Cribbing is not a disease, but rather an inappropriate behavioral pattern in horses. When a horse cribs, they grasp an object with their upper front teeth, pull back, arch their neck, and appear to draw air into their esophagus while making a characteristic grunt, then release the air. This in turn triggers a calming, pain-killing endorphin release.
Windsucking is a vice similar to cribbing, but some people get the two behaviors confused. The noise the horse makes is the same, but when a horse is windsucking, he doesn’t grab on to an object with his teeth before sucking air into his throat.
Once a horse picks up on this behavior, it is very hard to stop it. Cribbing is considered to be an abnormal compulsive behavior or stereotypy seen in some horses and is often labeled a stable vice. Most often horses crib on fence boards, stall doors, and feed tubs. Over time, this vice can cause tooth damage, requiring more frequent dental work.
Cribbing is not a habit seen in wild horses, so it is commonly thought that the habit of cribbing has a lot to do with the horse's living conditions.
Causes of cribbing habits:
Boredom
Temperament
Stress
Diet
Genetics
Lack of socialization with other horses
Lack of exercise
Too much confinement
Gastrointestinal issues
The best way to help cribbing is avoid confining a horse for long periods of time. Turn out your horses more often to give them more freedom and to be able to burn off excess energy. You could also feed more roughage instead of grain, but the most important thing is to have them on a properly balanced diet.
Reduce stress by allowing your horse to interact with other horses. This is an important part of your horse’s enrichment.
Regular exercise and riding in different environments can help keep them stimulated. You can even give you horse more toys and enrichment in their living space. Finding new ways to add mental and physical stimulation to your horse’s daily routine is said to be the best management practice.
For cribbers, Benefab by Sore No-Morehas two wonderful products to assist with reducing stress and promoting relaxation: the Therapeutic Poll Pad and Rejuvenate SmartScrim.
The Therapeutic Poll Pad features fabric that emits far infrared rays, keeping muscles supple and relaxed. Our SmartScrim features over 80 magnets targeting key acupressure points for further stimulation of those areas. Check out this relief story about Cookie who drastically decreased cribbing with her Poll Padand SmartScrim:
“After meeting Kat at the Equine Affaire and hearing about her products we gave them a try and absolutely fell in love with the results we have witnessed. We feel the horses that we tried the Therapeutic SmartScrim and Therapeutic Poll Padon are more relaxed and happier not only in their stalls but also in sessions. Cookie has decreased her cribbing by about 80% and even waits for her Poll Pad before going to her stall in the morning.” - Pam, Natural Freedom Wellness CenterWatch our Cribbing Vlog:
When it comes to back pain, we are not the only ones who suffer—dogs suffer as well. With this specific kind of pain, many factors and conditions play a role. Sometimes your dog's pain may be physically noticeable, but what about other times when you are not so sure? Your dog does not speak “human”, but they have a voice that should be heard.
When we think about the saying "killing them with kindness," we do not think about our horses—One of the most common causes of laminitis is overfeeding. Unfortunately, laminitis is a somewhat common, recurring disease in not only horses, but donkeys and ponies as well. It is known to be more common in adult horses than it is in young horses.
Plants are not just useful to have in your garden, but they are beneficial to your health. Moringa Plants are well known for their several health benefits, and because of that characteristic, they are called "The Tree of Life."
Once a horse picks up on this behavior, it is very hard to stop it. Cribbing is considered to be an abnormal compulsive behavior or stereotypy seen in some horses and is often labeled a stable vice. Most often horses crib on fence boards, stall doors, and feed tubs. Over time, this vice can cause tooth damage, requiring more frequent dental work.
Cribbing is not a habit seen in wild horses, so it is commonly thought that the habit of cribbing has a lot to do with the horse's living conditions.
Causes of cribbing habits:
