240 



ANIMAL DENTISTRY. 



stated that the habit is one of domestication, a stable habit 

 or pastime having its origin in some unknown cause. 



Symptoms — Grasping an object with the teeth, contrac- 

 ting the inferior cervical muscles, and uttering the character- 

 istic grunt consecutively, is the clinical picture of the typical 

 cribber. Some subjects follow this phenomena by the de- 

 glutition of a considerable quantity of air at each attempt, 

 until marked tympany of the abdomen becomes apparent. 

 Others again succeed in the deglutition without grasping an 

 object with the teeth. 



Fig. IS3A. 

 The Mouth of a Young Cribber. 



Treatment — The application of a wide leather strap 

 tightly around the throat will prevent the ingestion of air 

 and diminish in number the attempts at cribbing. If the 

 strap is equipped with tacks that will prick the throat when 

 the attempt is made. the cribbing will cease while the strap 

 is in place. A second method consists of removing from the 

 stall all objects that can be grasped with the teeth. 



The surgical intervention once recommended, consisting 

 of a myotomy of the sterno-maxillary muscle in the upper 

 third of the cervical region, has become obsolete through 

 the revelation of its uselessness as a permanent remedy. 



