Wind sucking

Author: The Vet Shed  

We often here that a horse is a wind sucker.  This is quite common however it is a behaviour that can cause many complications and needs to be managed and hopefully stopped. Wind sucking, also known as cribbing, is a behaviour in horses where they grasp a solid object with their teeth, arch their neck, and swallow air.   While occasional cribbing may not pose significant harm, chronic or excessive cribbing can have serious consequences for a horse's health, behaviour, and quality of life.  Some of the common issues seen by wind suckers are 

  • Dental and Oral Health Issues: Constantly grasping objects and arching the neck to crib can lead to excessive wear and tear on the horse's teeth, causing dental issues such as uneven wear, sharp points, or even tooth fractures. 

  • Gastrointestinal Problems:  This is the real scary one!  When a horse cribs, they gulp in air, which can lead to an excess of swallowed air in the digestive tract. This can cause gas buildup, discomfort, and potentially increase the risk of colic, a serious and potentially life-threatening condition. 

  • Weight Loss and Poor Nutrition: Horses that crib may spend more time engaging in this behaviour than eating or grazing, which can result in decreased forage intake and inadequate nutrition.  Their belly fills with air leaving them not hungry. This can lead to weight loss, poor body condition, and nutritional deficiencies. 

  • Behavioral Issues: Cribbing can become a compulsive behaviour that negatively impacts a horse's mental well-being. It is often associated with stress, boredom, or frustration, and can be a sign of underlying behavioural or environmental issues that need to be addressed. 

  • Damage to Facilities:  It is easy to tell a property that has a wind sucker living there.  All the fences are damaged, stable doors etc.  Anything they can use to sink their teeth into will be damaged.  

While it can be challenging to stop wind sucking entirely, there are several methods you can try to manage and minimize the behaviour:   

  • Anti Cribbing Products:  Yes these exist and for many horses these resolve all wind sucking issues.   There are collars – The Miracle collar by Weaver is a best selling anti cribbing collar and gets excellent results.   
    There are also anti cribbing sprays and anti cribbing pastes that you can use to apply to common areas that the horse uses to wind suck on.  Beware from someone that knows – remember where you put it as if you touch a fence and then accidently put your fingers near your mouth you are going to know about it.   This stuff is awful!   You will only do that once 

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