Does cribbing affect:

[eponacowgirl]

A) Resale value
B) Eventing capability

My BO and I have the opportunity to go try a fantastic looking TB gelding tomorrow as a horse for her daughter/possible resale project.

The ad makes the guy sound wonderful, though I'm not totally sold on a TB resale project- I've had better luck with appendix, QH, drafties...

If he is everything the ad says he is, we'll be really lucky to have found him, but hes a cribber.

This is also scary to us. Should it be? Are we shooting ourselves in the foot from the get go?

I imagine, with the amount of OTTB that eventers tend to ride, cribbing would be fairly common and not such a big deal, but then when the BO asked how many people I know that event cribbers, I couldn't think of one.

So, what do you think?

[Bobthehorse]

Resale value, maybe. There are a lot of misconceptions about cribbers.

Eventing capability, no way! My Training champ is a cribber, a friends old Prelim horse (that she sold to the US for a good chunk of cash) was a cribber. I would suspect more horses out there competing crib than people think, you just wouldnt know because they dont wear collars at shows!

[bwills2]

My guy cribs, stall walks and if you put a muzzle on him in the stall he'll start weaving! He is the easiest, sanest horse I have ever had to ride. It does make it hard to find a place to board, but my mom, who hates cribbers, likes him well enough to let him stay at her farm. I only do elementary stuff with him right now, but I have had him to dressage shows, cross country schoolings and a hunter pace. He has been a pleasure out every time. I do have some friends that won't even look at one that cribs, so depending on his resume when you try to sell him, it may keep some people away.

[Donkey]

I think trying to sell a cribber would be more difficult but not impossible. The hard part would be getting people to consider the horse. No vices is a common criteria people apply when looking for a horse (everyone wants a perfect horse). When I was looking to purchase i didn't look at any cribbers and that wasn't because I couldn't find any. A girl in my barn recently purchased an OTTB and was told it wasn't a cribber and when it arrived, guess what? it was a cribber. The new owner was quite upset but decided to keep the horse and she's a sweet athletic little mare so now's she's happy but she wouldn't have even looked at her if she knew about her dirty little secret.

Also if the cribber reputation of ulcers, hard keepers etc come to fruition it could be difficult to manage it health/weight wise during the show season - something that would be in the back of my mind.

BTW the barn I am at has lots of OTTB cribbers that are great horses - but a few of the owners say they wouldn't willing do it again while others don't care.

It shouldn't effect capability at all. Race horses crib and win all the time.

[Sebastian]

I agree with the general jist of what everyone has said. Cribbing is annoying, but hardly life threatening and I've never seen it hinder an athlete.

From the resale stand point -- it will be a tougher sell if the horse is unproven. If you plan to show the horse and give it a record, it's less likely to be an issue (providing the horse does well...lol).

JMHO,
Seb :)

[EventingDiva]

I've seen potential buyers walk away from a horse that is a cribber. I think this is unfortunate. While the habit may be annoying it does not hinder their performance.

I maintain my cribber with a muzzle when he is in his stall right now. Just because the collars do nothing for him, and he had a hard time gaining weight plus my boarding facility did not find it amusing!

However he does not crib when he is outside, so he gets plenty of paddock time, company with a buddy helps, and he is on a set work out routine. He seems to be happy and alot less stressed. I can leave him in his stall w/o his muzzle for awhile before he realizes he doesn't have anything on his face.

I really don't find it a pain, he was a winner on the track and he is now figuring out that it is fun to jump over things and play in water, etc. His cribbing in no way affects his athletic ability.


good luck! and don't pass on a horse just because 'its a cribber' if its otherwise a perfect match...there are simple enough ways to maintain it!

[Crazy Eventer]

Are cribbers my favorite? No
Would I walk away from a horse because it was a cribber? Not in a million!
My last few eventers have been cribbers and other than keeping an eye on the ulcer issues I had no complications or complaints. I say if everything else looks good then go for it. Good Luck!!!

[Gestalt]

I wouldn't look at a crbber.

[Bobthehorse]

Even if it was perfect in every other way? I think a lot of people miss out on really great partners this way.

[colliemom]

My horse cribs -- lightly, treat induced. She has easily evented to prelim. Does not affect her performance in the slightlest. It annoys people in the barn if she starts, but a poke in the nose pretty much gets her to stop. So definitely not a confirmed cribber. I would not discount an otherwise suitable horse, but it may turn some potential buyers off.

[Thames Pirate]

I event a confirmed cribber, and she's not a hard keeper (well, she's accident prone, but that's not related to the cribbing). She doesn't have troubles such as colic, doesn't seem to have weight issues, and competes comfortably at Training, schooling more. Annoying, and I don't put the collar on because she cribs through it anyway and it seems to cause more problems than it solves.

