cribbing

[toriandsteve@juno.com (Victoria A Thompson)]

Ah, one of my favorite subjects.  

Taffy is a cribber.  I used to be able to control her cribbing with
nothing more than a piece of string around her neck (she thought it was a
crib collar and just wouldn't bother trying).  Then I moved her next door
to another cribber.  What a nightmare!  That Miracle Collar was anything
but.  I ended up having to make it so tight it cut into her jowls. 
Ripped all the skin off one morning when I took it off after she bled
during the night.  No more crib collars for her.  

Next I electrocuted her pen.  Electric wire all around the top rail and
around the door to her stall.  She just moved to the next rail down. 
Instead of more electrical wire I wrapped heavy gauge wire between the
top rail and second rail.  She moved to the third rail down.  I went and
got hog wire and attached it to the fence all the way around the inside. 
She started pulling the hog wire apart.  The last thing I wanted was for
her to jab herself in the eyeball on a piece of wire she'd pulled out. 
So I went out and bought a couple toys.  A stall ball and one of those
apple thingys.  Totally ignored them.  

On a ride I saw a bunch of empty milk cartons hanging on a rope attached
to a fence.  The horse would pick up the rope and shake it making the
cartons rattle.  Taffy was fascinated.  I did the same thing.  She would
stand out in her pen twirling that rope for hours.  I started hanging
rope all over her stall in different lengths and widths to see which one
she liked best.  When I found the one she used the most I bought a 100
foot roll of the rope.  When she shreds the rope I put a new one up.  She
is still able to crib off the rope, but only maybe once in about 20
tries.  I figure that's better than to be able to suck in the air every
time she tries on the fence.  The rope isn't as hard on her teeth either.
 The fun part is going to be figuring out where to hang her toy when I
take her to rides.

By the way, she does not crib on her lead rope, reins, cross ties, or any
other rope other than the one that is hanging in her stall.  She doesn't
chew the rope, just sets her teeth on it and pulls.  

Once a cribber always a cribber, but I think I've got the habit as nipped
in the bud as I'm going to get - with this horse at any rate.

Shall we talk about guns now!!!? (;-))

Tori

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