Cribbing in Horses: Why They Do It and What You Can Do About It
If you've ever had a horse that cribs, you know the sound. They grab the edge of the stall door, fence board or feeder with their teeth, arches their neck, pull back and makes that unmistakable grunt.
People say:
“Don't put him next to my horse. He'll teach him to crib.”
“He probably has ulcers.”
“Just put a cribbing collar on him.”
Cribbing is one of those horse behaviors that has collected a whole lot of barn wisdom over the years. Whether good or bad, some of it has some truth behind it.
So what's really going on when a horse cribs? And more importantly, if yours does it, what should you do about it?
What Exactly Is Cribbing?
Cribbing is considered a stereotypic behavior. Defined as a repetitive behavior that doesn't seem to have an obvious immediate purpose.
A cribbing horse grabs a solid object with his front teeth, contracts the muscles in his neck and pulls backward, usually making that familiar grunting sound. Windsucking looks similar, but the horse doesn't need to grab onto something to do it. It certainly sounds like the horse is gulping down a huge amount of air, but he actually isn't swallowing nearly as much air as it seems.
For years cribbing was commonly called a “stable vice.” But seriously, your horse isn't standing there plotting his next attack on the fence. There's more going on.
So Why Do Horses Crib?
The frustrating answer is that they don't know exactly. There probably isn't one single reason.
Researchers have looked at diet, stress, confinement, weaning, gastrointestinal discomfort, genetics and even differences in brain chemistry. Several of those factors may play a role, and some horses appear to be more susceptible to developing the behavior than others.
What know is that horses are built to spend a good portion of their day moving around and eating forage. In many cases, modern horse management doesn't look like that. A horse may spend much of his day in a stall, eat a couple of fairly large meals and have limited turnout or contact with other horses. Plenty of horses live that way and never crib, of course. But limited forage, confinement and lack of social contact have all been associated with stereotypic behaviors.
For some horses, cribbing may develop as a way of dealing with their environment. Once they have been doing it for a while, the behavior remains even when their management changes.
Can Another Horse Learn to Crib From Mine?
Which brings us to one of the oldest cribbing debates in the barn. Put a cribber next to another horse and pretty soon you'll have two cribbers. There just isn't good scientific evidence that it's that simple.
Researchers haven't found a reason to routinely isolate horses that crib because of the fear another horse will watch and pick up the habit.
What can happen is that several horses living under the same conditions develop stereotypic behaviors. If horses have similar feeding schedules, limited forage, lots of stall time and similar sources of stress, it's easy to see how it might look as though one horse taught another.
So if several horses in the same barn start cribbing, it's worth looking at what they have in common before blaming the first cribber.
Does Cribbing Mean My Horse Has Digestive Issues?
This is another idea that has become pretty firmly planted in the horse world.
Researchers have looked at a possible connection between cribbing and gastric ulcers, but they don't have evidence that allows them to say, “This horse cribs, therefore he has ulcers,” or that treating ulcers will make an established cribber stop.
That doesn't mean you should dismiss the possibility of stomach trouble either.
If your horse suddenly starts cribbing and you're also seeing changes in appetite, weight, attitude or performance, recurring mild colic or other signs that something isn't right, it's time to talk to your veterinarian.
Treat the horse in front of you rather than assuming cribbing automatically gives you the diagnosis.
Is Cribbing Actually Harmful?
If you've owned a determined cribber, you already know what they can do to a fence or stall door. Some horses can turn a perfectly respectable board into something that looks like a beaver has been living in the barn.
There can be consequences for the horse too.
Years of cribbing can cause excessive wear to the front teeth. Heavy cribbers may develop pronounced neck muscles, and some have trouble maintaining their weight or overall condition.
Cribbing has also been associated with an increased risk of certain types of colic. An association doesn't mean every cribber is going to colic, but it's worth knowing about and discussing with your veterinarian.
The goal isn't to panic every time your horse grabs the fence. It's to pay attention to the whole horse.
What About a Cribbing Collar?
