Page 76 - November 2021

EQUINE HEALTH
“Some of the things that might lead to cribbing in certain horses include a high concentrate diet, lack of turnout, and lack of socialization with other horses.” -Carissa Wickens, PhD, PAS
Preventative measures include putting more forage in front of them and not letting them go long periods of time without forage. “This is especially important in late fall and winter if the grass in a pasture is about gone, or dry and not very nutritious. Rather than just putting some hay out, you might try to enrich the horse’s foraging experience. Maybe use a couple different kinds of hay and place a few flakes in different areas around the paddock so the horse has to move around and mimic foraging behavior,” Wickens says.
This gives the horse exercise as well as food, mimics traveling and grazing, and provides something more to do than just standing and eating at a feeder. You could also put out different kinds of hay for the horse to sample. “Some of it could
be more nutritious if it’s a performance horse or any horse that needs more calories. A little legume hay along with the grass hay flakes placed here and there around the paddock can make a little more work and activity for the horse,” she says.
Hay nets are another way to do this, depending on the situation. “Make sure they are hung safely, and don’t leave horses all
day unattended with hay nets if they are not accustomed to them. The main idea is to slow down forage consumption. In climates where there is less forage in winter (snow-covered pastures) horse may have to paw to get to the grass or may not have any grass, so you need to provide them with something to do.” This is
especially true if they are dry lotted for winter and kept off the pastures. Some of the slow feeders for hay may be helpful.
If the horse’s stomach is empty for more than a few hours, this may create some digestive upset, which may stimulate more oral behavior, and cribbing. “This is why it might help to provide more forage. It may not stop the cribbing but might reduce the frequency,” she says.
“If it’s a younger horse or one that has
just started cribbing, evaluate the diet. If you catch this behavior early before it has become well established, you might work with your veterinarian to make sure there’s not a gastro- intestinal issue--and consider using an antacid product. You might ask about treating for gastric ulcers. Abnormal oral behaviors are often associated with gut discomfort, which may
stem from feeding management. This might
be something to try with the horse that’s just begun to crib, and might be successful in halting it,” says Wickens. It may be easier to redirect a beginning cribber than a horse that’s been doing it for several years.
Just because a horse exhibits stereotypic behavior (cribbing, weaving, stall walking) doesn’t necessarily mean the horse’s current management or environment is suboptimal. It may mean that at some point in that horse’s history it was trying to cope with stress, and these behaviors tend to continue.
COLIC, ULCERS, AND CRIBBING
Some horse owners think there’s a link between certain types of colic and cribbing.
“I struggle with this idea, however, because at this point the research data is limited and does not necessarily point to a true cause and effect relationship. We don’t really know if cribbing makes horses more prone to colic or if these horses already have digestive upsets and are prone to colic and this made them more likely to crib,” Wickens says.
“It’s like the question about which came
first, the chicken or the egg. A few studies in
the veterinary literature have demonstrated an association between colic and cribbing, and there are many other causes of colic. I have known many cribbing horses that have never had problems with colic, and many non-cribbers who have experienced frequent bouts of colic. There is still much we do not understand
about the relationship between colic and other gastrointestinal problems and cribbing in horses,” she says.
If a cribbing horse is a hard keeper and has a history of colic or other health issues such as severe wear of their incisor teeth, Wickens suggests putting a collar on that horse during mealtime or when it is in a stall. “If the horse can’t crib during meals, he might digest food better, with less risk for colic and digestive problems,” she says.
If owners resort to using a collar, it’s important to make sure it is fitted properly. “Put fleece inserts on the collar to help prevent rubbing and sores. If a leather collar is not adjusted periodically, it may become looser and less effective, but acclimate the horse to the collar gradually. If the cribber has never experienced a collar and you put it tightly around the neck it may irritate the horse and compromise safety of horse and handler.”
Some of her PhD work at Auburn University with Dr. Cindy McCall focused on whether there is a gastrointestinal link with cribbing. “I worked with adult horses that had a long history of cribbing. We tested the hypothesis that cribbers (compared to normal non-stereotypic horses) have greater number and/or severity of gastric ulcers. When we video-endoscoped those horses we did not find a significant difference between the cribbers and non-cribbers in the condition of their stomachs,” says Wickens.
“We also did a blood collection pre- and post- feeding of a grain meal, looking at the gastric
74 SPEEDHORSE November 2021
Preventative measures include putting more forage in front of the horse.