SARAH: My horse bites the fence and sucks in.
One, what is it called?
Two, he is not gaining weight, is that because he does that?
And three, what can I do?
DR LYDIA GRAY: OK, number one, what's it called?
Cribbing.
I got this one.
SARAH: Nailed it.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Yeah, so cribbing.
It's what's called a stereotypy.
And the definition is "seemingly functionless repetitive
behavior."
So what falls in here, cribbing, weaving, stall walking,
pawing, and not head shaking.
Let's be clear.
But head bobbing.
Some horses just get in this habit of head bobbing.
Exactly.
You do that very well.
SARAH: I'm familiar.
DR LYDIA GRAY: OK, so we're learning more and more
about these.
We think we know something and then it's completely wrong.
And then we think we know something else.
Her second question was?
SARAH: He's not gaining weight.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Right.
So why do we care about cribbing and the other stereotypies.
Because not gaining weight can be part of the problem.
If it's just cosmetic, then it's one of those things,
I feel like I say this a lot, but just ignore it.
They do it.
They have a reason they do it.
And there is something in the environment
missing or something in his life, maybe a stress.
And he is resolving this by this cribbing action.
And maybe we should go over what that looks
like for people who don't know.
But they hook their front teeth over a horizontal object,
like a fence board.
And then they arch their neck a little bit and they pull back
and they suck in.
It sometimes sounds like a grunt.
And they're pulling in air.
And they just keep doing that.
SARAH: Did you want me to do that one, too?
DR LYDIA GRAY: Not really.
SARAH: I thought that might be your answer.
DR LYDIA GRAY: I'm hoping maybe our videographer
will have a video.
SARAH: Oh, that is probably more likely than
DR LYDIA GRAY: So that's what it looks
like, that's what it's called.
SARAH: What can she do?
DR LYDIA GRAY: Let me answer some more of those.
So her horse is losing weight.
There can be performance issues.
Because they hook their front teeth over,
you can have some dental issues.
There is one specific type of colic associated with this.
It's called epiploic foramen entrapment.
I know.
SARAH: That's a good one.
We won't spell that one.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Well, we will on the screen.
SARAH: Not us.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Not us.
Yeah.
If your horse is experiencing health problems, conditions
because of cribbing, then certainly some things
need to be done.
But if not, might be better off just
letting him cope with whatever stress in his life.
This is his method of coping.
What was the next one?
SARAH: What can she do?
So I think you-- the close your eyes.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Well, that.
And then try to figure out, go through a horse's life
with your vet, what could possibly be the problem.
So is he inside too much?
If so, turn him out.
Does he need to socialize more with the other horses?
Are you feeding enough hay?
Because long-stem forage, if they've got something
to chew on, they might not feel the need
to go do that with their mouth.
So there are quite a few lists or steps, checklist,
that you can run through and say is
this right in my horse's life?
Is this right in my horse's life?
And maybe you'll find something.
There doesn't seem to be, because I
know this was a question that she wanted to ask,
I'm like a mind reader.
Do horses see another horse do this and then pick it up?
No.
SARAH: So this is not contagious.
DR LYDIA GRAY: No.
Cribbing is not contagious.
And you heard it here first.
Yes, perfect.
SARAH: And none of the other ones are either.
Weaving, stall walking, head bobbing.
Not contagious?
DR LYDIA GRAY: No.
There's not mimicry involved.
SARAH: Busting wives tales.
Old wives tales left and right.
SARAH: We don't know, we don't know.
DR LYDIA GRAY: Could be husband's tales.
SARAH: That's true.
That's true.
So on the question of what's it called,
I've heard some people say that their horse is a wind sucker.
Is that the same thing as cribbing?
Is that a totally different thing?
DR LYDIA GRAY: It could be.
Some parts of the country or the world say wind sucking.
SARAH: So it's like soda versus pop.
DR LYDIA GRAY: A little bit.
SARAH: Which one are you?
DR LYDIA GRAY: I think soda.
Yeah, or bag versus - I don't know the other word.
Sack.
Without being too vulgar, wind sucking
can sometimes refer to a situation that occurs
in the back end of the horse.
SARAH: That's probably only female horses.
DR LYDIA GRAY: It is only female horses, yeah.
What I thought you were going to ask me was wood chewing.
Wood chewing is different.
It is not considered a stereotypie.
And for the most part, wood chewing is a naughty behavior.
And it probably is linked to a deficiency in the diet.
So make sure the horse is getting all the vitamins,
minerals, and probably protein that he needs
and the long-stem forage.
And that will probably resolve easily.
Cribbing is a little bit more complicated and deep seated.