AUGUST 2019 THE RIDER /29 ^Between The Ears^


come obsessive about stopping a horse from cribbing and there are certainly medications available to aid with that but Dr. King asks the most important question about this. Why? Why do you want to stop the


horse from utilizing its coping mechanism? The horse NEEDS to crib. In addition, aversive devices such as cribbing straps and aver- sive training methods have been studied and the research shows they don’t work. It is counterpro- ductive to add more stress to the already stressed horse. The best advice for the crib-


By Ellie Ross There are so many


myths and misunderstand- ings about cribbing so let’s focus on the science be- hind it. Let’s begin with defining what Cribbing is. Cribbing is a stereotypical behaviour (not learned) and its very hard to cease this behaviour, but not im- possible, once it has begun. The horse places its incisor teeth on a sur- face or an object and flexes the neck muscles. The larynx contracts so the air can be sucked into the esophagus. Many board- ing barns refuse to accept a cribbing horse as a boarder and sadly the rea- sons behind this decision are usually based on false information or misunder- standing. I could not find any scientific evidence to prove that other horses would begin to crib as a re- sult of observing a crib- bing horse. Other horses would crib if they were ge- netically wired the same and enduring the same stressful conditions. Some horses are more likely to crib than others and inter- estingly enough, its rare to see a pony crib. Maybe be- cause Ponies typically do their own thing perhaps or just that their genetics are usually totally different than most of the perform- ance breeds out there. In addition, stallions are more likely to crib than mares and its also com- mon that stallions are man- aged in a manner which isolates them. A stressful life for a herd animal. The fact


is that


horses are not cribbing be- cause they see another horse do it. Horses crib be- cause they have to. It is a coping mechanism and one that should not be de- nied. Collars, straps and a myriad of other devices only benefit the seller’s bank account. The number one


cause of cribbing is caused by an environment of which they have been forced to live in. An envi- ronment that is deficient in


enrichment, limits their movement, fails to provide proper forage and or causes the horse to endure stressful conditions. Con- ditions that can easily lead to ulcers in horses hence why some horse people blame ulcers as the cause for cribbing. What may be surpris-


ing to you is that horses that crib are often really great school horses. Why? Because typically the horse that cribs is one with a high degree of persever- ance so once that horse learns something, it learns it well and sticks to it. Therefore the beginner students are unlikely to undo the training of these horses as they stick to the habits formed in the early training they received. According to Dr. Sh-


eryl King PhD., a Director of the Southern Illinois University’s (SIU) Equine Science Program,


the


horse’s neurochemical and physiological balances are impacted due to the rea- sons listed above. A com- parison of cortisol levels (the stress hormone) be- tween stalled horses and unstalled horses showed that the stalled/isolated horses had increased corti- sol levels and lower sero- tonin levels which is associated with compul- sive behaviours. Since horses can only


salivate with direct con- tact, they have to bite into something to generate saliva, which aids the di- gestive tracts. Cribbing also leads to the release of dopamine and dopamine is a natural analgesic neuro- chemical. From a physiological


perspective, any behaviour that gets rewarded gets re- peated and any behaviour being repeated, gets stronger. Cribbing is a self rewarding behaviour. Ac- cording to Dr. King, stud- ies have shown that horses lower their cortisol levels and heart rate by cribbing. An increased heart rate is a symptom of pain and/or stress.


Horse owners be-


Cribbing. The Good. The Bad. The Cause. The Answers.


ber is to turn the horse out, with other horses, where it is free to move around and have access to forage but not be fed grain. Skip the collars, the drugs and the sur- gical options. Personally speaking, I have


had more off track thoroughbreds than I can count. I treated for ul- cers and provided living condi- tions as naturally as possible. Living out, forage available at all times and if a stall is required, the stall is quite open. This has re- sulted in considerable improve- ment overall and many have ceased cribbing behaviours.


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