Should I buy a cribbing horse?

Question

A good friend has a beautiful, safe, quiet, 10 yr. old quarter horse for sale. This horse can do anything. Good on trail, drives, does well in shows. She is selling him for $4000. The problem is he is a die hard cribber. A crib collar helps some, but hasn't cured him. Will he teach my other horse to crib?

Answer 1

I personally try not to buy a cribber. Not only does their damage to stalls, fences, and barns cause thousands of dollars sometimes. But many horses will become addicted to it and crib on anything- such as metal corrals, pipe round pens, and t-posts(most commonly a wind sucker.) Some are very hard to maintain in their body condition and you run the risk of other health issues with their teeth, neck, ears(some develop ear infections), but you also run the risk that something they chew on could become lodged in their throat.
If you are going to buy this horse I'd recommend trying a supplement called- Quitt. It's a pour in feed cribbing supplement and most of the time works. Also if you buy him then try finding an enrichment toy, he may be cribbing because he's bored. But before you even buy have a vet check him over and do blood work. Even good friends can lie about underlying health issues they have with the horse and your vet will be able to tell you if he has illness or cribs because of a body mineral deficiency.

Answer 2

Most horses have some sort of vice some are worst then others, you just have to weight the good against the bad. I have personally used the supplent Quitt and it does help some horses, but also have salt blocks and lose a lose salt mineral mix can help. If she's kept mainly in a stall she might just be bored and need to get turned out or need a toy. Plastic road cones, empty juice bottle hung from the celling, likits and jolly balls can be good things to keep there mind off eating wood. I wouldn't worry much about her teaching the others to crib. If your worried about underlying health problems then get a vet check done. Cribbing is a very bad habit and can be harmful and dangerous but there are a lot of people out there who have horse that crib and they just mange it with a cribbing collar and the like. They also make the collars that give them a little zap whenever they crib, just like the dog training collars, if you really wanted to invest in one I think they're about $100. Personally I'd take a quiet safe cribber any day over a spooky not as safe non cribber.

Answer 3

There are definitely ways to manage a cribber. It wouldn't be a deal breaker for me. First off, since he's of the track, I would put him on some kind of ulcer treatment- just in case and keep him on pasture board. If you're lucky that'll solve the cribbing problem. If it's become a behavioural thing (as opposed to a 'in pain' or comfort thing) then there's still plenty you can do. There are cribbing collars that fit around the horse's neck behind their ears which prevent them from sucking in the air. There's also non-toxic gross tasting stuff that you paint on your fence posts and rails to make it an unpleasant experience for the horse. A grazing muzzle works well too. If he does end up cribbing, make sure you take some of these preventative measures AND get your equine dentist out frequently. Grabbing onto fences and rails can wear down the incisors in the horse's mouth- which can become a big issue. Good luck:)

Answer 4

I would only buy him if he will stay outside in a pasture 24/7. I would never put a cribber in a stall (except the night before the show). We bought 2 cribbers from people who kept them in stalls at night and they are now outside 24/7 (with shelter) and there are very few bite marks on the wood. None of our other horses learned any cribbing behavior.

Answer 5

If you are willing to repair the occasional board then a cribber shouldn't be a problem. I've never heard of a cribber teaching other horses to crib or suck. I guess it just comes down to person decision. Make sure he is equipped with a good quality collar so he doesn't get sore. Also, there are a few different no cribbing fence coatings you can apply to your fences and barn(s). Make sure salt and minerals are always available to him. If a horse is lacking in either they will begin to chew wood and trigger the cribbing action. Also provide him with stimulation out in the pasture.

Answer 6

He can teach your other horse to crib but he also sounds like a great horse. Horse crib because they are bored and are tryin gto get endorphorphins that they could get from grazing if they weren't in a stall. If he is in a stall make sure he is turned out most of the time or try to board him somewhere with all-metal stalls.

$4000 is not that much money for a horse and if he doesn't have many other faults I would say that he is worth it.

Answer 7

I would buy him. Why throw away a life when he's just damaged a bit? I would have him live in a t-post, non-barb wired fence area with no trees. Let him stretch out, the first cause of cribbing is boredom. I'd leave the collar on him too, just to help discourage it. Since it is cold you will want to bring him in at night, you could put metal sheets over the tops of your doors, also they sell stuff you can paint onto the wood and such to discourage the horse from cribbing.
http://www.horse.com/products/gift-0__sku-BSL60.html
In the summer I'd suggest leaving him outside 24/7, get him a pony-pop, or a jolly ball for his stall
http://www.statelinetack.com/global/search/search_results.jsp?Ntt=jolly+ball&In=Horse&previousText=jolly+ball&N=156695&Ne=156695&cm_ven=goo&cm_cat=adwords&cm_pla=unknown&cm_ite=home
I wouldn't let a horse like this pass me up just because of cribbing. You just need to take away all his chewing sources, make him go cold turkey. As long as your horse isn't confined he shouldn't pick up cribbing either. The major cause of cribbing is because the horses are locked up all the time and can't keep their mouths and teeth busy by grazing. Horses are meant to move. Watch a horse graze in the pasture, he eats a few bites, takes a step, eats a few bites, takes a step... It is also a natural way that horses fend off arthritus. When it is cold outside I put a heavy blanket on my horses and lock them in stalls with adjoining small paddocks so that they can keep stretching their legs, and if it lets up in the middle of the night, or I have to go somwhere on emergency I won't feel bad leaving my horses locked up. I delt with a mare that was starved and lived off of tree bark for nearly five years before I got her. Even when I put her in a knee deep green pasture she still chewed trees and wood. So I put her in a smaller pasture with no trees and a mineral block for about 2 months then I put her back in the bigger pasture. Again she went for the tree after grazing towards it. So I pulled her back out and put her in the smaller pasture for about 2 weeks, then put her back in the big one. It took a few times of hopping back and forth and keeping a close eye on her, but now she no longer cribs and I'm glad I took her on because she is a wonderful horse.

Answer 8

Cribbing can cause long term health problems and other horses can learn the behavior when exposed to another with the habit. Take this into consideration! Here is an excellent article with more detail: http://www.tthorse.com/ae_cribbing.asp

Answer 9

Yes, other horses can pick up this habit. I'll bet the horse is not an easy keeper. I'd stay away from buying it - for $4,000, you can buy a jam-up horse with no issues.
Cribbing is almost impossible to break. You may find out he is hard to keep fit.

Answer 10

I don't think you should spend 4,000 on a horse with such an annoying habbit. Sometimes other horses will cath on and begin cribbing. Best of Luck!