Please advice/opinions

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shadowboy

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Ok, little mare arrived 17 days ago. Apart of one very hairy incident when she exploded, shes been an angel. Today yard owner wanted them all in as it was raining and she wanted the paddocks rested while it was heavy. I brought her in at 7.20am (they are all still living out 24/7 at the mo) and tied her up and she started cribbing! In the 17 days shes been here she has not even shown any inclination to do this whatsoever no matter what the situation! I left for work and returned at 5pm and was told by owner of yard that she had not done any more cribbing at all during the day. Now she then put her two out, one other horse was still in, but she got all stressy and started again! It was not constant but she would do this every now and again. I took her out and tied her up, and she did it once more on the fence post. she has been on the yard on her own before and not done it/has never done it in the field or in the stable before. What may have started it? None of the other yard horses do it either! It was such a shock. Any ideas. Do you think its food related? Or stress- will it get worse/constant or could it be a one off type thing?
 
It sounds like a stress thing to me, when you brought her in was she first one in?
Its like a seperation anxiety i think, i know she was not alone when two went back out but the sight of the other two leaving may have triggered it.
How old is she?
 
Shes six. No shes wasnt the first one in, she was second, but her previous owner said she pair bonded very quickly so you might be right- i just dont want it to become a full blown habbit!
 
If shes not doing it when she was in all day I doubt it is a big problem, perhaps moving yard recently combined with her buddy going in or out may just have triggered it, fingers crossed she will stop.

My mare box walked when i moved her and loads of people told me they will then so it for life, if in a stressful situation- well 3 weeks on and she completely stopped.
 
Yes shes full TB, I am not feeding mix, but she wasnt being fed at all untill I got her. Shes on 1 scoop of Hi-Fi and half scoop of High fibre cubes along with sunflower seeds for her feet. Why would that cause it to happen?
 
I find any cereals will trigger my cribber & I've also been told to avoid cubes as they're harder on the stomach. This would only make a difference if her cribbing is due to a stomach problem though. You could try wetting the cubes so they form a mash & see if that makes a difference?

It does sound like a stress reaction to me & if that's the case a bit of careful handling & time to settle in properly should solve the problem. In the meantime you could try putting cribbox on any surface you see her cribbing on.
 
She may have an ulcer. Mixes are more likely to irritate an ulcer than cubes which are cooked and digest easier. The sunflower seeds are very high in protein and may well be causing irritation in the gut.

I am speaking from personal experience and would recommend that you speak to one of the bigger feed companies. Spillers were the only people who had all the information at hand when my mare had an ulcer.

Feed and routine play a huge part with stressers. Hope you get to the bottom of it soon.
 
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