Deep rooted vices...

milesjess

milesjess

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Just a thought really. Can deep rooted vices ever be resolved, such as weaving, cribbing etc?

Has anyone taken on a horse with a vice and stopped the horse from doing it all together?

The reason why I ask is a few years back I was involved with a horse (RS - Though not very suitable). He was stabled literally 24/7, fed high energy feed, hardly ever ridden due to him been 'naughty' and a 'liability.' He was bought off a dealer aged 3 and will now be 12-ish... So he's spent near enough all that time cooped up. I doubt very much he was ever backed properly in the first place.

He has a really bad cribbing problem and is constantly cribbing, only stopping for feed. He has wore metal strips on stable doors down and has no front teeth at all. He is also under nourished and thin.

Is he ever likely to get over this? And would he be riddled with health problems?*

I rang a vet who stated I shouldn't go near him with a barge pole and raised the point of he would struggle to eat hard feed/grass with no teeth.

I'm just looking for opinions and whether this should be reported? I was only 12/13 at the time and recently went back to see him... Do you think it was to long ago?

It was heart breaking to see him. He looked so miserable, depressed and wasn't interested in the attention we gave him as he just continued cribbing.

:( They offered a sale of £200...

(Sorry for the long post!!)
 
Yes I think he could live out, could he graze though?

I also wondered if he could be able to cope after being stabled for so long... I guess I could gradually introduce turnout?
 
Ignore the vet, he could be a different horse living out. At £200 must be worth a try and he will be able to eat fine.
 
Sent a large reply back and they lost it. Buy him, you know the problem, it will never go away, but it is stress related having owned 1 crib biter and 2 weavers. Plenty of turn out and a regular feeding and turn out routine works wonders.:):)
 
So friends of mine were given a pony,it had lived on its own most of its life in a farm yard with no turn out and no company and it cribs constantly. It is now turned out was of the time on good grazing, with company, does not appear stressed and does inhand showing. Its a happy pony,it just cribs and windsucks.
If you can afford the £200 and you can walk away if it doesn't work out do it. There are plenty of fibre feeds that you can give mashed to help with weight gain. The vet is trying to save you from a mistake, as long as you are aware of the risk that it may not work out and can cope with that why not?
 
The logical thing is to say stear clear of this one.But logic is a fine thing. We dont keep horses because of logic.This poor horse needs someone,but there is an awful lot of heartbreak likely. My head says no,but my heart says I would wish you every success.
 
Difficult one...I bought mine without knowing he was an "occasional" cribber. He found himself a favourite post in the field and "stuck to it" day in day out, even when the local hunt were passing! You could see his weight drop off and my only solution in the end was the dreaded cribbing collar ( the leather one ). I know some people are against this but I have never looked back. He put his weight on and is happy in himself. He doesn't wear it all the time anymore in the field, I think sometimes he forgets he's not wearing it so doesn't even try to suck ( TB, what can I say...). Of course collars aren't everybody's cup of tea and certainly there are a lot of cases where they don't work. If it hadn't worked on mine he would have been skin and bones within no time and he would have had a very short life. Perhaps that's why yours is looking so poor? I did everything else you should,24 hour turn-out, company etc etc but he had started sucking when he was a foal and never stopped. He was with 3 other horses growing up in a very laid back environment so need for him to develop a 'stress" vice, yet he did. I wouldn't swap him for the world and I have had him 13 years now, but I'll never buy a "sucker" again.
You might go a long way with what other posters have suggested but I don't think it'll be an easy ride( pardon the pun), I certainly don't think he'll stop cribbing, but you might well reduce it to a managable level... Good luck, let us know what you've decided.
 
He sounds like a horse that will bring you a lot of trouble and grief. Maybe you should let a horse welfare organization know about his problems, rather than rescueing him yourself and give them 200 quid. Then buy a less damaged horse for yourself and give that horse a good home.
 
Two years ago, I was in exactly your postion, considering whether to take on a 25 year old thorougbred who was a chronic cribber. He had no front teeth what so ever and literally cribbed for every second of the day (even while eating hay!). In the end, I rescued him and I have never regretted that decision. He is now a happy, healthy horse in full work and he has not cribbed at all for almost a year. He also manages to graze just fine, even on short grass. The things that helped us were: as much turnout as possible, cereal and molasses free diet, ad lib hay, regular work and probotics. There's no guarantee that this horse will ever stop cribbing but if mine did (after being hooked for 20 years), then there is hope. If you like this horse, take a chance on him but be willing to accept him as he is.
 
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