's entitled to his as long as its not doing any harm!
 
There is something in the back of my mind suggesting Coligone (or try Gaviscon) after feeding, and Pink Powder. Start off with two scoops (I think) twice a day, then one scoop once a day as a maintenance dose. Check the tub though. I am sure reducing acid in the gut can help with the causes, although it may be a habit which is hard to break.
 
My 3 year old does it and has done since she was about 9 months old. Initially I think she started when she had a tummy ache which was later sorted, but she decided she quite liked the cribbing so continued.

I do not stress over it, it is her habit not mine and do not use anything to try to stop her. She is not stabled though as she hates to be in (she is a BWB) and I think now mostly does it when people are around to see if it bothers them! The only thing I do worry about are her teeth in later years. If they do it as a nervous or stressy habit, getting angry with them and keeping on about it is only going to make matters worse I think. She is happy, has good condition and has never ever passed the habit on to any of her field mates. In fact, my new mare who is her best friend, actually tells her off for doing it, I think she finds it irritating!
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QR
The recent studies done by vet schools (especially on foals) suggest that crib-biting starts when the horse's stomach contents are too acidic. Horses can't produce saliva without actually chewing, unlike dogs (so horses don't drool at feed time) but they need saliva to buffer the acidity in their guts, and hence start cribbing.
You can help the horse's digestive system by making sure he doesn't go for long periods without food - so ad lib hay is good if you can. A high fibre, low concentrate diet is best, and you can even give antacids for severe cases.
You could also give probiotics, or as Sooty says Gaviscon. Mint is meant to be good for digestion generally, too.
Putting a crib collar on is a bit pointless, and could be detrimental to the horse's welfare, as will then be unable to swallow saliva and may be more prone to acidity and gastric ulcers, etc. Instead, it is often recommended that you let your horse crib to his heart's content, but try to channel it to something which won't damage teeth or fencing - so install a soft wood crib post, or cover one in rubber (has to be hard wearing) and run electric fence along the top of your post and rail if he looks like uprooting it.
Hope this helps.
S
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There was some research carried out a few years ago by Clare Macleod (an independent equine nutritionist) and a vet. They studied various crib-biters and came to the conclusion that in a lot of cases it was caused by excess stomach acid due to feeding cereals. Once the horses were fed forage based diets with ad lib hay/haylage and access to grazing and were not fed any cereals, plus an antacid was added to their feeds, in the majority of cases they improved. Feedmark do a supplement called Settelex which was formulated by Clare as a direct result of the research. Clare's webiste is here if you want to contact her or find out more.
 
Here is the link to the fleece set

I would get your horse checked out by a vet if you are concerned. I wouldn't "medicate" without knowing what, if anything, the problem is. I agree with everyone else about the likelihood of it being an ulcer.

My boy was a bit underweight when I got him, his teeth are worn at the front and as he lived out not sure if he perhaps wasn't able to eat the short grass? He was being fed.

I know your YO is understanding but that might wear off if serious damage is done to the fencing. That is why I decided to put a collar on my boy at my old yard. He too had a tree stump his field but he liked the fence posts too...

My main worry was about his teeth, I didn't want them wearing down and becoming a problem in the future as he's only 7.

He's got adlib forage and just now is fed 2x a day but in the beginning I was giving him his feeds split over 3x a day so that his system wasn't overloaded. If he is able to keep chewing, be it grass or hay, this will increase his saliva production. I also give my boy licks to stimulate his saliva. He loves Horselyx and covers everything in brown goo
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When my boy first arrived I gave him a course of probiotics (from the NAF range) along with mint. Mint is thought to be good for the digestive system (and blood supply for Laminitics). I feed Pink Powder now in his feed and he's doing grand on it.

It's hard to know what to do for the best as there is so much conflicting information. Some folk think collars are cruel (I think the nut cracker ones are) other thinks they are good, some folk recommend lots of different supplements and some folk say leave them to it
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I guess it's just a case of trial and error until you find something that works for your horse and you.
 
My worst cribber has a collar on. All this actually does is reduce the force that he puts behind his cribbing.
He has an antacid in his feed ( not that we had seen it make any difference) and is fed plenty of fibre
 
My horse is a cribber - he is a hardened addict (only 7) - don't know why he started but it is a habit now. I researched a bit into it and read that it can start for one reason and then become a habit because it releases endorphins in the brain, so essentially they get a bit high from doing it.

my ned wore a collar to begin with, but is such an addict he could crib with it on no matter how tight it was, so I took it off (after checking with everyone that it was okay to do so) and he just gets on with it now - he can do it freestyle too and sometimes does it freestyle when I am on board! which i think is well cheeky!

he is out 24/7 and isn't stressed, is certainly a good doer, so i put it down to an endorphin addiction that is unlikely to go away. it can be annoying, but I am used to it now and the dentist said his teeth were fine -whether that stays the case in the future I don't know.
 
My 3 1/2 year old mare does this. She wears a coller when she is in her stable to stop her and this works just fine doesn't stress her out or any thing. She started to do it in her feild so i ran electric tape round the top rail (not turned on) and that stoped her. I feed her 1an 1/2 scoop of alfalfa a( think i have spelt that right) between 2 meals a day as that is supposed to stop the build up of acid etc and prevent them colicing because of it. Since putting coller on etc she has started putting on a lot more weight. My mare seems to do because she is bored so she has a feed ball in her stable which she loves and this helps as it takes her ages to eat her tea. Tried all the cribox etc which worked to start with but seemed to become immune to it. sorry for the spelling.
 
Shilasdair was right - however the horse is different (from say dogs) as it continually produces gastric acid (as it is meant to graze for lot longer periods) - the saliva is used as an acid buffer and is only produced when the horse chews - periods spent without eating/producing saliva mean that excess gastric acid builds up - therefore we need to ensure that the horse has access to adlib roughage -
When horses crib, it is thought to be the result of the horse trying to alleviate the sensations brought about by excess gastric acid - gastric irritation/ulcers is a massive problem with a lot of horses and cribbing can be associated with these problems.
You may find relief for your horse by using a supplement that works as a saliva substitute/gastric acid buffer - If you need more information, please pm me!
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Kate x
 
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