Heck, great horse but cribs and windsucks?

M

maree t

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 September 2010
Messages
1,187
Visit site
Came across a lovely horse yesterday 15.2hh thorobred gelding, 4 yrs, quiet calm laid back , within price range but only because he cribs and windsucks. We keep our horses at home so they are out most of the year and just in at night during the wetest times. The YO said that he cribs even out in the field but not sure how much turnout he gets. We can cope with electrifying all the fences and taking stable door off etc but dont know what the long term prognosis is. I have never dealt with this problem before and thought that it was a habit that could be helped but would love to know if you have experience. He wears a collar out in the field otherwise he just stands at the fence and she said he then doesnt eat. He is a good weight at the moment and looks really well. Dont know what to do, I am really taken with him.
 
My horse windsucks, i dont let it bother me. It doesnt affect her in anyway. I believe she does it because of her past, she is a rescue case. She does it in the box, especially with food about, and intermittently in the field. I dont use a collar as they dont work on her, and she is still a healthy weight and is eating fine. I just let her get on with it, as it stresses her out more if she cant do it. Infact she has a special wooden bar in her box for it as she was ruining her teeth trying to do it in between the metal bars in her box.
Ive had her nearly 3 years, no problems with ulcers, colic, stomach or weight problems, but i do realise every horse is different.

She is stabled at night, and turned out with 5 other mares, of which one is a youngster, not one has ever shown any interest in what she is doing.

For me, i wouldnt think twice to get a horse if it was the perfect horse besides wind sucking.

Thats just my opinion though, i realise there are a lot of people who look down on such behaviour, but i dont care, im happy and my horse is happy! :)
 
Thanks for that . Did you buy your horse knowing that she windsucks ?. I think once the kids leave home I will probably have to sell him on . Concerned that he would be less likely to find a good home ?. Do you give her a softwood bar or hardwood ? Thanks
 
My boy cribs. He is 19 now and has done since he was 4 - his breeder sold him at 4 and he went to a livery yard where he was left in and he picked it up there. She had him back and I bought him at 11 and he has spent many many happy hours cribbing on anything he can get his teeth on. Ive never put a collar on him but have tried settlex and an expensive period on gastroguard - none of which made any difference. He's always been a total endorphin junkie though and would spend periods cribbing furiously and then dozing off.
Since we moved to a livery yard (from home) though its all but stopped... he is in a paddock with my other two but its electric fenced and he hasnt attempted it... so he is in better condition than he has been before... and now when I put him in the stable he has lost interest in cribbing for hours and will maybe do it once and then he's bored.
He's more attention seeking now though than ever lol!
 
A good friend of mine bought a horse knowing he cribs and windsucks. Never had any problems with him as a result, although he won't ever be sold on, unlike your prospective purchase. However, it seems as though cribbing / windsucking isn't a deal-breaker, and a lot of people would be prepared to buy such a horse.
 
I had a horse that cribbed and wind sucked, it was caused by gastric ulcers and could not be cured. I don't believe that horses learn it from one another, but that it is a symptom and not a cause.

Be aware that recent research has found that horses are more likely to have repeated episodes of colic if they crib.
 
I bought my first horse and my current horse knowing they cribbed. If they ticked all the other boxes what they did on their down time was their own business so to speak. I also give the current mare a designated area to crib in the stable which does reduce any damage and also have a plastic tube over the top of the door.

I have no problems with her holding weight either.... sometimes knowing that I can park her next to a fence knowing that she won't wander off is a godsend LOL
 
Our horse occasionally cribbed when we bought him - this was the reason we could afford him!. We put a line of electric tape across the top of all the fence posts, though it isn't electrified, and use an anti-crib paste on the top of his stable door. Haven't seen him crib in over 6 months now and, happily, there has been no change in him at all.
 
My new boy cribs, he picked up the habit during his racing career. He's been with us about a month now and he's really settled down with it. He now only does it after eating his hard feed and we allow him to....its his 'thing' and he would be more stressed if I stopped him.
I've known him 2 years previous and his old owner put a collar on him which did indeed stop him (he wore it more for the the YO). He has been checked for ulcers etc. and all is okay at the moment. His condition isn't a problem but I think that's because he isn't doing it constantly.

