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QUESTION: The horse I am considering
leasing is a cribber. My trainer uses a cribbing
strap on him, but I was wondering if there were
any alternatives to the strap. He is pasture-kept
with four or five other horses and ridden by me
once a week, plus a few other people throughout
the week.
Would he benefit if leased him
and spent time with him – riding and exercising
him and maybe getting a toy (like a stall
ball) or something? — Jamie
RESPONSE: There
are a lot of alternatives to cribbing straps, but
unfortunately, no “sure-fire” way to
stop this frustrating stable vice. However, I would
recommend experimenting with some of the following
products and methods to see what works most effectively
for your horse.
To begin cribbing, a horse must
be bored or nervous enough to play with objects
in his mouth – they will eventually ingest
air into the upper GI tract, and be rewarded by
a good feeling from chemical hormones released in
the blood. Because of this “reward system,”
cribbing will become something of an addiction,
a habit. Therefore, one way to deal with cribbing
is by providing a pleasant substitute, something
that the horse will enjoy as much as or more so
than cribbing.
This can be something like a play-toy
(a stall ball like you mentioned), or just more
exercise and attention. If your horse is up and
out of his stall, he won’t be able to indulge
in his desire to crib, and will instead learn to
appreciate getting outside and stretching his legs.
Another way, which takes an opposite
approach, is to teach the horse that cribbing is
unpleasant. However, this takes a lot of dedication,
because you must be able to react to his cribbing
every time he tries to do it. You can’t expect
any results from simply reprimanding the horse each
time you see him crib. This will only teach him
that cribbing is unpleasant when you’re around.
If, however, you reprimand him
(this could be a flick on the muzzle will your finger
accompanied by vocal admonition) every time he cribs,
he’ll learn that when he opens his mouth to
crib, he gets flicked, which he doesn’t like.
Hope this information helps!
— AE
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