Foals Cribbing

[3Beasties]

There is a small Stud farm near to the yard that breeds lovely little Welshies, I always admire them as I ride/drive past.

Recently I have noticed that there are two foals turned out in a little sand paddock (the foals are probably about 6 months old) that are cribbing on the fence REALLY badly. Every rail of the paddock has been chewed a lot. They have plenty of hay and are only out during the day.

This is not by any means a dig at the stud, all the ponies are well looked after and fed but I am just genuinely curious about the following......

Is it common for foals to crib? Is it because they are teething? Are they likely to grow out of it or will it/has it become a vice?


Answers on a postcode please

 

[EPRider]

It sounds as if the foals are wood chewing and not cribbing. All foals mouth and chew things. It is only cribbing if they are sucking and gulping air at the same time.

 

[Puzzles]

Ditto the above: it's usually due to a dietry imbalance, ususally in the form of not enough forage (unlikely considering that you say they have 'plenty' of hay but still worth checking) or not enough vitamins & minerals (inc. salt). If they are just on forage, or not being fed the recommended volume of a stud compound feed, then they will not have all of the vitamins & minerals they need for a balanced diet.