Also called wind sucking, cribbing is a stereotypy, a repetitive, compulsive activity that serves no purpose for a horse and it poses health risks. Current thinking is that an individual horse might have a genetic predisposition to crib, but the behavior isn’t triggered until he is subjected to stressors related to his lifestyle.
Source: EQUUS, July 20, 2021. Link. Horses who crib may be at a higher risk for some types of colic, and prolonged cribbing can wear down a horse’s upper incisors, lead to overdevelopment of some neck muscles and cause other physical problems. Horses who crib do seem to be more prone to certain types of colic, although the connection is unclear.
Even if you are physically preventing the cribbing it might be good to give the horse something else to do orally—like playing with a sturdy ball or one of the lick-it type toys.” – Amelia S. Munsterman, DVM, PhD, DACVS, DACVECC
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