DAN: "Keeping cribbers entertained!
In my case, the boy DOES live in a run-in,
so there's no stalling boredom there."
Sorry, I got really excited to say the does because she put it
in all capitals.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Does, OK.
DAN: So he lives in a run-in, so there's no stall boredom.
And he's still a cribber.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Oh, so that's the question.
She wants ways to keep him entertained.
DAN: Yeah.
Not really a question.
A lot of statements.
But that's apparently what's happening.
DR LYDIA GRAY: I'm waiting for the question.
[LAUGHTER]
So cribbing.
This is a hot topic of research right now,
which is good because not that there's a lot of cribbers,
but when your horse is a cribber, it's--
DAN: It's annoying.
DR LYDIA GRAY: It is annoying.
So what are the negatives of being a cribber?
It's not that it's annoying to have to listen to it.
They can crib to the extent that they don't eat.
DAN: Yep.
DR LYDIA GRAY: And so they become thin.
They're hard keepers.
The jury is out whether cribbing actually causes colic.
DAN: I hear that one a lot.
DR LYDIA GRAY: I hear it a lot.
If you know that cribbing causes your horse colic,
then you have to do something about it.
It wears down their teeth because they
hook their teeth onto a surface and pull,
and so their incisors get worn down.
And then it's destructive on a property.
DAN: Yep.
DR LYDIA GRAY: So there are some reasons
why cribbing would be not something you
want to allow to happen.
On the other hand, the researchers
are now saying it's not a boredom issue.
DAN: Oh.
DR LYDIA GRAY: It's a coping mechanism.
DAN: Really?
DR LYDIA GRAY: They're coping with stress, especially
environmental stress, but it could
be pain, anxiety, frustration.
And in order to be-- we've dispelled the myth now
that you "catch" cribbing by seeing another horse doing it.
Horses don't imitate or copy other cribbers,
so that's not a concern.
DAN: So it's not like the horse's mom was a cribber.
So therefore, it watched the mom, and now it's a cribber.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Its mom was a cribber,
and now it could be a cribber because it's genetic.
DAN: Interesting.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yeah, but not because you
allowed a cribber to move into the barn,
and now the horse next to it cribs.
That's not what happens.
If a horse begins to crib, it's because it
had the genetic predisposition.
DAN: So it's a genetic component to this.
DR LYDIA GRAY: It is.
And something triggered it.
DAN: Oh.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Stress triggered it.
And so the horse copes with the stress by cribbing.
DAN: And it could be physical stress
or it could be just stress for its job
or something of that nature.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Could be.
Well, one of the premier cribbing researchers,
Doctor Daniel Mills from the University of Lincoln
in the UK, he says about half of cribbers,
they will begin about 20 weeks of age.
And what happens at five months?
DAN: Weaning.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Weaning.
DAN: Ah.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Weaning is the most stressful thing
that will probably ever happen to a horse
because you're taken away from your mom, you're moved,
you have a change in diet, and probably
to a sweet feed, high grain type diet.
And sweet feed itself is linked to cribbing.
DAN: Interesting.
DR LYDIA GRAY: So it's stress, not boredom.
It's coping.
And so in this situation, the run-in is better than a stall,
but it's not as good as pasture.
DAN: So they use it as a way of self-soothing, in a sense.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Exactly.
So the things that you would want to do for a horse
that cribs is provide them with full turn out onto a pasture.
DAN: OK.
DR LYDIA GRAY: OK.
With buddies.
So the social aspect of this is very, very important.
A high forage diet is key.
They have to have that long stem roughage.
Avoiding sweet feed type grains is key.
And oats seems to be OK.
There was a study in 2011 out of Cornell, and they found that--
I think to what she's trying to get at-- that stall toys can
help with cribbing if they're the kind that encourage horses
to lick and chew.
DAN: OK.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Because they videoed cribbers,
and they found that cribbers, all of them
licked a preemptory lick before they started cribbing.
So they're like, if we could put a stall toy in a horse's area
that encourages him to lick, maybe
he'll just keep licking and not actually hook
onto anything and crib.
DAN: Interesting.
DR LYDIA GRAY: But they found a reduction
in the number of crib bites by doing that.
DAN: OK.
So this guy is already starting off
on a great start by having a run-in.
So he's having some access to turn out.
If we can potentially expand that to pasture with a friend--
DR LYDIA GRAY: And make sure he's got a buddy, yeah.
DAN: And then hopefully that will help potentially.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Right.
The other thing they're saying is, maybe
we should just let these horses crib.
One of the titles of the articles I read was--
DAN: Well, now you're just blowing everyone's mind.
DR LYDIA GRAY: I know.
Crazy talk.
Was that horses need pacifiers.
DAN: They need pacifiers?
DR LYDIA GRAY: Cribbers, maybe.
I think of it as-- they talked about redirecting the cribber.
So maybe you don't want the horse
to crib on a specific fence or board or stall gate
or whatever.
So you could redirect them, much like you
redirect your cat from your new sofa to the scratching post.
DAN: Yep.
DR LYDIA GRAY: So you give the horse a safe place to crib,
maybe a rubber edged flat--
horizontal surface, so they won't
crib on wood or metal or something
that's maybe unsafe or worse on their teeth as much.
DAN: So giving them a safe outlet to--
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yeah, because if there's stress in their lives
and they're frustrated, and their genes tell
them, crib to cope with this, and then
we do not allow them to crib, it just makes it worse.
So allow them to crib.
Maybe not all the time, maybe some of the day.
Maybe they wear their cribbing collar half a day
and they're free half.
DAN: OK.
Yeah.
DR LYDIA GRAY: So the hybrid approach
is something that's being put forward by experts right now.
DAN: Especially since you're saying there's currently
no research tying directly to colic
and things of that nature.
DR LYDIA GRAY: As soon as the study comes out that says,
yep, there's a link, then another study
comes out and says, nope, there's no link.
So--
DAN: We're not ready to make that call yet.
DR LYDIA GRAY: What it could be is if you know in your horse
that your horse cribs and then it colics, then
you're maybe someone who has to keep their horse in the collar.
But if you have a horse that has not colicked,
then I would explore this new way of thinking of maybe just
let him be.
It's OK to crib.
DAN: It would cost me a lot less stress, trying to remember put
the cribbing collar on and--
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yeah, and now tied.
And they get scars from it and it's--
DAN: It's not fun.
DR LYDIA GRAY: It's probably not comfortable.
DAN: No, for sure.
And I feel bad when I have to put it on.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yeah.
DAN: Well, perfect.
I hope that helps you out, Lauren, and let
us know how your guy's doing.