cribbing youngster ......help needed again!!!

J

juevans

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iv posted about my 2yr old sec c cribbing on here before am confused now because for a week now he as been turned out 24/7 and he seems to be worse.
yesterday morning he was at the gate with my other gelding wanting to come in due to the amount of rain i guess and was doing it on the fence and again this morning both times iv brought him in my cob who is with him is biting the fence a bit too but not cribbing..YET!!!
trouble is YO will not be impressed at him eating his way out of the field am at a loss as to whats made it worse...could it be change in routine he did have 2 hours turn out 3x a week over winter and cant say i saw him cribbing on fence at all so its not that he as never been out wondered if its when hes bored or wants to come in but the minute he comes in he starts on his door.my big concern is that hes always with my 4yr old gelding and i dont want him to start doing it.
sorry its abit long all suggestions gratefully received.....oh av tried coligone no success and he doesnt have cereal based feed either
 
I've always thought that cribbing is something some horses do to relieve stress and as such wasn't 'catching'

Theres a horse on our yard that cribs in his stable but the horses either side of him don't
 
There's some evidence that it's lack of fibre in the diet, causing acid build up that he has to relieve by swallowing saliva to buffer it (horses can only produce saliva when they are actually chewing on something, hence the cribbing).
I'd say he's doing it because you aren't giving him hay in the field - and if it's a field full of short, lush grass, then the fibre levels are quite low - long, stemmy grass would be better.
Please don't put a collar on - it's cruel.
S
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thanks shilasdair you may have hit the nail on the head there about the grass
i have no intention of putting a collar on him i tried one for 1 night when i first got him and he did it but i couldnt sleep and it didnt stop him
so if he needs hay whats your thoughts on if i keep him in over night and give him hay ? over winter he as had ad lib hay as thats how i keep all my horses dont like them standing with empyt nets and the only time he really did it then was after hard feed which is what i expected
 
I agree with Shilasdair, please don't put a collar on. I do not believe that other horses copy this behaviour, when more than one horse on a yard is starting to demonstrate these behaviours it is more likely that they have the same management rather than they are copying each other.
If they could copy so well, wouldn't it make our life much easier... just a thought for everyone to discuss.. if they do copy these behaviours.. why do they only copy the bad things.. and not the good ones ? :-) My horse's box overlooks our jumping school, would be great if he would pick up some tips during the day when he is viewing :-)
 
i dont actually beleive that horses do copy behaviours to be honest as my 4yr old as been stabled next to him all winter and hasnt done it but it just worried me that 2 mornings now iv caught both of them eating the fence....bl**dy horses
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Why is a collar cruel I am talking about the leather ones that loosen when they put their head down to eat. Colic etc isnt that great either.
 
everyone as their own opinions on wether or not to put a collar on
i dont use one but then he asnt as yet had colic or any signs of it
 
Try putting a bale out for the two of them in lots of piles, maybe only one pack per pile, they then keep themselves occupied looking for the long fibre food, this solves two problems, lack of fibre and boredom.
 
HI
the reason it is cruel to apply anything to stop them doing this behaviour is that they are doing it to relieve in some way stress. If you prevent the behaviour (esp if nothing changes in the management) then you are creating more stress.
 
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