Cribbing...any suggestions to stop it???

[Gem6]

I board my TB gelding and lately he has been cribbing. I have tried rubbing soap on the wood, hot sauce...we even attached hard plastic ridges along the tops and bottoms of the railings. All the horses are cribbing, so I guess it's a good thing that it's not just my guy. I did purchase a cribbing soft muzzle, but I am reluctant to put it on him due to the cold winter air and the chance of freezing.
Any suggestions that you could offer would be greatly appreciated!
~gem6

[Woodland]

I use Icthamol on the surfaces the wind sucker in my barn likes to gnaw on. Stopped him cold! I also got him a Pony Pop and a Lick it which have really really really helped!

[Gem6]

Woodland,
Icthamol - is that like Rubbing Alcohol?? Do you just pour it on/ rub it in??
Thanks!
~gem6

[Equibrit]

Do you actually mean cribbing or chewing. If chewing feed them, if cribbing hang an unbreakable mirror.

[Gem6]

Equibrit,
I believe it's cribbing. He receives free choice hay pretty much the whole day as well as the others. It looks like a beaver has been set loose in their paddocks! There's even little piles of wood shavings under the fence boards!
~gem6

[Equibrit]

If it was cribbing the horse would be hanging on to the wood and pulling back drawing in air (wind sucking) Sounds like they are chewing which is not uncommon in winter when there is a lack of appropriate nutrition. Put right whatever they are missing in their diets and the problem will probably be solved. A whole group of horses don't spontaneously start to crib. They would however, all start to chew if they are all on the same inadequate diet.

[equinelaw]

They are wood chewing. You need to fix the diet like EB said. Sometimes it sulfer. They make salt blocks in yellow for that.

[Gem6]

Equibrit,
Excellent quality Canadian Hay, and he's also getting Hay Stretcher with his grain.
Their horses cribbed here and there since we've boarded there, and whenever my guy started, I put on his "free to eat/drink" soft cribbing muzzle on and that put that activity to an end. "Monkey see...Monkey do". The soap on the wood has worked before with other horses. I just would like for this behavior to stop.
My vet has checked his weight and he is considered "moderately fleshy". So, this makes me think that he is bored!! It's been a long and cold winter here in NH.
Do you know of any topical agents that might be used that are safe for horses?
Thank you for your advice!!
~Gem6

[Gem6]

Equinelaw,
Thanks for this idea! I will look into it!
~gem6

[Equibrit]

Check this out; http://www.farnamhorse.com/quitt/details.htm

[abbydp]

Cribbing doesn't make the boards smaller, though. It pops them off if they are attached on the horse side.

"It looks like a beaver has been set loose in their paddocks! There's even little piles of wood shavings under the fence boards! "

I have a serious cribber and he takes nothing off the boards. I think you have wood chewers.

[Nezzy]

That is wood chewing, not cribbing. i have a cribber. I just hotwire the top line of the fence. I use a solar charger and it's just enough to keep them away from it.

[onetempies]

Ditto that the horse is a chewing wood, not cribbing. If the horse was cribbing, you wouldn't see chew marks or wood chips on the ground from the boards. When a horse cribs, they latch themselves to the board with their front teeth, then inhale and pull on the board. So the cribbing will actually pull a board off, not make it look like the boards are being eaten.

Wood chewing is caused by boredom and something missing from the diet. The fix is looking into what the horse is deficient in, you can add Quit supplement, and then the most important would be to spread out the hay feedings more throughout the day.

My TB mare cribs. Her pasture fencing is all lined with hot wire (2-3 strand starting from top rail), run in & stall access is limited to bad weather/extreme temps, and we feed hay FAR away from water trough and run in.

My gelding tends to be a wood chewer. If I continue with hay feedings 3x a day, it keeps his belly happy (he has ulcer issues) and his mouth otherwise occupied. ;)