There are several types, but they do not eliminate the urge, they just make the action of cribbing painful or uncomfortable.

Cribbing collars are an option and have been widely used.

Reducing surfaces that the horse can ‘latch’ onto are becoming more accepted practices.

Having companionship for the horse – can be a goat, chicken etc.

Keeping forage available all the time, which is, after all, what nature intended.

The following are steps recommended to limit cribbing. Rather than attempting to stop or curb the behavior, letting the horse crib is growing. Best Ways To Manage Horse CribbingĬribbing has been called a behavioral disorder, and a harmful addiction however, thoughts on this are changing.

Companionship can help reduce cribbing and is a suggested management step. Pain – Likely related to confinement after an injury.Īpparently not since many companions of cribbers do not take up the habit.Especially when this is started at a young age, this seems to increase the frequency of a young horse starting to crib. Thoroughbreds, more than warmbloods and Quarter Horses, and possibly following certain bloodlines (per a Japanese study of 1,500 Thoroughbreds with a 1 percent rate of cribbing, but 7 or 8 percent within certain bloodlines). Possibly genetic predisposition – Some horses may inherit their cribbing behavior these horses start cribbing at a young age.Horse management/maintenance – Long stretches of time with no forage and little to no interactions (boredom and stress).Yep, we ‘caused’ it! Horse Cribbing Causes Interestingly, wild horses observed in the wild do not crib.

In 1889, a colt that cribbed was returned from Scotland to Belgium (no small journey) because it was deemed unsound as a ‘crib-biter’. What Is Cribbing In Horses?Ĭribbing is when a horse puts its front incisors over an edge (such as a board) and pulls back, arching his neck, and sometimes ‘taking in’ air.Ī long time ago cribbing was considered an unsoundness. Historically we thought was that horses cribbed to receive a high or euphoria but, new studies (which vary) suggest that horses crib for stress relief. Cribbing, also known as crib biting, aerophagia and wind sucking, is a behavioral situation in which the horse is most likely relieving stress.

Rubber cribbing boards for horses