***CRIBBING!!***

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Kerry&Star

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Hi guys, my little mare has started wind sucking and cribbing quite badly, she doesn't do it all the time only when bored or just after food.. She has been wearing the nut cracker collar but she masters it and has to get tighter and tighter! She now has it so tight that she's breathing really heavy and today she got herself in such a state starting shaking and then collapsed on the floor.. Can anyone recommend anything to do now? I've taken the collar off her tonight but just wondering what people's reviews are like on the miracle collar or even the cribbing muzzle? And is her collapsing to do with this? Any help is appreciated as I don't want this ruining my lovely girly. Thanks x
 
If she has only just started you need to look at why she does it in order to help her rather than putting a collar on her, one of mine recently showed signs following a very stressful time and a lot of drugs being administered, I immediately contacted my vet and he was on Gastroguard withing hours of first starting, he stopped and has not done it again.

Cribbing is a strong indication of ulcers, especially if after feeding and this needs addressing, treating, scoping or at least looking at management and diet before resorting to collars that obviously cause the horse further distress.
 
I don't have any direct experience of cribbing but perhaps approaching it from a different angle might be more useful.

It's new to her so what about thinking of possible causes? Gastric ulcers and gut upset are first on my list to rule out and treat if present. Feed add lib forage so she doesn't run out or 24/7 turnout.Low sugar high fibre diet. I wouldn't try to stop her cribbing tbh and wouldn't use a collar. Horses crib for a reason but it can become a sort of habit after time so looking for causes and making changes in management and feeding (so she's not 'bored') would be my starting point.
 
i hate the use of these collars!!!!!:mad: there will be a reason she has just started this, it could be that she is stressed, what is her current lifestyle? sometimes horses get very stressed about small things that we dont think are a problem.....maybe more schooling, more travelling, changing yards, change of companions, more time stabled.....the collar itself will cause discomfort/stress and will not stop the need for the behaviour.....mine started cribbing when she was 12 and i used settlex from feedmark and this seemed to help. she has been much better at a quieter yard with more turnout and now only cribs occasionally after her feed.

this may not apply to your mare but mine had been ok for ages and then suddenly started cribbing really badly even when in the field...as there were other things not quite right i got her tested for cushings and she tested positive. about 3 days after starting on prascend the cribbing was a bit less and gradually over the next 6 weeks it went back to occasional cribbing after her feed....maybe coincidence, but i think her cribbing is linked to cushings. hope this helps
 
Please check management and diet before anything else, I hate these collars :( They have also been shown to increase the behaviour as it causes frustration and stress for the poor horse, I've also heard stories from my vet that horses have caused them selves injury and death from the nutcracker collars, please get a leather one if you intend to keep using it :(

My boy cribs and he used to crib liek a goodun to thepoint where he would forget to eat and only crib, a change in diet, a change in routine and a new yard mean that he has all but stopped bar when I give him a scoop of hifi cubes on the floor - no one at the new yard believes how bad he could have been and they all forget that he cribs so change is possible.

I did try a miracle collar for a week with my boy, but took it off as he found more and more ways to try and remove it and I was more worried about him doing more damage to himself with it, I hated the idea of it and was made to try it by my YO. Please please take it off and take a wider look :)
 
Mine is a windsucker. It started when he was racing and by the time I got him it was a habit.

It hasn't affected his weight or his teeth and TBH even though he has a miracle collar that does work for him... I don't like using it, he doesn't like wearing it and I only put it on when I have to (when someone asks me to put it on him)

In my experience, the nutcracker ones don't work as horses can figure out how to slip it around to enable the behaviour, which makes the collar tighter in the wrong areas of the neck.

Before resorting to collars though, I would definately feed her more roughage and look at getting someone out to check her for ulcers, especially as you mentioned it is a new behaviour (which seems to be the consensus with everyone else too)
 
I would definitely say not to use collars or any device to stop the behaviour, as someone else has said, it doesn't solve the problem or her need to do it. I imagine she collapsed because she couldn't breathe properly, her nerves were a bit squashed or her blood supply was restricted. Like everyone has said, get the vet in pronto, increase her forage to ad lib if poss. Let her have a food ball or something to keep her entertained if more turnout isn't possible and take a really good look at her routine and any changes, however small that have happened recently. Good luck
 
I would never put one of those barbaric things on a horse (as evidenced by your horses collapse tday). You need to look at why she's cribbing and your management.
 
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