On the selling front - many people nowadays discount things like cribbing and windsucking if the horse ticks all the other boxes.
 
I haven't owned one but I have talked to owners whose horses have this vice and it is much easier to manage if you keep them on your own land and can adjust how they are kept. On a livery yard, its a nightmare! I would say you could find a way to manage it and if he really is perfect in every other way, I would consider it.
 
One of my horses windsucks. I did not know she did prior to purchase and delivery. She came from another country so the first time I saw her in person was the day she arrived, and immediately I saw she was a windsucker. I've owned her for quite a few years now and in the early days it was a noise that really irritated me but as the years have gone on it doesn't any more. I leave her to it, no way would I put a collar on her. She's quite happy. She has never had any illnesses or upsets. She doesn't have gastric ulcers or any other problems.

I think with cribbers or windsuckers you either can live with it or you can't and the comment made above that it's easy to live with it when they are on your own premises. Many livery yards do not like cribbers and windsuckers.
 
Cluny said:
I had a horse that cribbed and wind sucked, it was caused by gastric ulcers and could not be cured. I don't believe that horses learn it from one another, but that it is a symptom and not a cause.

Be aware that recent research has found that horses are more likely to have repeated episodes of colic if they crib.
Click to expand...

Please can you put a link to this research. I was told the opposite by my old vet - that stopping a cribber from cribbing, can cause colic if they crib as a response to ulcers.

OP. I have a cribber (ex-racehorse). No ulcers and she only cribs after hard food or a treat. The new fence has electric tape on and she has a couple of cribbing stations. I don't use a collar on her (horrible things) and her cribbing isn't a problem. She has to live out 24/7 though as she gets very stressed when you bring her in (she had no turnout when she was in training).

I would be concerned that this horse would rather crib than eat. It really needs to be looked at by a vet and scoped for ulcers.
 
Faracat said:
Please can you put a link to this research. I was told the opposite by my old vet - that stopping a cribber from cribbing, can cause colic if they crib as a response to ulcers.
Click to expand...
It's doubtful you'll be given an up to date link as all research papers and vet journals I've read on the subject corroborates what you say. A cribber/windsucker is no more or less likely to get colic due to windsucking/cribbing than any other horse would be going about its daily business.
 
Over many years of working with horses I have had several cribbers and windsuckers and never had one of them colic!

Fact is that most are suffering from gastric ulcers and it is a way of easing the discomfort.
A horse that cribs will find anything to do it on even if you electrify the fencing - even another horse, the water trough or even (in severe cases) their own knees

It does much reduce their value.

You do learn to ignore it and when you do they seem to do it less.
 
My TB cribs but only after eating or treating (so I don't treat her from the hand). No problems with colic (touch wood) or holding her weight (she is a good doer!). I do not use a collar on her as to me, it's no worse than someone biting their nails (my OH bites his down to the quick, ouch!!). She is the safest and best horse I have ever had and would get another horse who cribs or windsucks if they are safe and able to do the job I want them to do.
 
I was given an 11yo welsh cob who windsucked, especially when upset about something. He started it long before he came to me, he'd been badly treated, and for all his life mis-trusted men (a great improvement from positively hating/terrified of them). We paited the fence posts with old engine oil religiously for two years (about every 2 months). and kept him out as much as we could and did as little as possible to alter his routine.

He came round and pretty quickly - within 2 years he'd stopped and his teeth returned to a normal shape about a year later - he'd worn a dent in his incisors! He never did it again after that, and he put on some weight.
 
My boy does, doesn't cause any problems. He lives out all the time as it is the best for them, though he doesn't do it very often as long as there is plenty of forage. Electrifying the fence line is best as saves posts and rails for being worn down! And if he's in make sure the stable door has a metal strip cover over it, again so it doesn't get worn down. They tend to do it more after eating, mine has a crib for a while after dinner then mooches off away from the fence as soon as I leave!

I throw a miracle collar on from time to time, they are brilliant. Don't let it stop you getting him if you like him, it's easily managed. Mine hardly does it at all these days as he's happy in his current home :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top