Cribbing Advice Please

[Amykins]

So the lady I bought Jack off ,has just bought a new pony appox 12hh, he's very pretty, has wounderful paces(from what I hear) and friendly.......here's the bad points
He started cribbing when he was delivered, his coat is sticky and abit green, he smells of wee wee and his boy bits are discoloured, now I know a good wash will sort out the coat smell and colour. So she called the owner back and explained he has begun cribbing, the woman had never heard of this problem ever, however said that the children would smack his nose and he would stop it, this was never mentioned when purchased, he was already in a school warming up when my friend got there. Now my friend is in a fix and cant decide wether to send him back or to get him a collar, just after some advice from what people think or what she should do.

 

[tasteofchristmaschaos]

When horses are in stressful situations, such as moving to a new home, vices will often be made worse. Indeed, sometimes a horse will only display a vice in stressful situations. It is worth giving him some time to calm down, as he might well do it less frequently, or stop all together.

 

[MissMoo]

We recently bought a horse having been told he cribbed occassionally. When we first got him home he cribbed really badly!! (Including fence posts while turned out!) Now he only cribs at feed times. As TOC said, perhaps a change of environment has caused it and once he settles it will disappear.

If he fits the bill in all other respects, perhaps its worth giving him a bit of time?.

 

[H's mum]

I would agree with the other two replies, moving homes is extremely stressful for some horses and it may just need a little time to settle in

What I don't understand is, how can the pony never've done it before and yet be "slapped on the nose by the children" to stop it from doing it?

Kate x

 

[Echo Bravo]

had a mare cribbed she started when weaned , tried collar for several years didn't work gave up and both of us were much happier and she didn't get colic so much, but she really only cribbed at feed time

 

[AmyMay]

Ah, I'd give him a bit of time to settle. Unless she feels very strongly about it (it's a vice and should have been mentioned), then I would tend to see how things went before even considering a collar.

My horse will very ocassionally crib - although interestingly enough we've just moved yards, and he's not done it once since.

 

[Shilasdair]

I suspect the pony was a cribber when she bought it - these things tend to develop quite slowly.
Personally, I wouldn't mind if one of mine cribbed - and I'd never use a collar (very cruel) to stop it.

Instead, there are lots of humane solutions - turn out for longer, give ad lib forage (low nutrient if nec), make sure the horse doesn't have acidic gut environment so pro-biotics, antacids etc can help.
The enlightened recommendation is to offer your horse something to crib on, which won't damage his teeth - so rubber covered door or whatever.
It's a stereotypy, not a vice.
S

 

[teddyt]

[ QUOTE ]
I suspect the pony was a cribber when she bought it - these things tend to develop quite slowly.
Personally, I wouldn't mind if one of mine cribbed - and I'd never use a collar (very cruel) to stop it.

Instead, there are lots of humane solutions - turn out for longer, give ad lib forage (low nutrient if nec), make sure the horse doesn't have acidic gut environment so pro-biotics, antacids etc can help.
The enlightened recommendation is to offer your horse something to crib on, which won't damage his teeth - so rubber covered door or whatever.
It's a stereotypy, not a vice.
S

[/ QUOTE ]

I totally agree with this. Collars are cruel and dont help the horse at all.

Personally, if the pony was ok in every other way then it wouldnt bother me. Its annoying that the previous owner wasnt honest but IMO it is usually manageable by diet and management and not a reason to get rid of the pony.

It is NOT a vice, it is a learned behaviour with various causes but as shilasdair said, thre are lots of ways to help, without a collar.

 

[SFleetwood]

Cribbing, weaving, box walking are indeed stereotypes. However, commonly cribbing and weaving are referred to as vices which should be made known to any potential purchaser.

 

[Shilasdair]

[ QUOTE ]
Cribbing, weaving, box walking are indeed stereotypes. However, commonly cribbing and weaving are referred to as vices which should be made known to any potential purchaser.

[/ QUOTE ]

No, cribbing, weaving and other so-called 'vices' are 'stereotypies' not 'stereotypes'.

The legal position is indeed that they are termed 'vices', and must be declared prior to sale, so the buyers of this pony could pursue that avenue. It is very hard, however, to prove what someone knew/didn't know, and when a stereotypy developed. As cribbing doesn't affect performance, if I were the buyer I'd be inclined just to manage the pony accordingly.
S