Would you buy a horse who Windsucks/Cribs?

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EquestrianFairy

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Today i went and viewed the perfect horse for me.
I am utterly in love with her and she is EXACTLY what i am looking for- We have agreed i will loan her for a few months before parting with cash which i feel is a brilliant honest seller-y thing to do.
Anyway, she cribs.. not excessively. Today she took a few munches of hay, had a suck on the wood in the stable then continued to eat, ive been fortunate enough to never have a horse with any vices and although this didnt put me off (I fell in love with her before that!) I have always wondered if it really does put people off? Are there any long term issues?
Shes only 5yo and only does it if there is something for her to do it on, in my field she will be able to do it on the wooden posts but my stable is all concrete and metal so im unsure she will be able to do it there?

Thoughts?

Heres the beaut!

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She is lovely :) I would over look it for a horse I like. Nits weaves to varying degrees depending on how stressed she is but now I know what sets her off I can pretty much stop her doing it, I'm sure it's the same for cribbers. What is her name? How big etc?
 
I have known a few windsuckers and cribbers and they have always been very talented and above average intelligence (imo). Never known one to have any health issues because of it. However, I really hate the noise so if they did it excessively it would put me off. Have fun with your new horse, she looks lovely.
 
i brought a crib biter, he only does it in the stable now and again so wears a humain leather strap, it didnt put me off him at all, he also occasionally weaves so has a anti weave grill up, i asked my yo if she would have him on her yard and she said yes as long as he wears his strap and i put the grill up, would buy another it hasnt put me off, and hes tallented too with the sweetest nature!
 
having witnessed the problems the two horses on our yard that crib bite and wind suck have had then no, i definately would not buy a windsucker/crib biter.

It's not so much the actual vice itself but the occurrences of colic that it seems to cause :(
 
I have a windsucker and she's the sweetest and most laid back girl ever. She's incredibly affectionate and a kind and caring mare. She's never had a sick or sorry day in her life. She doesn't really damage my fences as she's not a cribber but you can see where she's been resting her teeth on the rails.

Cribbers/windsuckers can often have untreated ulcers. My girl doesn't so it's not de facto that they all do or will. Teeth issues can arise from cribbers. A lot of people are fairly ignorant about windsuckers/cribbers though. Many many studies have been done of them in recent years and the findings on all of them are that colic is NOT more prevalent in windsuckers/cribbers.

People can either deal with cribbers or they can't. Many livery yards do not accept them so make sure yours does before you make the decision. I would never subject my mare to a cribbing collar, they are the cruel work of the devil! My mares windsucking doesn't bother me or her. She's not noisy about it and she does everything I could wish her to do so she makes me happy and if she gets some happiness from her windsucking then that's just tickety-boo by me :)
 
I have a windsucker and would buy another if they were what I wanted in every other respect.

He windsucks at feed times specifically and probably feel the habit is left over from his early life as a colt in a racing yard having no real time outside of the stable, plus the inevitable gastric ulcers.

He is lovely in every other respect and I can quite easily gloss over the windsucking and pretend not to see/hear when he does it ;)
 
The horse would have to be quite something for me to overlook the vices. The damage to objects they crib on isnt the problem. It causes damage to their teeth and bad for their digestion so colic is common. Your insurance might not consider some digestive problems because of her vices too.

A cribber at my yard who wears a collar just cribs on the top bar of his door. I imagine the metal bar is worse than a wooden door for the horse's teeth.
 
once upon a time no i wouldn't have touched one, we almost had it drummed into us at college that it was a vice and therefore it was akin to selling your soul to the devil if you bought a cribber or windsucker:rolleyes: that was a long time ago though and now having met some very sweet horses who have been cribbers and suckers i have to say that if i felt it was the right horse for me then that little 'vice' wouldn't out me off:)
i think vices are a lot better understood these days rather than us assuming the horse is somehow possesed by evil;):D
 
We've got one on our (riding school) yard, he's been here 18 months with no problems. He's the perfect child's pony and FAR too intelligent!
 
It depends on your situation... alot of livery yards have problems with windsuckers so even if the yard you are at now are ok then you might have a problem if you wanted to move. They are more colicy and are often harder to keep weight on and have real problems with their teeth being worn down. On the other hand if the horse had a significant drop in price for having this vice and consequently was something I could otherwise only dream of owning then I would but otherwise I wouldn't. Also as it is 5 I would worry that even if there were no health implications now there would be in the future.
 
Hello all! It’s my first post:), so thought I’d add my twopence worth about cribbing. I had a TB who cribbed and windsucked. By the time he was in his 20s he’d ruined his front teeth- but saying that he did live to the ripe old age of 26. Towards the end I think it made it hard for him to graze at times, especially if the grass was a bit long or tough. I also worried that he’d fill up with air and worried about getting appropriate amounts of roughage down him. Never had any colic complications as a result of his vice though. He had a long, happy and useful life. I would never have tried to stop him doing it – he acquired the habit early on, way before I had him and would get stressed if he couldn’t have a good crib every so often! I came to love the sound of it :o– munch, munch, urrrghh, munch munch, urrgh. Kind of hypnotic and he’d get a dopey glazed look on his face! I wouldn’t let it put me off buying a horse who is perfect for you in all other respects (obviously assuming your livery yard is happy with it).:)
 
My girl is 15 and there is nothing wrong with her teeth despite the cribbing. I always have the vet check her teeth when it's vaccination day but the vet didn't even need to rasp, said her teeth were perfect! LOL, I was glad as that saved me £30 off of my vet bill :D
Never had a problem with colic either (touch wood) and I have to becareful of her weight, not that she will drop but get too fat!!

