Franklin Levinson's
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Cribbing collar not tight enough?
Franklin,
First of all I wanted to tell you that I can spend hours on your website. I absolutely love it.
I came across a question about a horse wearing a cribbing collar but that it may not be tight enough. I have never had a horse who cribs and sucks wind but do now - this seems to be the only bad vice that she has. I tried a "Miracle Collar" and then went to one that just goes around the throat. On the one that just goes around the throat, I tried to tighten it up another notch but she seemed to really protest it. Just how tight is tight enough? She has recently started going to pasture every day instead of every other day and I am hoping that this will help.
Also, she eats her grain right up but really, I mean really enjoys her hay. She gets 3lbs of grain am and pm and 2 flakes of hay am and pm. She weighs approximately 1100 lbs and is not overweight and is actually pretty physically fit. Do you think it would hurt to offer her more hay? Someone told me she could founder off of it but I thought that was more the grain that caused founder.
Thanks again for this awesome site. I hope to see you in person someday!
Amy
Hi Amy,
Thanks for your kind words. I am delighted you find my website helpful. Cribbing and wind sucking are possibly the worst stable vices. Once acquired they are basically impossibly to get rid of naturally. Somtimes distractions such as stall toys (apple flavored of course) can help a little. But usually they are of little effectiveness. The Mircale Collar seems to be the best mechanical solution to keep the horse from the undesirable activity. You probably did not have it tight enough. Once it is set properly the horse cannot crib, but it can still eat off the ground. It will look very tight. That is just the way it is. So long as the horse can eat, which you will observe by putting some hay down on the ground right after setting the collar, it should keep the horse from cribbing as well. Let me know how it all goes. Sounds like she is getting plenty of food as it is. Make certain she is not getting too much for the amount of exercise she is getting. Feeding rich alfalfa hay does leave the door open for a possibility of founder. Grass hay or Timothy hay may be better. Check with a vet in your area for the most optimum amounts and types of feed for the horse's environment and level of exercise. I hope to greet you sometime in the future as well.
Best regards, Franklin