[Kaeleer]

I recently got a cribber into my yard. I promptly put him next to my own horse, who would become so incensed by the revolting "gulping" noise coming from the stable next to him that he'd fly at the cribber over the half-wall, teeth bared. Worked a treat.

The horse has now settled down beautifully, put on weight and his cribbing is limited to feed times. He consumes more hay than any other horse in the yard, and his windsucking muscles have almost gone away.

Cribbing is not contagious, but it is annoying. I have very open stables, they can all see each other at all times. Nobody else crib-bites.

[Rebmik]

Have to TOTALLY disagree with anyone that says cribbing CANNOT be picked up by other horses.
Depends on that other horse!
My 5 yo Shire (mentally 2 1/2) - brought him back to barn a year ago went out at first with a 25+ yo mare...I live at barn/apt an the horses are around me 24/7. I physically saw him stand there, look at her and put his big mouth on the board...only did it when he was next to her...no longer together and no more tastin' the fence!...
like most horse things...depends on the horse!

[ponyjumper4]

Have not read all the replies.

I had a cribber and have another one in my barn. No big deal. However, I would not put a young horse (2 or under) near one as they may try to mimic--I have seen this happen on multiple occasions. An older horse typically would not pick it up just because another one around them is.

[hayabusagirl]

I own a cribber and had boarded him with many other horses and none of them"learned" to crib The past 3 years I have had him at home w/ 2 other horses. Usually he has his miracle collar on but I do give him breaks from it once in a while and the other 2 had never picked up this habit. I too had said I would never get a cribber( I was told he was cribbing a little[no such thing] when I picked him up right off the track). This horse is such a great boy that I can not imagine my life w/o him. Yes cribbing is obnoxious and sometimes dangerous( wood splinters/gas colic) but it is manageable. It is a myth that they "catch it". OTTBs are prone to it due to lack of turnout/boredom. Please do not let cribbing deter you from a great horse.

[LeniH]

My 12 year old horse never cribbed until the barn put a cribber next to him. I was told an older horse wouldn't learn to crib, WRONG! Now I have the heartbreak of having to put a cribbing collar on him, barn policy, and he still cribs.

[Calvincrowe]

My horse (15 year old) is stalled next to a cribber, has been for 4 years now, and he hasn't learned to crib. I had another mare who cribbed and the other horses in our barn didn't learn from her, either. I would do some research into the facts: clinical studies.

[dwblover]

It has been proven that there is a genetic predispositon for cribbing. Horses who seem to "learn" to crib from other horses have the cribbing gene and would have started at some point no matter what. Horses who do not have the cribbing genetic predisposition will NOT learn to crib from anyone.

http://barnmice.com/forum/topics/cri...ource=activity

My OTTB has been stalled next to my neurotic cribber for 4 years, starting at the age of 5 when he was fresh off the track. He never learned it from him because he is not genetically prone to it. I hate old wives tales LOL!

[alto]

It has been proven that there is a genetic predispositon for cribbing.

http://barnmice.com/forum/topics/cri...ource=activity

Actually nothing was proven in that study - a genetic basis was suggested due to the higher incidence reported in TB than other breeds
BUT
study was based completely on owner surveys
no large TB breeding farms (nor any other TB discipline) participated in the study



This study actually links crib-biting with a neurolgical disorder

Crib-biting was observed in 31.3% of cases

so one might misinterpret this as

Crib-biting has a proven neurologic basis ie if your horse cribs, he's neurologic - yet that is not what the researchers implied at all ...

[Renn/aissance]

My horse Tip is the first one we've had in the family who doesn't crib. He's been stabled next to cribbers for several years. He has yet to learn to crib. In fact the one horse drove him crazy with the cribbing and Tip would chase him off the fence when he cribbed in the field.

So no, stabling next to a cribber wouldn't bother me.

[SaratogaTB]

It is a myth that horses "teach" other horses to crib. They don't. And if a cribbing collar fixes it, then who cares?

[Ghazzu]

Wouldn't bother me in the least.
It's not a bad habit they pick up by palling around with the wrong sort...

[Jocelynne]

I've boarded at barns with cribbers, my horses have just never been next to them. I don't have a huge problem with it. My friend has a cribber and her barn has a more "open" concept (the bars between the stalls) and none of her other horses have picked up on it.

