I can't get my horse to stop cribbing!!! Please help! He chews on the metal gate and the wood post!!?
I had the same question as the first two posts. Chewing or cribbing or sucking wind? If just chewing, a simple fix is unpalatable substances. There are several commercial products on the market to "Paint" on the gates and wood. You can also simply try spreading on hot sauce. We also use regular red grease for tractors on wood which stops the chewing. We just spread it with a grease gun. Be careful that you don't get it on your clothes. Reapply as necessary. Once they taste it, they leave the wood/metal alone. But I'd have a good equine dentist look at his teeth and jaws. They can also get TMJ like we do. You may see some odd jaw grinding or the appearance that the jaw sometimes gets locked in the chew cycle.
Horse cribbing on trees?
Is he cribbing or is he chewing? Cribbing usually doesn't damage that badly, other then the horses front teeth. Chewing is where they are actually trying to eat the fencing/tree. Does he have access to plenty of hay? Since this is a recent development, I'd suspect its environmental and due to a management issue. Talk to your barn owner and make sure he has access to plenty of nice hay and a mineral block. If it is cribbing (where he is actually sucking on the tree or fence), first of all start him on a pro-biotic and some anti ulcer meds. The stress of the move could have caused him to develop ulcers, and teh cribbing helps him feel better. Or if you would rather, get him scoped, but its pretty expensive so its easier to treat for the issue and see if it improves. ETA per additional info If he has plenty of hay, and isn't stressed, its probably just because he thinks its tasty. You can put up a small fence around the tree with capped T-post's and tape (if he's respectful of the fence then you don't have to electrify it). Thats cheap, less the $20 and should work. You can also try painting something nasty on it such as rap-last, I've not had any experience with any of the other "no chew" spray/paints. You will need to reapply it every time it rains, and make sure your face is covered b/c if you get it in your eyes it feels like pepper spray. Honestly, throwing a fence up is probably the easiest thing. You can also use sand fencing if you are around a beach area, that looks a little better and is pretty cheap as well.
Should I buy a cribbing horse?
I personally try not to buy a cribber. Not only does their damage to stalls, fences, and barns cause thousands of dollars sometimes. But many horses will become addicted to it and crib on anything- such as metal corrals, pipe round pens, and t-posts(most commonly a wind sucker.) Some are very hard to maintain in their body condition and you run the risk of other health issues with their teeth, neck, ears(some develop ear infections), but you also run the risk that something they chew on could become lodged in their throat. If you are going to buy this horse I'd recommend trying a supplement called- Quitt. It's a pour in feed cribbing supplement and most of the time works. Also if you buy him then try finding an enrichment toy, he may be cribbing because he's bored. But before you even buy have a vet check him over and do blood work. Even good friends can lie about underlying health issues they have with the horse and your vet will be able to tell you if he has illness or cribs because of a body mineral deficiency.
What do I do to controll my thoroughbred horse from windsucking ?
I have recently bought a thoroughbred gelding he has been off the track two years and I've had him a week what the previous owner failed to mention or what I stupidly failed to ask is that he wind sucks , he is agisted in a 50 acre shared paddock and gets fed a mixture of Lucerne chaff oaten chaff all rounder pellet and barley at night the rest of the day he grazzes, When I have him tied up he attempts to wind suck everything and when I'm by myself it makes grooming and tacking up really difficult, he also dosent seem very happy I haven't seen him drink or pee once since he has arrived yet he dosent seem dehydrated I'm just wondering if there is any alternative to the 'mirical collar' or what may be causing him to do this what I can do to stop him , he also seems a bit unhappy and he's been farting a lot and he's always hungry his previous owner had him on a biscuit of hay in the morning and night but due to the other horses I can't provide him extra food in his paddock only grass also what are some affects of wind sucking
Horse weaving when tied up..?
My TB does this, I provide him with stable toys to entertain him but when he weaves I just leave him to it. He had a bad start as a youngster which led to him starting to weave and now it's just his way of coping with stress. As with any vice, if you stop them by restraint rather than management (ie putting a crib biting collar on a cribber rather than addressing why they crib, for example) will only stress the horse further because they have no way of relieving their anxiety. With my TB I aim to entertain him as best I can (with toys etc.) as its stress and boredom with him (he was left in a stable for 16 weeks as a baby with barely any food or water). However, when he does get stressed and weave, I don't punish him for it, I just take his mind off the problem. For example, if he's stressing because a horse has left the yard (he hates to think he's missing out) I'll put his ball in with treats in, he rolls it around and forgets about the horse leaving (he's easily distracted lol). Feel free to email me.
Cribbing Complications?
I have never found a horse to completely quit UNLESS it's a lack of minerals. Most horses crib due to stress and or boredom. Think about it, how would you feel being locked up in your room for say 23 hours a day with nothing but a couple toys and food twice a day? BORED BORED BORED...or really stressed. I have even seen horses that crib so bad, that they do it no matter inside a stall or out in the pasture. I've even had one try to crib on my truck...grrrrr. Also, make sure that he isn't really wind sucking. Sometimes it appears to be cribbing, but is in reality windsucking which can still damage the rails. Windsucking however, gives them a natural high called endorphins. They will do it out of boredom and like doing drugs, get addicted and keep doing it for the high or whatever they feel. There are collars specifically made for windsuckers (the miracle collar). You know it is windsucking if when they look to be cribbing, you see their neck expand at the connection of the head and neck on the underside where their jugular pipe is. If it expands as they "crib", they are actually grabbing the rail with their teeth and inhaling large breaths of air, hence, windsucking. Good luck!
Cribbing myths or facts?
From my personal experience all of your myths are true except the one about the cribbing collars (and I'm not sure about the respiratory one). I have watched a mare die of colic due to cribbing and it was terrible. Colic is a sure fire way to lower the life expectancy of a horse. The horses digestive system was not equipt to handle the large amount of air that cribbing brings in, so therefor the horse colics due to cribbing. Colic caused by cribbing is usually very disastrous. Telescoping of the intestines, extension of the stomach due to gas, and of course twisted intestines if the horse happens to roll. Of course any of these are going to screw up the horse's digestive system. I have never heard of cribbing messing up the respiratory system but I wouldn't be surprised. If the cribber gets a splinter of wood lodged in the trachea or esophagus it will mess up the respiratory tract. The cribbing collars are in no way uncomfortable. They are a great way to stop cribbing and they are thin enough that the horse still has full range of motion of his head. If you get a Miracle Collar they come with sheepskin coverings that make it very comfortable. The little groove that sits between the jaw bones does not cause any pressure unless the horse specifically cribs. It doesn't interfere with any other normal habit of the horse. Every horse is different. I have seen horses that are mild cribbers who only crib at feeding time. Then there are others that will crib through collars and end up dying of colic no matter what. There are cribbers of every type in between. There is no way to tell how much your mare cribs unless you set up a video feed and a camera and watch her. If she is a curious mare she may stop cribbing to visit with you. I would buy a cribbing collar for her to be safe. I'd rather spend the $40 on a collar rather than the $10,000 on a colic surgery. (And if your horse does colic from cribbing you will need surgery. No mineral oil is going to make cribbing colic disappear.) If your mare doesn't arch her neck when she windsucks (which would make the cribbing collar not as effective) you may want to look into a shock collar for her. This can be an extremely effective way to break a cribber of the habit and is very humane when you look at the big picture.