Logo by Cynthia Johnson
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Logo by Cynthia Johnson |
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Vices and Habits "Basic"What is Wind Sucking or Cribbing? This obsessive compulsive disorder or addictive behavior of some horses is more annoying than harmful. Submitted by Lil Peck, 1/20/2009
"What is that horse doing?" kids and novices ask me about Abby, a Hanoverian mare. Abby, who is standing by a rail or pipe panel, places her mouth over it, grasps it with her teeth, and sucks in a big mouthful of air. "Oh, she's a windsucker," I explain. "That's also called cribbing." I explain that wind sucking is a bad habit, addiction, or obessive compulsive disorder that isn't yet fully understood. There may be a genetic component involved. One theory is that horses pick up this vice (bad habit) when they are weanlings as a way to comfort themselves if they have an upset tummy. Although there are fears that a windsucker may be more predisposed to colic, overall, cribbing is an annoyance to the owner more than anything really serious. A wind sucker may damage the objects that they grasp, from the repeated pulling and pushing on it, so property damage may be of concern. Most cribbing can be reduced or stopped by placing a cribbing collar on the horse. Even my veterinarian warned me that horses may learn to crib from another horse that cribs, but I have not yet found that to be the case. I have boarded two other cribbers, and not yet has any non-cribbing horse on the place taken it up. We don't even bother putting a collar on Abby anymore. If you sell a cribber, you do have an ethical obligation to disclose that fact to prospective buyers. It is possible that being a cribber may lessen a horse's market value in some cases. However, the vice is seen somewhat often amongst populations of horses that are high-pressure athletes. Personally, it isn't something that I will hold against a horse, if the horse has everything else that I like. I have uploaded a video of Abby to accompany this article. To view it, click on the video icon above this article. |
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