Horse eating cribox? What's your experience? [poll]

[tyner]

Hi there, please don't laugh at this possibly strange question, but in need of help.

I went to the yard yesterday and my horse had a sticky substance all over his neck, rug and face and was (unusually) licking his stall door. The door was covered in a substance that smelled like turpentine/pine tar/wood preservative and was sticky. He had covered himself in it and found whatever it was quite tasty. It has a strong smell and residue that is similar to wood varnish that I can't remove from my coat and gloves as I was trying to clean him off.

I asked what was put on the door and the YO said it was cribox. I understand that cribox is supposed to prevent chewing on wood, but whatever was put on the door made the wood very tasty to him. The horse is not a cribber or wood chewer which the YO acknowledged, but said she wanted to protect her doors. I said of course I'd pay for any replacements/repairs needed if my horse was damaging the stable (she had never expressed he was damaging anything previously) and the wood on the door was already chewed when we got there.

Given the fact the horse seemed to really, really like the taste of it to the point of covering himself in it and licking it like butter, I have a hard time believing that it was cribox that was put on the door. I wouldn't be surprised if it was something else, especially considering that cribox does not seem like a cheap or casual application, especially for a horse that is not an active cribber or stall biter. But I have no experience with the product before. I'd like to give the benefit of the doubt here, but it seems that a product designed to keep horses from mouthing something has turned the barn door into Christmas dinner.

Does it sound like cribox to you? Have you known a horse to lap it up like a tasty treat? And if so, is there any harm in it? Or does it sound like something else is going on?

Thanks in advance.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I had one that once he got past the initial
*shuddery grimace type lick would go about tucking in and getting rid of it so he could wind suck without hassle again! ?
I wouldn’t say he liked it as such buy he certainly would get it gone the only way he knew how! ?
There is one way to tell if it’s cribbox of course…… ? I always manage it unintentionally

 

[PurBee]

I dont know what cribox is but having googled it seems to look like a tar substance.

Actual pine tar is likely cheaper and looks darker - its often used on hooves.

Here’s cribox, was it like this?:



Pic from someones blog http://myequestrianworld.blogspot.com/2011/08/stopping-cribber.html who found it worked to stoo her horse cribbing posts.

Someone in the comments said they used vinegar on their cribbing pony which worked well. Surely something that doesnt make such a mess like vinegar would be better to use on stable doors?
I’d be annoyed if there was a tar substance all over the stable doors, everyone is bound to get it on their clothes/mane/hair etc.

If it is a fir-tree-oil / tar-based product you’d need turps to clean it off, but avoid around eyes /mouth/nose/sensitive skin.

 

[Gloi]

I wouldn't be please if I went to the stables and my horse was covered in goo.

 

[PurBee]

P.s cribox ingredients : Active Ingredient: Dec. Aloes. Co. Conc. BPC 2.8%w/w, Capsicum Oleoresin 0.8%w/w

Unsure what those are except the hot pepper. An amazon listing says ‘hot pepper in a wax-like substance’

Not sure if thats safe to ingest, probably not in large amounts.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I wouldn't be please if I went to the stables and my horse was covered in goo.

No quite! It’s foul stuff and really sticks in the hair.

 

[Sealine]

To be honest I'd be pretty peeved if a yard owner painted anything, including Cribox, on my horse's stable door without speaking to me first.

 

[HashRouge]

It sounds like Cribbox, although I've never known one to like the taste before!

I would also be very annoyed to find my YO had sloshed it over my stable door if my horse didn't chew wood/ crib. It absolutely stinks, won't come out for ages if they get it on their coat/ mane/ tail, and needs reapplying regularly to actually do any good. So unless your YO is going to reapply every 2-3 weeks, it is utterly pointless. I have a cribber, although he seems to have more or less given up on it now, and I only ever use Cribbox on the partition between his stable and my mare's (it's half height) if I notice him actively cribbing, or see signs of recent cribbing on the partition. He seemed to have given up on it last winter, so I didn't bother, because I'll just end up with two ponies covered in sticky stuff. They both stick their heads into each others stables, so unfortunately my mare would usually get it on her neck even though I only put it on the gelding's side of the partition.

 

[Squeak]

Another who would be annoyed to find cribox or similar smeared on my horses door when it's not a particular chewer. It makes a mess regardless of whether they like the taste of it or not because they lean against the doors.

 

[leflynn]

Mine licked off the cribbox so he could crib on the door (I had out it there as a trial), needless to say I never bothered trying again

I have used cribstop on his rugs to stop another chewing them and that worked thankfully

 

[tyner]

Thanks to all for writing in--partly why I posted was because I don't really believe that it was cribox they put on there, especially as the YO is more on the cost cutting side of things. Honestly it could have been anything. It was a nasty surprise to arrive to. And hellish to clean up.

Maybe the sticky stuff all on the door and my poor horse was their reaction to me giving my one month's notice that I was leaving? Combined with other things that have happened... it would be a quite juvenile reaction but I don't suspect it far outside the realm of possibility.

I try to think the best of people but they've not given me a lot of reasons to trust them. :-(