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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 433
 
Location: The Lone Star State | Can a horse that cribs become a top barrel horse or does it prevent issues that hinder performance? I have had horses for 30 years never had a cribber and now my 3 year old has started this crap. I have had him from day one and he has always been on 25 acres of pasture in addition to getting alfalfa and bluebonnet ex factor while in training but from the age of about 2 i noticed he was such a feed hog that he would flip up the priefert feeders to get every last morsel. That flipping up became a habit i guess in spite of my protests, but he never grabbed it with his teeth so I didnt think anything about it. Never the less as soon as I saw it I switched to a different type of feeder. Then I send him off for 3 months to the trainer where he was in a stall. I think that may be where it went down hill. He is a super nice colt and his training is coming along but I saw him yesterday actually grab the feeder with this front teeth and pull up, my worst fear proven. As I watched he did it several times and made a point to go back and do it, then went on out to the pasture. So Im freaking out now, put anti crib juice all over everything and purchased a crib collar. He runs with 3 other horses on 25 acres why is he doing this to me! ugh. He has no reason to crib! He definitely doesnt have ulcers, I know what those look like in a horse, I always feed good quality forage and feed, He is in training and is not a stressful horse, infact the opposite! I have read a bunch about it and I dont think I can stop it. I think its to far gone. Im so sad and I have big plans for this guy but I will be heart broken if it causes problems in his performance. Please tell me of your experiences. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 516
| You don't know a horse doesn't have ulcers unless you've scoped them.
Every horse is different. There's been plenty of fat and happy looking horses that have had ulcers that need treated. This is one of the main causes of cribbing so I wouldn't rule it out until I've scoped or treated for it. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 364
| Hunter's horse Fuzz was a cribber. I think if he had ulcers they would've figured it out and treated him. They even brought a special cribbing board for him when they were on the road. Shane Hanchey's good horse Reata cribs too. I think they can do it for whatever reason. I have a cribber and it doesn't bother me at all. |
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 Saint Stacey
| Cribbing IS pain related. Whether it be ulcers or something else, pain is what triggers the behavior. That’s just the simple fact. Yes, cribbers can be successful. It isn’t a death sentence. You just need to manage some issues of it and be aware that they can have special dental needs if they wear the upper teeth down to nubs. Also they can lose weight and muscle tone if the start to do nothing all day but sit there and crib. |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
 
| He grew up with turnout and plenty of space and then went into training being kept in a stall...I would check for ulcers for sure. That kind of change is something that can absolutely cause them. In a lot of horses by the time you “see” them they are horrendous. Others will show you at the slightest start of them - and not always in body condition - perhaps the cribbing behavior is him showing you. |
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 A Barrel Of Monkeys
Posts: 12972
Location: Texas | I really would treat him for ulcers. Stalling is one of the biggest risk factors. |
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 Yard Ornament Collector
Location: BFE, Texas | Is he grabbing it and actually sucking air or just grabbing it and pulling up then letting go to get every last piece of feed out of the corner when it slams down. Even the new feeder ? Reason I ask, I have one does same thing to get every single crumb and he definitely does not suck air. Just grabs it, picks it up and lets it slam down, feeders, buckets, whatever. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 433
Location: The Lone Star State | Hes not sucking air but pulls back on his teeth and arches his neck.
I'll treat for ulcers but he has no ulcer symptoms at all.
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A Barrel Of Monkeys
Posts: 12972
Location: Texas | Ticktock - 2018-10-20 10:04 PM
Hes not sucking air but pulls back on his teeth and arches his neck.
I'll treat for ulcers but he has no ulcer symptoms at all.
Put him in a collar - All American Tack makes the best one and it's cheap. At any rate, it never hurts to treat for ulcers and see how he does.
