Crib Biting / Wind Suckers

[aidybex]

Just wondered what experience people have with horses with this vice and also what medical issues can occur from it. I'm aware of issues with teeth. Am keen to investigate as am viewing a horse that does this (also posted in Vet). Only does this when stabled and not out in the field,

Thank you!

 

[MrMeldrew]

It more a symptom rather than something that may cause problems although people say it can cause colic and it does of course cause teeth damage.
It can be a result of gastric ulcers, boredom, stres or any other kind of pain or discomfort.
I would definitely have a thorough vetting done on a horse that cribs/windsucks but wouldn't necessarily let it put me off a horse if it ticked everyother box.
I manage mine by giving him 24/7 turnout and a fibre based diet with no cereals.

 

[countercanter123]

my horse does it and i have no issues with him doing so at all! he doesnt do it all the time, mainly when hes about to be fed or on the mornin of a show when hes excited!! i think that what he wants to do in his own time is up to him, as long as it doesnt start to affect his teeth or weight, which it doesnt and dont think it will! his teeth at the front are only slightly worn and hes done it for years

 

[competitiondiva]

My first horse did it, her front upper teeth were worn down a little, other than that we had no health issues from it but she did wear a miracle collar at all times. The main problems we encountered were finding livery spaces, not many yards allowed them on. Not sure if things have changed on that front now-a-days?? She was a handful of a horse, very highly strung, not sure if this was linked to the windsucking/crib biting or not?? The other thing to bear in mind is the possible re-saleability/value, because of the problems associated with this vice, horses will never fetch their full value and also fewer people are willing to buy them so the ability to sell on is affected.

 

[charlimouse]

My mare does it, has never caused her any medical problems. She has evented to 1* level with no problems, she normally does it after she has been fed, and when she is a bit bored, so i make sure she is kept as entertained as possible with stable toys, plus I turn her out as much as possible. I've had her checked for gastric ulcers, the vet said she was one of the healthiest horses he had ever seen!!! The only thing I would say is due to the overdeveloped neck muscles, she does find working in the correct outline more difficult than a horse which doesn't windsuck.

 

[Slinkyunicorn]

Mine does it - he came from a compettion yard so was kept in pretty much 24/7 apart from work.

I manage his ulcers and he is turned out here 24/7 for a much as possible and in the year I have had him he has chilled out a lot

- was a pretty chilled character anyway until it came to being in at night.

He doesn't have a collar on and has lots of hay at night and has a fibre based diet. Is hugely improved but was never the worst and only ever did it when stabled.

 

[aidybex]

It was my friend (who owns the farm where I keep my horse) who phoned me to tell about this one for sale. She's not bothered by it as she's had horses do it in the past - so no livery issues thankfully!

Also the horse is priced very reasonably and issue has been taken into consideration!

 

[Cazza525]

I still have a 26 year old pony that has crib bit and windsucked since the day i bought her as a weanling at 6 months. She has had 2 mild attacks of colic, one last year and one the year before. Apart from that it has never affected her in any way. She has bred 4 foals, none of which had the vice. She is still hacked regularly and maintains her weight well. Vet did say that the vice did not definitely contribute to her having colic.

 

[Luci07]

there are huge variances on how severe this can be and it is still not really understood why horses do it. There are a lot of theories but it does vary from horse to horse. The only thing I have seen first hand is some breeding lines have thrown cribbers - I had a Primitive Rising horse and out of 4 PR horses(different yards/backgrounds) - all ended up cribbing - 2 ended colicing as a result which would suggest that certain sensitive characters could be prone to it. I could "stop" mine with a miracle collar BUT always was concerned as I could not be sure I wasn't making him uncomfortable/restricting wrongly. I needed to have him with a collar because the yard required it and most yards are not keen on taking cribbers on board as it thought that this vice can be "spread".

 

[aidybex]

Thank you so much for everyone's input. Am feeling quite positive and the horse sounds amazing. The lady who is selling him said she always was of the opinion crib biters were poor doers but she said he is up to weight and has never seen him drop condition.