I hadn't planned to buy a cribber, but I found the right horse by chance and then learned of her habit (before I bought her). You might lose a few buyers, but it's not THAT uncommon.

[UNCeventer]

I think it would just affect resale value. But, I do know of some barns/trainers that will not allow cribbers in their barn.

It annoys the cr@p out of me. We have a cribber who is for sale, and so far no one has mentioned anything about the cribbing, but its also upfront and in the ads. I think that is the most important thing- disclosing the information.

Good luck.

[Sebastian]

I wouldn't look at a crbber.

Can I ask why? And, I ask in complete earnestness... Do you consider it a medical issue? Does it just bug you?

Thanks,
Seb :)

[CarolinaGirl]

I had a mild cribber.. and sold him pretty easily. He came off the track and within 10 months he was on to his new home with a young girl. He's now running prelim and she loves him. I bought him as a resale.. but generally would probably NOT choose a cribber as a resale unless he/she was REALLY nice in every other respect.
Also had a YR in the barn with an awesome OTTB. MAJOR cribber.. could not go without his the miracle collar.. he was like a crack addict. But he was awesome and it was worth putting up with it. I'd buy him tomorrow and would just have to deal lol.

[denny]

Does cribbing affect performance?
No.

Would I buy a cribber?
Not unless it was SO TOTALLY SPECTACULAR that I could stand walking by its stall, and hearing that awful noise!

Otherwise, no.

[Jleegriffith]

Personally, I would buy a cribber because it does not bother me and my farm is set up for a cribber (electric on the fences, chew proof barn, unlimited turnout). I have had many cribbers and some of my best horses have been cribbers.

For resale- no way simply because many boarding barns will not allow cribbers. They are very destructive ruining fences, buckets and so much more. My older horse even cribbed on his chest bar in the trailer:eek: The muzzle..yep that didn't work either. He was hardcore and at 22yrs he has no top front teeth b/c they are worn down. That being said I still wouldn't pass over a cribber for myself if it was everything I wanted.

I currently have a horse who walks the stall when he is nervous. Best horse to ride but as a resale it will make it more challenging.

[eventrider]

My first Advanced horse was a cribber and with that said I would not look at a cribber. Every horse I have had that cribs has had ulcers, which have led to all the complications that come with that. In addition it is very hard to find a barn that will take a cribber. With so many nice horse out there that don't crib, I can steer away from looking at a cribber.

[Lilykoi]

I have two. I didn't look for them, they found me. Do I wish they didn't crib? Of course. But they are terrific horses and I wouldn't trade them. It would not be a deal breaker for me on the next one.

[eventer_mi]

Does cribbing affect performance?
No.

Would I buy a cribber?
Not unless it was SO TOTALLY SPECTACULAR that I could stand walking by its stall, and hearing that awful noise!

Otherwise, no.

I'm with Denny on this one. There are far too many horses out there for me to seriously condsider a cribber. Even though I pasture board my boys, there's always a chance that a potential buyer would stall board, and THAT NOISE!!! :mad: That ranks up there with nails down a chalkboard.

Plus, with cribbers, there's a greater chance of colic and especially premature tooth wear.

Nope. No cribbers, stall walkers, weavers, kickers, for me. I don't think that asking for "no vices" is too unreasonable. I've had four wonderful eventers (all lower level, of course) and none of them had any vices, and were all sane and sound. Not too much to ask for, especially since it's MY money I'm spending.

[subk]

Can I ask why? And, I ask in complete earnestness... Do you consider it a medical issue? Does it just bug you?

Thanks,
Seb :)
I won't buy a cribber because a just wrote a check for 4,500 feet of four board fencing! GULP. It's amazing how different my tolerance level is now that it is MY fencing and MY stalls that would get damaged.

[TheOtherHorse]

I won't buy another cribber. Hubby hates them and I've agreed not to get another one. So I would say, yes, it will affect resale value. :(

[RioTex]

For sale, it can be a limiting factor, just like sex or color or size. There are some people that won't look at a mare, a grey horse, anything under 16 hands and some that won't look at a cribber. I don't price them differently, because there are plenty of people that will judge the horse on other criteria.

I won't go looking for one anymore than the next person, but you couldn't peel my fingers off the one I have right now and I would have said the same for the last one, but he was too small for me. Sold, not because he cribbed, but because he stopped growing as a yearling. ;)

[yellowbritches]

Yes, it can affect resale potential. Doesn't make the sale of one impossible, but with a market that has a glut of nice horses with no vices not selling, it can make it just that much harder to sell an otherwise nice horse with a vice.