I had a broodmare that was a die hard cribber. Nothing worked, until I bought one of these collars.
https://allamericantack.com/shop?olsPage=products/cribbing-collar&ol... |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 900
Location: TExas | I really like the B Kind Crib collar. I had one that came in that said he would crib on buckets. I got one he tried once and has never done it again. He tried once again 6 mo later, so I put it on again. He has not tried since, he does not keep it on. When he tried it with the collar it scared him and he hasn't tried again. I really like It better then any other collar I have ever used. |
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Location: my piece of paradise | I will be the odd man out and say I LOVE cribbers. Every good horse I have owned has been a cribber. Yes they were ulcer prone and we have to stay on top of them and their diet. I really think the ones who start to crib are too smart for their own good. They get bored easily. I have three now who crib but its only on a specific wood post in our pasture and ive left it there for that reason. They crib after eating and that's it. It wont cause problems with performance in my opinion. Never has in mine. I do let them crib some and I think that keeps them happy. I have two who wear a collar in the stall but I've given up on my retired gelding. He would crib even with a collar, and yes it was adjusted properly and we tried several different kinds. |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | inittowinit - 2018-10-22 7:29 AM I will be the odd man out and say I LOVE cribbers. Every good horse I have owned has been a cribber. Yes they were ulcer prone and we have to stay on top of them and their diet. I really think the ones who start to crib are too smart for their own good. They get bored easily. I have three now who crib but its only on a specific wood post in our pasture and ive left it there for that reason. They crib after eating and that's it. It wont cause problems with performance in my opinion. Never has in mine. I do let them crib some and I think that keeps them happy. I have two who wear a collar in the stall but I've given up on my retired gelding. He would crib even with a collar, and yes it was adjusted properly and we tried several different kinds.
Did you buy these horses that were already cribbing? Or did they start cribbing on your place? I never hear of anybody that loves a cribbing horse this is the first for me, lol.. |
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Member
Posts: 37
| My most money making horse to date was a cribber. It never caused any problems with him. This was way before I ever heard of ulcers, bet he had them. |
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 Expert
Posts: 4625
Location: Desert Land | I have bought several horses that cribbed. When I got them home had them diagnosed with ulcers. All but 1 stopped cribbing with treatment and as far as I know she is still a cribber with her new owner, but is controlled with a collar.
And I NEVER had another horse develop the cribbing after being together with other cribbers. All of my horses are turned out in groups so nobody is confined.
The best collar I ever used was the DARE collar - that is the only one that always worked for me. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1520
Location: Illinois | Mine started cribbing due to ulcers, all I did was move him to a new barn. He wasn't sensitive to touch, his coat was nice, he never lost weight or even stopped eating. The one I run now gets ulcers the worst 3 of my vets have ever seen. He gets bleeding ulcers from his larynx all the way to the hindgut. Never had attitude, no cinch issues, coat was gorgeous, he was fat, eats a cup of low starch feed 2x a day and eats alfalfa. One day we were going to run and when I asked him to lope off in the alley he just stopped and stood like a statue. So I scoped him and he was full of bleeding ulcers. I had to convince my vet to even scope him because my vet thought there was no signs of them & I'd be wasting his time. He gets them at home just riding in the off season if I don't keep him on a preventative daily. He's about as quiet and bombproof as one can get, he never is bothered by stuff. But he still gets stressed enough to cause them. He chewed some wood a few times in the stall, but it was particle board and I think the glue might've just tasted good. But generally cribbing is mostly caused by digestive upset. Moving to a trainers, being stalled, and working is more than enough to cause ulcers in most any horse. Several of the top horses I run against in the Midwest are cribbers. I walked through our state nbha show stall this weekend and I found 27 horses with collars on. There were 182 entries, that's 15% of them. For my cribber he started after he was retired, but there's no issues with him other than wearing his teeth down. He chokes with a collar on so I just let him crib. He's 25 now, it is what it is. |
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Location: my piece of paradise | Southtxponygirl - 2018-10-22 10:16 AM
inittowinit - 2018-10-22 7:29 AM I will be the odd man out and say I LOVE cribbers. Every good horse I have owned has been a cribber. Yes they were ulcer prone and we have to stay on top of them and their diet. I really think the ones who start to crib are too smart for their own good. They get bored easily. I have three now who crib but its only on a specific wood post in our pasture and ive left it there for that reason. They crib after eating and that's it. It wont cause problems with performance in my opinion. Never has in mine. I do let them crib some and I think that keeps them happy. I have two who wear a collar in the stall but I've given up on my retired gelding. He would crib even with a collar, and yes it was adjusted properly and we tried several different kinds.
Did you buy these horses that were already cribbing? Or did they start cribbing on your place? I never hear of anybody that loves a cribbing horse this is the first for me, lol..
I raised one and bought the other two knowing they did this. I don't nessecerally love the "cribbing" part. I just in general find that the ones who crib are very smart and have been great horses for me. |
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