Tri-Tronics^®, Inc.

P. O. Box 17660

Tucson, AZ  85731

support@tthorse.com

1-800-808-8423

ARTICLES & EDUCATION

Cribbing - Windsucking

Cribbing and windsucking are different terms used to describe a particular bad habit unique to horses. For simplicity sake we will refer to it as cribbing for the remainder of this discussion. (Sometimes wood chewing will be incorrectly referred to as "cribbing". Wood chewing is a separate bad habit that is described in its own section.) Typically when a horse cribs, he sets his upper teeth on an object (usually approximately chest level), presses down, opens his mouth, arches his neck and pulls back while making a belching sound. They may or may not lick the object. They also may or may not swallow air during this process. Normally they do not chew, but they often crush what they set their teeth on. Some horses do not need to actually set their teeth on an object to achieve the same result. Many horses prefer to crib after they have been stimulated with food, especially a concentrated food such as grain. Individual horses will have their own particular style and may exhibit some or all of the above characteristics.

It is believed that during this process, endorphins are released in the horse's system. Endorphin in Latin means "inner morphine". Endorphins, like morphine, act as a drug on the brain creating a sense of well being or "high". This would explain the incredible drive a horse has to perform the behavior once he has experienced it. He actually receives a high and becomes addicted.

It was once believed that during the cribbing process the horse sucked large quantities of air into their stomachs that was forced to pass through their digestive tract. This air made the horse feel full so they would not eat normally and could also lead to colic. Recent studies have shown that little air actually remains in the digestive tract. Experts now feel that the horse's poor appetite is not from feeling full, but because they would rather be "high" than eat.

The decrease in appetite makes many of these horses "poor doers". They do not eat as well and are difficult to keep weight on. In horses where their performance depends on optimum nutrition this can be especially devastating. Over time the upper front teeth on these horses will become unnaturally worn. They may develop grooves or gaps in the teeth, which eventually can be worn down to gum level. This renders the horse unable to graze since he can no longer grip the vegetation to tear it. Uneven tooth wear in the front teeth can also lead to abnormalities in the back teeth, which prevents the horse from chewing properly. This makes the feed more difficult to digest and contributes to the weight loss.

Due to abnormal increased use, the neck muscles used during cribbing often will become enlarged and overdeveloped. This is unsightly and undesirable in a show horse and many people feel that it can affect performance as well. Many people have always felt there was an association between cribbing and colic but it was not proven until recently. A new study has shown that there is a direct link between cribbing and certain types of colic.

Many things have been tried to stop a horse from cribbing with little success. The most common idea is some form of restrictive collar. These work by physically causing the horse pain when he cribs. Some work by bruising the neck muscles as they expand during cribbing, others by poking the horse in the throat as he flexes his neck. All of these collars must be worn very tightly and many are not effective. These collars commonly cause sores, hair loss, change in hair color and permanent scars, which are extremely undesirable. There have also been surgical techniques developed to stop horses from cribbing. Most of these involve removing a section of neck muscle and nerve tissue that the horse uses during cribbing. Many of these techniques leave a poor cosmetic result and the success rate is not very high.

While no one can say for sure what makes a horse crib, the list below can be contributing factors.

1. Stress

2. Boredom

3. Confinement for long periods of time

4. Lack of exercise

5. Lack of free turn out time

6. Lack of socialization with other horses

7. Abnormal feeds and feed schedules: Horses have evolved to graze on primarily grass for a large portion of every 24-hour period. Most domestic horses that are not on pasture are fed only twice a day since that is more feasible for our human schedules. The feed that we provide is usually a much higher quality and much more nutritionally concentrated than pasture grass so we do not have to feed as much. Although this feed more than satisfies their nutritional requirements, it does not satisfy their instinctive urge to forage. In cases where we are seeking peak performance from an animal we may increase the concentrated energy portions of his diet (grain) and decrease his roughage (hay) significantly which further reduces the volume and time they spend eating.

8. Genetic predisposition. While this has not been proven some feel that that certain family lines will be more likely to begin cribbing if placed in stressful situations.

9. Copying. It has been proven that some horses will learn to crib by watching and mimicking other horses performing the behavior. This does not mean that if you have a cribber all of your other horses will crib too. Some horses will never crib no matter what their situation is. But the fact that some horses will pick up the habit by watching can make a cribber unpopular or unwelcome at many farms and stables.

Cribbing can be detrimental in many ways. There are the potential health risks of weight loss, dental problems and colic. There is the risk of poor performance from decreased energy or undesirable appearance. There are the expenses incurred from veterinary bills and damage to property in the form of crushed panels, worn boards, collapsed posts and broken wire. There is also the financial consideration of a substantial decrease in the value of the horse. This loss of value may be related to the poor performance but ore often it is directly related to the cribbing behavior itself. Many people do not want to own a cribber under any circumstances. Lastly, for people that are willing to deal with these problems associated with cribbing, there is the additional problem of finding a facility that will board one. Based on the potential for other horses to learn the behavior from watching, many facilities will refuse to have a cribber boarded on their property.

Please read our Factors page to better understand in detail why horses perform many bad habits, including cribbing. Also read our Tips page for suggestions on how to improve your horse's living conditions to make him less likely to begin a bad habit. Cribbing like many other bad habits is especially associated with environmental conditions. Unfortunately, once a horse has learned to crib, it is almost impossible to stop him with lifestyle improvement alone. The ViceBreaker^® combined with environmental changes can be very successful in stopping even a chronic cribber.