Cribbing collars are probably one of the first things horse owners try. They can reduce or prevent a horse from cribbing while the collar is being worn. The problem is that stopping the physical act doesn't necessarily change whatever made the horse want to crib in the first place. And some horses go right back to cribbing when the collar comes off.
There are many reasons owners want to control the behavior. A horse may be destroying fencing, damaging his teeth or cribbing so frequently that it interferes with eating and maintaining condition.
A collar, however, shouldn't be the only thing that you look at. Before concentrating entirely on stopping the behavior, take a look at the horse's daily routine and see whether there are changes that might help.
What Can You Do for a Horse That Cribs?
Start with the basics.
1. Give Him More Time to Eat Forage
Horses are meant to eat small amounts of forage over many hours. Long periods with nothing to eat aren't ideal.
When appropriate for the individual horse, increasing access to hay or pasture can help create a more natural feeding schedule. A slow feeder may also help stretch hay over a longer period.
Of course, this has to make sense for the horse. An easy keeper on restricted calories needs a different plan from a hard keeper or an actively competing horse.
2. Look at the Grain Intake
High-concentrate and highly palatable feeds have been associated with cribbing. That doesn't mean you should walk into the barn tonight and dump your horse's grain in the trash.
It does mean the ration is worth looking at. Does he need the amount he's getting? Could more of his nutritional needs be met through forage? Would smaller concentrate meals make sense?
Your veterinarian or an equine nutrition professional can help you sort that out.
3. Turnout Matters
More turnout gives a horse a chance to move, graze, look around and interact with his environment.
Will turning a longtime cribber out 24/7 magically cure him? Probably not. Some dedicated cribbers will walk straight out to the pasture fence and get to work.
But turnout and movement are still important parts of good horse management, whether the horse stops cribbing or not.
4. Let Horses Be Around Horses
Horses are social animals. Whenever it's safe and practical, give them opportunities to interact with other horses. That doesn't have to mean throwing every horse into one giant field. Depending on the horses involved, appropriate social contact can take different forms.
The important thing is remembering that companionship is a normal part of a horse's life.
5. Look at What Has Recently Changed
If the cribbing is new or suddenly getting worse, think about what's different.
More stall time? Less turnout? A change in feed? A new barn? A missing pasture buddy? A heavier work or competition schedule?
Sometimes you'll find an obvious change. Sometimes you won't.
And sometimes you can improve everything you reasonably can and still own a horse who cribs.
6. He May Always Be a Cribber
This may be the hardest part for owners to accept.
Once cribbing is well established, completely eliminating it can be difficult. A horse may continue the behavior even after his management and environment have improved.
So success doesn't necessarily have to mean that you never see him crib again. A more realistic goal may be keeping him healthy and giving him plenty of opportunities to eat forage, move, socialize and do normal horse things while keeping an eye on his teeth, weight and digestive health.
If the behavior appears suddenly, becomes much more frequent or comes along with changes in appetite, manure, weight, attitude or signs of abdominal discomfort, call your veterinarian.
But if you've owned the same cribber for years, you've addressed his management and health, and he's otherwise doing great? You may simply own a cribber.
You don't have to appreciate what he's doing to your fence. But understanding why horses develop these behaviors gives us a much better starting point than simply calling it a bad habit and trying to make it stop.
Additionally, stall toys, such as Likit Horse Toys and Jolly Balls can give your horse something else to focus on. In fact, the Likit Tongue Twister was clinically proven to reduce cribbing activity by 27% in the Cornell University study. By distracting your horse, you can hopefully limit their abnormally fixated behavior (cribbing).
The Bottom Line
There isn't one neat explanation for why horses crib, and a guaranteed way to stop it.
What we can do is look at the whole horse. How much forage does he get? How much time does he spend turned out? Can he interact with other horses? Has something changed in his routine? Is there a health issue that needs to be investigated?
And maybe we can finally retire one piece of old barn advice, your horse probably isn't going to start cribbing just because the horse next door does.