Cribbing (horse)
The major factors that cause cribbing include stress, stable management, genetic and gastrointestinal irritability.
[4] This movement is coincided with an in-rush of air through the crico-pharynx into the oesophagus producing the characteristic cribbing sound or grunt.
Wind-sucking is a related behavior whereby the horse arches its neck and sucks air into the windpipe but does so without grasping an object.
[9] It was found that 11.03% of racehorses performed one or more abnormal stereotypical behaviour that lead back to animal welfare and husbandry systems.
[3][16] A study found that horses would perform the cribbing behaviour in attempt to decrease the cortisol levels that can be brought on by stressful situations.
[15] According to this study, the long-term release of stress hormones can be harmful and can cause cardiovascular diseases, depression and immunosuppression.
[5] It was proposed in a 2002 study that the link between intestinal conditions such as gastric inflammation or colic and abnormal oral behavior was attributable to environmental factors.
[4] A study suggested that the animal uses cribbing as a coping method when it cannot escape a fearful or stressful situation, or when it has been socially isolated or confined.
Because Thoroughbreds are so consistently the most prevalent cribbers, this suggests there may be a genetic component, however, this may be confounded by different uses and management of different horse breeds.
[4] Since the animal is unable to easily digest large quantities of starch, it was found that a high-grain, low forage diet could cause cribbing.
A low-forage, high-grain diet was found to increase the risk of the stereotypy because the behaviour aided with relieving stomach acidity.
[3] It has also been suggested that the increase in saliva produced during wind-sucking could be a mechanism for neutralizing stomach conditions in stable-kept, grain-fed horses.
However, some ethologists have argued that prevention of the behavior without addressing the causes is not a cure and may result in cribbing being expressed in a modified form, or may interfere with an animal's attempt to adapt to its environment.
[24] A growing body of work suggests that fat and fiber-based diets may also result in calmer patterns of behavior.
[20] One study investigated the effects of providing a feeder that delivered small amounts of concentrate feed when activated by the animal.
Other methods to prevent cribbing have included surgery, acupuncture, use of pharmaceuticals, operant feeding, and environmental enrichment.
