Worried about my little TB-cribbing/skinny/scabby coat

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PercyMum

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Posted in Veterinary too but in here as more people in here!!

I bought my little TB mare a little over 3 weeks ago, so I know it's early days but there are a few little niggles I'm having that I wondered if anyone could tell me if its just 'ex-racer' stuff that will settle down. So here goes...

1. She cribs, and it's getting worse. Admittedly it's not full on but she does it out in the field more than in her stable. She didn't do it when I went to see her (or I didn't notice it and I did view her about 6 times!!). She gets at least 7 hours turnout a day, 10kg of haylage when she comes in and is fed on conditioning chaff and a balancer. No hard feed, and the haylage is more like hay. No idea why she is cribbing, and especially why she is doing it in the field,where there is plenty of grass. She has come from a 24hr turnout routine so it can't be that she isn't used I being turned out. Any ideas how to stop this? I have read that crib biting is diet related but I'm not sure what I am doing wrong feed-wise.

2. I guess related to the above but she is a bit ribby. Great condition of her coat and she is bright-eyed and chirpy but still much more ribby than I'd like. She isn't losing weight but I'd hoped that going from what she was on (24hr turnout, no feed or hay) that I would start seeing some weight go on. Or am I being impatient?!

3. She is getting little bumps all over her that seem a bit itchy but not terribly so. First thought was rain scald but it definitely isn't (no goo or scabs).

She hasn't been in any real work since she arrived due to waiting for a saddle and a cut on her hock that she did the day before I picked her up. This cut is in an awkward place so the vet said not to exercise her, just to turn her out. Could she be getting stressed due to lack of work? She doesn't appear outwardly stressy, perhaps a teeny bit clingy to my gelding but I guess that's to be expected.

Anyway, the point of this essay is to ask if there is anything I can be doing to help her settle? It's new territory for me as have had very easy horses before now!!

Thanks in advance!
 
I would take her off the chaff and balancer to see if she improves skin and cribbing wise - if so re-introduce one of them to work out which is the problem (or change both).
The only other thing feed wise would be to make sure she has a salt lick as these apparently should be fed along with a balancer - just put a himalyan salt lick or similar in the field.

Could be that she is reacting to being kept in if she is used to 24hr turnout or that she is just a bit stressed at the change in environment/routine/feed

I am sure you will get her right and its just teething.
 
I think all three are a reaction to stress. Horses react differently when moved, some stress more than others. The cribbing is most certainly a sign of distress especially if she didn't do it in her old home. Cribbing and sucking air can then cause ulcers which can then lead to weight loss. :/

Ringworm often takes hold when horses are stressed, chewing fence posts may have exposed her to existing ringworm presence, so that could be causing the scabs as it often starts off as darts of hair that come out and then form circles and grey scabs.

She may seem calm and settled in herself but stress manifests itself in many different ways.

Try giving her alfa A instead of chaff as some horses dont tolerate molassed chaff, keep up with the balancer and try baileys digest plus, great for helping horses find their natural balance again.

Keep an eye on the scabs, sunlight is the best cure but your vet can do scrapings to confirm that it is and provide you with some sachets for it which clears it up pretty quickly. Other horse owners need not worry if your on shared livery as chances are they have been exposed to it but have natural immunity anyway.

Good luck hope she picks up.
 
First port of call would be to get her scoped for signs of stomach ulcers,sounds like a classic case, haylage is not good as it is to acidic for horses stomach, so would take her of that and give her ad lib hay. Dont leave her with no hay as this will cause her to crib more, due to her wanting to make more saliva to ease the stomach ulcer (thats if it is an
ulcer) a Diet of fibre only, no sugar, no carrots, no molasses, no mixes, no balancer, no fancy pink powder etc, just fibre. eg, grass nuts, lucie nuts. Dont worm until she has been scoped.
Cribbing and sucking air does not cause ulcers.
Ringworm does not take hold when horse is stressed.
And other livery yard people do need to worry if it is ringworm as it is highly contagious and can spread.
My advise is to get vet out asap to scope.
good luck xxxx
 
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Horses don't produce saliva in accordance to oral activity, so thats not why a horse cribs, although horses do crib to relieve ulcer pain. I think it sounds as if she is cribbing simply because dealing with a new home, new routine, limited turnout, new companions, different work regime and new diet is pretty stressful, and stereotypies reduce stress for horses.

