RedFeather
New User
My mare is a windsucker/cribber (she grabs onto fences and sucks in air, in Aus everyone calls it windsucking but after much research, it seems everywhere else in the world refers to that as cribbing haha).
*This is a boredom habit she picked up when she was racing, being kept in her stable, not from ulcers, gastric pain or stress*
I've owned her for a year now and she's never coliced and is in great condition weight-wise, in work 4-5 times a week, she's healthy with two hardfeeds a day, 24/7 turnout and neighbour horses in the next paddock. I've had vets check her for ulcers and there's never any concern or symptoms even.
Essentially, her winsucking/cribbing doesn't bother me because she's maintaining her weight and she doesn't do it excessively, only when she's tied up or for a little while during the day in her paddock. BUT she's only 8 and I'm worried about her wearing her teeth down. My last mare was also a windsucker/cribber and at 16 yo, she struggled to bite through apples etc due to teeth damage so I don't want this to happen to my new mare.
Anyway, I've tried using a collar on Violet, my mare, but after about a day of wearing it (done up tight enough that it wont twist around her neck but loose enough to fit two fingers in the side) she becomes VERY sensitive around her poll area and will jerk her head away if you try to put her halter/fly veil on or if you touch the area that's sore. This reaction frankly is making me nervous to handle her in fear of getting headbutted out of the blue! Normally, she is very affectionate and not headshy in the slightest so this behaviour is caused by the collar.
The point of this post is to see everyone's experiences/opinions on trying a cribbing muzzle instead. Has anyone found these effective in stopping or even reducing cribbing? Can horses just get them off easily? Can they still eat shorter grass or their hardfeeds? Has anyone found their horse to stop eating and drinking when wearing it? Are they heavy or do they get hot? Do they rub? Any advice would be muchly appreciated!
PS - She is kept at my own property but spends weekends at an agistment property. She has post and rail fencing for her paddocks and creating electric fencing prevention can be done but I'd prefer to hear other options before resulting to that.
Thank you
*This is a boredom habit she picked up when she was racing, being kept in her stable, not from ulcers, gastric pain or stress*
I've owned her for a year now and she's never coliced and is in great condition weight-wise, in work 4-5 times a week, she's healthy with two hardfeeds a day, 24/7 turnout and neighbour horses in the next paddock. I've had vets check her for ulcers and there's never any concern or symptoms even.
Essentially, her winsucking/cribbing doesn't bother me because she's maintaining her weight and she doesn't do it excessively, only when she's tied up or for a little while during the day in her paddock. BUT she's only 8 and I'm worried about her wearing her teeth down. My last mare was also a windsucker/cribber and at 16 yo, she struggled to bite through apples etc due to teeth damage so I don't want this to happen to my new mare.
Anyway, I've tried using a collar on Violet, my mare, but after about a day of wearing it (done up tight enough that it wont twist around her neck but loose enough to fit two fingers in the side) she becomes VERY sensitive around her poll area and will jerk her head away if you try to put her halter/fly veil on or if you touch the area that's sore. This reaction frankly is making me nervous to handle her in fear of getting headbutted out of the blue! Normally, she is very affectionate and not headshy in the slightest so this behaviour is caused by the collar.
The point of this post is to see everyone's experiences/opinions on trying a cribbing muzzle instead. Has anyone found these effective in stopping or even reducing cribbing? Can horses just get them off easily? Can they still eat shorter grass or their hardfeeds? Has anyone found their horse to stop eating and drinking when wearing it? Are they heavy or do they get hot? Do they rub? Any advice would be muchly appreciated!
PS - She is kept at my own property but spends weekends at an agistment property. She has post and rail fencing for her paddocks and creating electric fencing prevention can be done but I'd prefer to hear other options before resulting to that.
Thank you
