266 THE HORSE 



eating In order to indulge in the habit. It is rather 

 curious that although the "air-snapper" does not 

 touch anything with his teeth or lips, he likes to hold 

 his head over something when he cribs. Thus, if loose 

 in a box stall, he will stand with his head projecting 

 above the lower half of the stall door, when that is 

 practicable, and if he is in a field he will come close 

 to the fence, and put his head over the top rail before 

 he cribs. i 



It is often asked, will one horse learn cribbing from 

 another? Horses are very imitative, and certainly it 

 is dangerous to have a cribber within the plain view of 

 other horses. The danger would be slight in the case 

 of hard-worked horses, but it would be great in the 

 case of horses that spent many hours in the stable 

 during the daytime. For the same reason, a sound 

 horse should never be driven double with a cribber, for 

 the cribber can easily use the pole or neck-yoke for his 

 purpose, and the other horse would almost certainly 

 imitate him. 



Cribbing can usually, or at least often, be cured if 

 taken in hand at once; but the habit is incurable when 

 fully formed. If a horse begins to crib, his surround- 

 ings should be changed immediately and his mind 

 diverted. In summer probably the best course is to 

 put him at pasture. If he is kept in a straight stall, 

 change him to a box stall; give him plenty of hay to 

 eat; let him have a companion visible, or at least 

 audible and smellable, in the next stall, and if he con- 

 tinues to crib, let him wear a wire muzzle, except dur- 

 ing the hours when he is eating. The wire muzzle is, 