It should never ever affect its eventing ability, though (known some pretty neurotic UL horses with all sorts of vices that were/are fantastic under tack). Only way it could possibly affect performance is if they are cribbing because of ulcers. If you buy, I would highly recommend getting it scoped, just to rule ulcers out. While treating a case of ulcers won't necessarily eliminate a cribbing problem, you could potentially see a big drop off in how much they will do it.

I would probably never buy a resale prospect that cribs. If it was a horse we plan on keeping and that does its job (say, a great ammy or kids horse or a going UL horse), sure, I'd buy it, but not if it doesn't really have a job yet and was for resale.

[eponacowgirl]

Thanks guys! We decided not to go look at this guy for a myriad of reasons, mostly us, not him.

[Pocket Pony]

I won't buy a cribber because a just wrote a check for 4,500 feet of four board fencing! GULP. It's amazing how different my tolerance level is now that it is MY fencing and MY stalls that would get damaged.

Now that I have my horses at home and have no one telling me what I can or cannot have, as in a boarding situation, I do have a cribber. Granted, I wouldn't ever go looking for one, but I wouldn't pass one over, either.

This is Mr. PoPo's horse and he lives in/out - only cribs when he's in his stall (and he chooses to go in there, he's never locked in, but he never cribs on a fence). The opening in his stall where he cribs is a steel corner piece that covers the wood. Aside from gooping it up, he hasn't done any damage to it. He's not a hard keeper, he doesn't have dental problems, he hasn't colicked (knock wood on all those things! :lol:).

This horse is such a great fit for Mr. PoPo that I could care less about the cribbing. When he does it, I look at him and tell him I love him anyway and no matter what. ;) He is safely teaching Mr. PoPo how to ride, took him to his first HT with great success and is just a wonderful all around guy. I'm glad we bought him, cribbing and all.

[PhoenixFarm]

As a young person I swear I would never, ever, own a cribber. Then for some reason I ended up with four of them over the last decade or so. One I controlled with a collar, two I controlled with diet/lifestyle changes, the third is just flat out a cribber. I've given up and let him do whatever he wants. He's by far the best horse I have ever ridden. I've had no health or ulcer issues with any of them.

I think many horses crib due to tummy issues, and if you change that and alter their lifestyle, it will abate. But, there are some like my guy--they just crib, and there's nothing to be done about it.

As I spent more time in the barns at major CCI's I've been amazed at how many of those top horses are cribbers. MANY of them crib, from mild to almost-pulling-off-the-door. I had a top rider once tell me they thought so many top horses were cribbers because they were so much smarter than the average horse--and thus more prone to the frustration and annoyance that can lead to cribbing.

Will it hurt resale value? Definately. The fact that it's such a misunderstood activity and so many boarding barns won't take them means the average person won't take them either--I'd never buy a cribber as a resale project. But as a horse for myself? I'd take a cribber any day.

[LAZ]

As vices go, cribbers dont bother me and I'd not turn one down, but they can be very difficult to resale. If it is a proven horse with a good competition record I wouldn't let the cribbing effect my price on the horse, if it is green or unproven or not successful it certainly narrow the market.

Some of the best horses in my barn have been cribbers--one was a fabulous packer for his learning owner and with him she went from terrified to hack around alone to the USEA leader board at BN and then Novice, one was phenominally successful from Novice to Intermediate, one is very successful with his YR at Training, one won a long format * and is giving his new owner a wonderful education. As a coach I would have been crazy to turn down any of these horses for their intended jobs based on cribbing. They've been wonderful horses for their owners.

I have never had health problems associated with cribbing (maybe I've been fortunate, but I've had a slew of cribbers over the years that have never had trouble). They do pull boards off the fence, destroy buckets in the stall, etc, but I just tell the owners they are responsible for the damages and it hasn't been an issue.

[Sebastian]

I won't buy a cribber because a just wrote a check for 4,500 feet of four board fencing! GULP. It's amazing how different my tolerance level is now that it is MY fencing and MY stalls that would get damaged.

HA! I completely understand. I have one that is a "mild" cribber...she's one of the sweetest rides I've ever had. BUT, if her collar is on, the cribbing stops. Interestingly enough, she's an extreme "termite" -- and, can eat an entire sheet of plywood in 2 days! So far tho, she seems to have a cast iron tummy as she's never acted colicy from it.

Seb :)

[GatoGordo]

From what I've read, cribbing may be a reaction to ulcers (it increases saliva secretion, which neutralizes stomach acid), rather than the other way around. A study of weanlings in England found that feeding Neighlox to cribbing weanlings reduced the frequency of cribbing compared to the control group (I'm writing a paper on this right now, in fact).

Nicol, C.J., Davidson, H.P.D., Harris, P.A., Waters, A.J., & Wilson, A.D. 2002. Study of crib-biting and gastric inflammation and ulceration in young horses. Veterinary Record, 151, 658-662.