I would chat with your vet about ulcers, as she does sound like a prime candidate for them. I don't know what the value of scoping her would be to you, as she is already on a good preventative management system, and it may be that it would be most cost effective to treat for them anyway, since something like 80% of horses coming out of racing have them. Ditto changing haylage to hay. Best of luck.
 
Cribbing = stress
small lumps = over heating to much sugar in food
scabby = rain scald,insect bites etc-:
But it sounds more like she is very stressed out,this can be due to daily routine that she has been use to, also what short feed are you feeding her.
 
Sorry have just reread your post, go for high fibre, e-mail Winergy about your feeding program. My 5 are on the low energy feed and they have put the weight on and kept it on also as we couldn't make any hay last year,mine have been on Horsehage the green bags this winter and again have done well on this with no wastage,even my foal who was starting to get above hinself on the cereal based feed that was recomended for him,so took him off it,and he just gets what my other 4 get and is doing very well.:):):)
 
I agree with the other posts re ulcers. You say she is a TB. Was she raced? There have been lots of studies into racers with ulcers and they have shown that over 95% of racehorses have stomach ulcers so I wouldnt be suprised if this is her problem. As others have said she sounds like she is showing all the symptoms!!

Call the vet and have her scoped if you can.

In the meantime high fibre diet. No cereals. And maybe get her a pre/pro biotics to help settle her stomach. Something like NAF Gastriaid may help? It's not expensive so probably worth a try.

Good luck! :D
 
She isn't on any cereals and gets a lot of good forage. She did race, coming out in Jul. my first thoughts was ulcers as she is a TB. However, she didn't show any of the symptoms in her last home, and I phoned her trainer who said she never showed any of the signs either ( she was a truly rubbish racer as she was so chilled!!). I didn't think they could get ulcers that quickly which is why I thought it might just be a bit of an upset for her with moving. Am happy to have her scoped but I have had another horse that was scoped for ulcers and I am loathed to put her through it when she could just be stressed because of the move. I know you can't get Gastrogard without a vet prescription but is there anything else similar I could try for a week to see if it helps?
 
I would cut out the balancer - my filly came out in lumps and was very unsettled when I started to feed a balancer - keep it simple,a good quality high fibre diet. Definately agree with giving a salt lick and give her a good routine, horses love routine they like to know what to expect.
 
I think you just need to chill a little - hard I know when its a new horse :)

I personally wouldnt start changing things again, her stomach is still adjusting to the first changes, haylege however is more acidic than hay so will be feeding the cribbing cycle.

First off shes had a massive change in her environment, lost her herd who kept her safe and started being shut in. 10 hours turnout isnt really that much compared to 24.
Dont add alfalfa is you have coat issues already, its an irritant for a lot of horses.


A lot of ex racers crib, iv got one in my field - my friends, and she does it about 50% less since living out with mine 24.7. Im guessing because she was living out in a herd environment and not stressed she barely did it in her previous home.

I wouldnt worry about being ribby, spring grass is so nearly here and tbs are bred to be wiry lean racing machines! She wont look like the others on your livery yard, and more to the point she shouldnt look like them. Dont start wasting money on balancers and hard feed that will only confuse her system more. Id switch to hay though.
 
Couldn't agree more with TigerTail.
Keep it simple. Try adding brewers yeast to her feeds, it is a very good digestive aid and will help improve her skin and hooves plus even might help her settle down a bit more.
 
There is a new product out called Equiliser and some of the testimonials mention that when the product has been fed to cribbers and wind suckers they have noticed a substantial reduction in this type of behaviour, check it out they are also on face book
 
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