My mares use to chew wood though which drove me mental. I realized it was because they didn't have enough to eat outside though and got bored and hungry. They don't do that at their new barn.

[trubandloki]

Old thread, noticed it because of a post by County.

I have boarded at barns with cribbers and never gave it any thought. The noise is annoying but other than that, no worries that someone would pick it up.

[horsepoor]

Zombie thread, raised from the dead by the "Similar Threads" box, I'm sure! Really hating that box (I never actually scroll down to look at it as it has been pretty useless when I have looked).

In my own experience and observation, I think that some horses are predisposed and some not. I do think that those that are predisposed can be influenced by seeing the behavior. My older horses have been next to or near cribbers and been fine. I will not put my younger horses in that situation. I just don't want to take a chance as I really hate the habit. Management can play a part as well, as there is a connection between ulcers and cribbing, so if feeding practices/turnout/etc. can create ulcers, I think those can contribute to the likelihood of picking up cribbing. Just my opinion, and I respect the opinion of those that believe otherwise, but feel you can take the chance with your horses and not mine.

[FineAlready]

I think that's a myth that horses teach others to crib. I'm pretty sure that's been proven otherwise. I'm betting more often the case, the same barn may see many cribbers because the horses all have the same aggravating conditions that encourage cribbing.


I have one I call a closet cribber and her sire was. IF I see her crib, it's generally right after grain and if the handy edge presents itself. One of her 4 older foals has cribbed (a little), I'm told, but he was cooped up alot and in heavy training at the time.

EXACTLY! The only time my horse cribbed was when he was kept in a terrible boarding situation where the horses were never turned out. As soon as I moved him, the cribbing stopped. He's been in his new barn for 8 months now, and he hasn't cribbed there, nor did he crib in the 2+ years I owned him prior to boarding at the cribbing-inducing facility (Knocking on wood!).

[Nezzy]

the only reason i would not, is b/c i hate the sound of cribbing. But i have had my non cribbing horses with a bad cribber and they never picked it up. I think if a horse is predisposed to crib, then he can start by being around another cribber. But most horses do not pick it up.

[frisky]

If I'm being reasonable, I don't think that cribbing spreads. I have one horse who would never in a million years crib and I'd have no problem with boarding her with a barn full of cribbers. I have another horse who chews wood when she's board (think extended stall rest). Logically, I wouldn't have a problem with boarding next to the cribber, but, honestly, I'd keep my eye out for any remote change in behavior. I would also be hesitant to board a young, impressionable or stressed/stall rest horse near a cribber.

I have owned a cribber and it's my experience that some people get perfectly nutty about being around a cribber. They won't listen to any reason. Other people aren't bothered in the least. (Horse) People get really entrenched in their ideas. Just start a thread about the right way to soak beet pulp.

[cloudyandcallie]

No i do not want my horses stalled next to a cribber.

First barn had another boarder horse that cribbed. He was not only stalled next to Cloudy, he was in a paddock beside Cloudy's paddock. The horse, a young appendix, cribbed on a tree on the fence line. Cloudy, being young and impressionable, ok he is a copycat, started chewing the tree bark on his side. Fortunately in his stall he couldn't see the woodchuck. But the sound went on at night and early morning. (I asked that he be moved from the paddock, and with the pit bull on the other side of the chain link fence, it was done.) He still had the horse next to him in the stall.

At other barns, if horses stalled beside Cloudy and Callie cribbed, my 2 would chew wood. Even my old otto mare Callie. Neither cribbed, but wood chewing can get splinters in mouth and swallowed.

I know all the literature says that cribbing is not a learned habit, but I still don't want to take that chance with my horses. Cloudy and Hattie will chew wood if they are angry at other horses. So I smear wormer on any area that they choose to chew.

[TheJenners]

My mouthy, bored, orally-fixated, possible-ulcer-having young WB was stalled and paddocked (is that a word?) next to a die hard cribber.

Never picked it up.

Throw me in the "this is a myth" group. If any horse would have picked it up, it would have been this horse. Lord knows he puts his mouth on everything else...

[Peggy]

I had a horse next to (actually across a very narrow aisle from) a cribber. Neither my horse, nor any of the other horses (5 total stabled in the vicinity), ever picked up the habit. The other horses included my mouthy horse, a chestnut TB mare, and a horse on stall rest with some social issues of his own. The kicking and charging on the part of this horse was far more annoying.