How To Treat Cribbing

Cribbing or wind sucking is an activity where a horse grips on an edge, usually a wooden fence or a stable door, with his front teeth. In order to do this act, the horse arches his neck and swallows air. The air that enters the horse's mouth creates a grunting nose.

There are a lot of reasons why horses engage in this act. Cribbing may be caused by stress, boredom or lack of exercise. Also, horses that are kept in a stall for a long period of time have high risks of developing this habit compared to the horses that are raised in the fields.

If you are a horseman and you are looking for ways on how to treat this bad habit, you might want to consider the following:

The most inexpensive way of treating cribbing is to let your horse graze in a place that has a wide land area. If you own only one horse it is also advisable that you purchase another so that your horse will have company. If you are concerned about the budget that you have to spend, you can substitute the horse with a goat since goats are also good companions.

You can also try to use an anti-cribbing strap or collar on your horse that has this bad habit. This is available in local feed stores or in any store where gears for horses can be bought. The collar is made out of leather and it fits around the horse's neck. It has a Y-shaped metal plate which is used to cover the base of the neck. The main function of this collar is to restrain the muscles in the neck of the horse whenever it tries to crib.

There is another method you can try and this is called the comforter. A comforter is a stuff that covers the portion in which the horse cribs. Usually the best comforters are those that are made out of rubber. This is because of its durability and no matter how long it is being used by the horse to chew on, it will not cause damage to its teeth. Although it is a good method for reducing the bad effects of cribbing to your horse it does not correct the behaviour.

These are only a few among the possible ways on how to cure the bad habit of cribbing in horses. Although these may work for some, you should always remember that each horse is unique and that the treatments may be effective only to some and not all horses. Unless you discover the underlying reason why your horse cribs, you will not find the correct treatment for the problem.

View the original article here