Causes of Cribbing 299 



stop him as he enters, caress him and in every way 

 possible teach him that no harm is to come to him 

 in passing through the door. Continue the work 

 until he walks through the door without the least 

 alarm. 



Cribbing. — This habit is commonly defined as one 

 in which the horse gnaws at the stable fittings, such 

 as the mangers, hay-rack, halter-strap, sides of the 

 stall and occasionally the ends of the shafts when 

 he is hitched. While it is not necessarily danger- 

 ous, there are few habits that are more objectionable. 

 Further, it is often accompanied by wind-sucking, 

 which makes it all the more disagreeable. The 

 causes do not seem to be well understood, a few 

 horsemen stating that it is due to a disordered 

 stomach, but most of them agreeing that it is due 

 to comparative idleness and bad companions, prin- 

 cipally the former. When once developed and con- 

 firmed there seems to be no cure that will work in 

 every case. 



Many plans have been suggested for overcoming 

 cribbing, such as smearing the fittings, mangers, 

 hay-racks and sides of the stalls with aloes or other 

 bitters ; removing fittings and feeding off the ground ; 

 providing muzzles (Fig. 85, 1) ; supplying rock- 

 salt for the horse to lick, and the use of a strap 

 tightly drawn around the neck (Fig. 85, 2), all of 

 which seem to fail with the confirmed cribber. 

 Since idleness seems to be the principal cause, the 



