Ask the Vet - What to do if your horse cribs

In this excerpt from the July 2019 episode ( • An Ask the Vet milesto... ) of Ask the Vet (the 200th question we’ve answered!!!), SmartPaker Dan and Dr. Lydia Gray talk about cribbing in horses and what to do if you have a horse that is a cribber. There is a lot of research in this area, but one of the latest studies gives a recommendation that will absolutely blow your mind!
Additional reading/watching material related to this topic:
Ask the Vet - What is cribbing?
• Ask the Vet - What is ...
Ask the Vet - How to tell a horse's age by its teeth
• Ask the Vet - Telling ...
Ask the Vet - Depression in horses
• Ask the Vet - Depressi...
To see more from our Ask the Vet video series, you can check them out on the SmartPak blog (pak.horse/2bt0jyw), SmartPak's Horse Health Library (pak.horse/HHLvi..., or on our Ask the Vet playlist (www.youtube.co....
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Happy learning and #haveagreatride.

[@nedkelly.c0m]

I can’t tell you how much this has helped me!!

[@Shaws402]

An update! We have taken Thor's collar off and he is cribbing less, his only victim right now is my round pen panels. Hes out on 2 acres of pasture with my pony and a mare friend . We are pretty sure he wasn't weaned correctly. Thank you so much for answering my question!

[@rubymetalcat18]

Very interesting!!! My pony has been in her stall a lot more lately, and she’s been cribbing. 😓🙄😫 I had no idea that it was a coping mechanism!!! I’ll definitely be finding ways to help her with her frustration when she’s put up. Thank you guys for this awesome video!!!

[@Rosem0303]

My OTTB that I’ve had for 14yrs, she’s now 20, she even cribs when in a 12 acre pasture with a mixed herd of 8 horses. She has completely worn down her top 2 front teeth to the gums. I use a Weaver Miracle Collar about 70% of the time. ( not used all the time to give her a break from the collar rubbing). I’ve never had an issue with her colicking

[@abbykoop5363]

I'm surprised they didn't mention checking for ulcers. In this area it is common to check for ulcers if your horse is cribbing.

[@Izenhawk]

This was a very interesting watch, what do you think about a horse that only cribs after eating a treat (carrot, apple, papaya, cookie, etc) IF there's no other food to eat?

[@thundercheetah8800]

My horse used to crib. We rescued her a few months off a year ago, and after a while she just began biting everything. Fencing, poles, bark off bushes... She doesn't do it anymore, and we didn't change anything. The big thing that did change is the weather. The paddock paradise was muddied, so they couldn't walk much anymore in winter. Maybe she got frustrated from that and began cribbing?

[@mrbabianrumpa]

studies show at least 70% of cribbers has stomach ulcers. oral stereotypic behaviour is usually connected to problems with stomach. (weaving and such is more of a stimulation problem). To even wear a collar half a day i wouldn't recommend, why take away the horses' own way of coping with something, even for a minute? It fills a need. Important to remember that cribbing does not cause colic, but if the horse is prone to colic it may crib to ease this. Crib creats saliva that neutralizes the acid in the stomach and releases hormones that control pain. Let them do it if they need. Nice video, great to see more people get knowledge about what this is about and not just put horrible shock collars(!) and stuff on their horses. Good luck with your cribbing horse everybody! / swedish vet student

[@LiterallyJustAnActualPotato]

When you have addressed all other issues and your horse still cribs, who has the money and time to just let them crib? Fences cost money and take time to replace, and a cribber goes through a ton of them in just a week. Absolutely insane.

[@Dallas6101]

What do you recommend for a horse on extended stall rest who cannot by turned out ? He wears a collar but i feel horrible making him wear it all the time. I typically put it on during the day and off at night. He's cribbing on wood and sometimes bites off pieces and i'm worried he will hurt himself. Hs's got access to free choice hay, stall toys, salt licks

[@heidigage5014]

Have you heard of any essential Oils that have worked - ie lavender is supposed to help calm anxiety I humans ... is there any research on equine use of e.o. To soothe the horse ? Would love to know!!

[@debbiehorn8263]

This lady hit the nail-on-the-head in so many of her points. Not a big fan of the collars or rubber to chew on instead of wood. Wouldn't the rubber break away and be eaten and cause more serious problems ?

[@rebeccalynn3092]

Oh, so go easy on the sweet grain, hey? Okay then. I've noticed one thing, so let me see how many others experienced this. The horse that cribbed was exceptionally high strung (more of a high spirited and nervous horse). And he seemed to possess more intelligence than some other horses. How was yours?

[@speed150mph]

Listening at the end when your discussing whether cribbing leads to colic, I have something that may be food for thought. You’ve stated that cribbing seems to be related to physical or emotional stress, with one of those stresses you mentioned being pain or discomfort. So I ask, in a horse that’s prone to cribbing when stressed, could the cribbing be caused by the colic, not the colic caused by the cribbing? Could cribbing be an early symptom of the colic, when it’s merely uncomfortable or slightly painful, but not quite to the point where the horse is nipping at its side, rolling, or laying down? Like I said, it’s just food for thought...

[@debbiehorn8263]

Good point.

[@CajunAdrienne]

It's like a pacifier for horses, same as with smokers.

[@FirefliesMulti]

doesn't the act of cribbing ruin their teeth? WHY would you let them crib? There is also a risk that they will eat splinters.