Not all cribbers are delicate waifs :)
 
I can't stand the noise! And from a YOs POV (I'm not, but work on a yard) the resident windsucker wrecks the fencing and has trashed his stable door, even with a metal strip on he has loosened it on its hinges. He is a poor doer and if you open his door and just leave his chain up so he can't crib while you tie up a hay net or do his rugs for turnout he gets very stressed.
 
I know a wind sucker riding school pony, Deffo a nervous twitch with him, but he's great, clever, willing and a great kids pony, causes him no problem. He does need routine tho or it gets worse. If she does it as a nervous habit with changes in routine it may become a problem but if not i wouldn't worry :-)
 
I had a cribber/windsucker many, many years years ago. It was back in the day when it was assumed to be a learned vice, rather than a potential medical problem. Looking back, he was probably riddled with ulcers. I never had any problems with colic, even though he was more 'windsucky' than'cribby. I did have terrible trouble keeping weight on him though, he cost a fortune to feed.
If you'd asked me 20 years ago if I'd have another windsucker, the answer would be an emphatic NO (unless it was my old horse though, he was fabulous!). These days, I think I would if the horse ticked all of the other boxes.

Just to make you chuckle, a lady I know has a windsucker, he's 26 now and still competes in ridden veteran classes. When she feels him getting a bit stressed when out and about, she takes him off to find somewhere he can get his teeth on and have a good suck! She reckons it's his equivalent of having a fag!
 
TickyTavey said:
Hello all! It’s my first post:), so thought I’d add my twopence worth about cribbing. I had a TB who cribbed and windsucked. By the time he was in his 20s he’d ruined his front teeth- but saying that he did live to the ripe old age of 26. Towards the end I think it made it hard for him to graze at times, especially if the grass was a bit long or tough. I also worried that he’d fill up with air and worried about getting appropriate amounts of roughage down him. Never had any colic complications as a result of his vice though. He had a long, happy and useful life. I would never have tried to stop him doing it – he acquired the habit early on, way before I had him and would get stressed if he couldn’t have a good crib every so often! I came to love the sound of it :o– munch, munch, urrrghh, munch munch, urrgh. Kind of hypnotic and he’d get a dopey glazed look on his face! I wouldn’t let it put me off buying a horse who is perfect for you in all other respects (obviously assuming your livery yard is happy with it).:)
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Great first post! Welcome :)
 
superted1989 said:
Just to make you chuckle, a lady I know has a windsucker, he's 26 now and still competes in ridden veteran classes. When she feels him getting a bit stressed when out and about, she takes him off to find somewhere he can get his teeth on and have a good suck! She reckons it's his equivalent of having a fag!
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Classic! Mine was similar - he'd get a bit twitchy if he couldn't have a good drag!:D

I agree sidesaddlegirl, not all cribbers are poor-doers (mine was just generally a pretty delicate soul:)) Can appreciate the noise is not everyone’s cup of tea and generally cribbing could be bothersome on a livery yard, Clodaugh. I was lucky in that I was able to keep my horse at home, so it was only my fencing he ruined! I think it depends a lot on the amount the horse cribs. But I also guess everyone will differ a bit in their definition of what’s “excessive” too.
 
Spring Feather said:
Cribbers/windsuckers can often have untreated ulcers.

Teeth issues can arise from cribbers.

A lot of people are fairly ignorant about windsuckers/cribbers though.

Many many studies have been done of them in recent years and the findings on all of them are that colic is NOT more prevalent in windsuckers/cribbers.

I would never subject my mare to a cribbing collar, they are the cruel work of the devil!
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I agree with all of this. I put one part in bold because alot of people still believe that cribbing causes ulcers and it's not true.

I was given a cribber and she only cribs after hard feed or a treat. I have put electric tape along the new fence to stop her cribbing on it and she has a 'cribbing station' (basically a sacrificial pice of wood on top of the gate which will be replaced as needed).
 
Have done and would do again without hesitation. I would prefer one that didn't eat its way out of the stable though! I know it devalues them for resale unless they are ultra talented, but it also makes it possible for my budget to stretch to a really good horse!

Just don't make her wear one of those torture collars!
 
I have one - he is sired by Kiltealy Spring, has substantial BS winnings, is anybodies ride, and is the best hunter I have ever owned. Without this vice I could not have afforded him!

When I had him vetted the I also had him scoped for ulcers and a thorough teeth check. He has never had colic and does not have a problem holding condition.

I do not try to stop him - as an ex smoker I apprecaite how hard these habits are to give up, and other than a few chewed rails, has never caused an issue.

He only does it around feeding time or if given a treat, or if the neighbouring horse is been given attention and him not. I do not give him any supplements but try to ensure he always has something to eat, as keeps his distracted from the habit.

I would consider another, but would do all the above vet checks too.

Good luck and hope she works out!
 
I have a windsucker and a cribber both live out so vary rarely do it these days but neither have suffered any problems. If the horse suited me would definatley buy. But I keep my horses at home so don't need to worry what liverys may think.
 
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