I discussed the Boy's nasty little cirbbing habit with KAT and she reported that she hears him crib more often now. So even with near daily turn out, near daily riding, and SmartCalm (not that I think it'll help with that but you'd think a calmer horse would crib less but what do I know) he's cribbing MORE than before. We've tried the McNasty but since he cribs on a plastic (non-porous) thing the McNasty doesn't last long. I know collars work, but I am hesitant to use one for a few reasons. First, because my old lesson buddy, Rip, wore a miracle collar and he had white haired scars where the straps were. I don't want that. Second, with Junior in the lesson program, there is a possibility that the collar could be put on too tightly or incorrectly and that could be painful for Junior. I know KAT will check him each evening after lessons, but it considering how many halters I've seen put on upside down/backwards, you-name-it, I would rather not expose him to that if it's not necessary.
So what's my next step? Following advice from one of my readers, we are removing his mounted feed tub, which is, so far, the only thing we've seen him crib on and using a ground tub for feeding. The ground tub is purchased and is sitting outside of the stall waiting for the old corner mount to be removed. If he starts cribbing on his buckets or on the walls or something else we'll move on to a collar...with fleece covers and with the correct holes marked so if anyone puts it on besides me they will know how tight to make it. I will periodically check the fit, of course, and adjust the markings as necessary. That's the plan, anyway.
SOOOO, if you are bored at any time before the 25th, you could entertain yourself by watching live feed from the All American Quarter Horse Congress right here in Columbus, OH. I will be spending the day there on Saturday the 24th, shopping and watching some classes. If you've never been there it's pretty incredible. The show is absolutely HUGE. Rod's Western Palace has a sales tent there that is actually bigger than their store and I think the same might be true for Schneiders. Last night I was watching the HUS Maturity rounds and was reminded why I hate AQHA HUS. Yes, I realize it's the style I'm attempting to emulate, but MY horse doesn't carry his nose at his knees, act like he's a robot and have an illegally altered tail. I think it's still an AQHA rule to disqualify horses who carry their ears below their withers for more than 5 strides (or something like that) and nearly every horse I saw should've been disqualified. Yuck.
But anyway, there are two streams so when the HUS creeps you out you can watch the jumping or barrels or whatever interests you. This link takes you to the Home page, the links for the feeds are on the right side and the schedule is on the left so you can see what's in the rings.
Enjoy!
http://www.oqha.com/congress/
It might not be the case with him, but sometimes cribbing is associated with ulcers - it may relieve the pain. Also, has anything changed in his environment lately that might have been stressful for him? My old gelding Noble was a bad cribber for years - he wore the Miracle Collar with fleece cover - but when we moved to our current barn, which is very quiet and has all day turnout, and we put his feed pan and water buckets on the floor, he basically no longer cribs or even tries to. Occasionally when he's in dry lot in the winter, waiting at the gate to come in, he'll crib a couple of times on the fence, but that's all.
ReplyDeleteKate, I can't find anywhere that cribbing is a symptom of ulcers and he doesn't appear to have any of the other symptoms: weight loss, diarrhea, attitude changes, or loss of appetite. He seems to do it when there is nothing else for him to do, hays gone, feed's gone, and nobody is paying attention to him. The ONLY thing we've seen him do it on is his feed tub. I gave him a big chunk of wood that I found in the shavings the other day and he played with it the entire rest of the time I was there, including putting it IN the feed tub and banging it around. Part of me thinks it might be part of his food obsession, but what do I know about horse psychology? I'll mention this to Professor Vet and see what she says. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about the HUS horses. They were supposed to have enacted that rule and one regarding and actual 3 beat canter in the ApHC, but I'm not sure how well that's going. Would be interesting to go check it out.
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed my first visit to your site, and I'm looking forward to hearing how Jr. progresses!