okey dokey- at the risk of getting lots of feedback due to any controversy, here goes...

spirit is "cured" (sortof) no more collar! (well i'd stopped that months ago anyway)

anyone hear of cribbing rings? they are brass rings that the vet places between the four frount upper teeth. they make it very uncomf. if the horse trys to crib. spirit became a cribber when i was hospitalized little over year ago. i was in hospital for 2 weeks, and didn't get to barn for another 3. it was awful. anyway, the boarding barn i was at was less than caring to spirit, and don't know how long exactly, but spirit got left in his stall for quite a time. this, along w/ the anxiety of not having me out every morning at 7am freaked him out. so, now he's got this horriable vice.

but not anymore. the vet gave him light sedative and placed the rings. little bit of blood, but the mouth has such great circulation that it stopped after a min and after spirit came around from the sedative, he's off eating hay and being his goofy self. now, he did try and crib, but as soon as he found out it wasn't that pleasant, he stopped, and has not tried again.

it's a miracle, b/c his teeth were getting worn down. and if i ever needed to keep him in his stall, it was miserable. not to mention that awful sound.

don't know if anyone else has heard of this. ANYONE?
oh, and btw, i moved from that barn as soon as i could pack up my tack trunk when this happened! oh and btw again, guess why i was in the hospital... i coliced. really. small bowel obstruction. anyone that has had that know's how dreadful it is. to complicate matters i got peritinitis from the surgery... oh, it was just wonderful. lol!!!

wow sounds great! I'd be curious to see if it LASTS though. We had a boarder whose horse was an incurable wind sucker, and she tried everything. Two "cures" including having her teeth filed a certain way, and acupuncture, left her "cured" for a few days, if not weeks, but then she reverted back to the old behavior.

I hope it works, it sounds really promising. Keep us updated because if it does I will suggest it to my friend who has an incurable cribber!

spirits had the rings on for a mo. no problems. i was hesitant to say anything till i was feeling pretty confident. and ya know what, spirit was a windsucker too. not a cribber. but it's basically the same, right? he didn't rip up wood or anything.

cita, btw, i just read your ticker. you kill me. thanks for the laugh!

cool! how long do they last (meaning, do they have to be re-set like human "braces" every once in a while or what?

well it is the same filthy habit! Kinda like smoking and tobacco chewing LOL!

basically I'd guess I'd define windsucking as a cribber that doesn't need to "grab on" to something in order to crib. They've figured out they can do it on their own tongue, which isn't as destrucive as conventional cribbing, but gives them the opportunity to do it whenever (as opposed to a cribber who has to do it on some object)

they should last indefin. according to my wonderful vet! actually, just in case you want to pass this on to your friend, the cost with my vet was 70.00. and that included my 35.00 trip fee, and sedation. she guarantees them. if one or all fall out, she comes back and puts another in. NO CHARGE!!!!!!! and i know this for fact, b/c spirits did fall out and she had to come back and put more in. she apologized and said she obviously did not get them in right the first time. because if she had they should never come out until she takes them out. now, i also ck'd his mouth every day for like two weeks. NO PROBLEMS! he ate, drank and again, continues to be his goofy self. i'm very careful when putting his bridle on. of course you don't want to go banging the bit in. wouldn't anyways... but all in all, i'm just so pleased. i can't believe that no one else knows about this...

I think the dental cribbing rings are fairly new. I'd heard about it but still don't know exactly how they work. You're the first person I've known to actually use them. I've had pretty good success with discouraging cribbing with a concoction of Karo syrup and hot pepper (Chile & jalepeno) painted onto board edges. Some people also mix liquid dish soap and hot pepper. I wonder if any horses have accidentally swallowed a dislodged dental ring? ~FH

very good question fhm. i think i'll send out an email to my vet and ask her. i do know they are fairly new so i wonder if it's ever happened. i do know w/ spirit that when i've offered him somthing to try. food wise, (ok, sometimes i'm a bad horse owner, i swear i just offered him one malted milk ball) he took it in his mouth and dropped it b/c he did not like the taste. (he did like the black jelly bean, though. left overs from my jewish easter basket! lol!) anyway- the way the rings are placed, if one becomes dislodged, he would have to do some pretty big maneauvers w/ his tounge to be able to get it far enough back to swallow accidentally. they are pretty big. i'm thinking that the taste would make him drop it out. i'll take my camera to barn this morning and try and get some pics. may be difficult if i'm by myself. but we will see.
i'm glad to hear that someone has heard of them though. man, i guess it is really new.

Thanks for the post. I have a cribber - he's not terrible but same situation, I was on bed rest the last part of my pregnancy with my son and he decided to start cribbing. I will definitely look into this - am dealing with the vets right now over a lameness issue (another post) so will ask them about it.

Thanks again!

plsease do, and let me know what your vet says. i got some pic's this morning. just waiting for my husband to get home to tell me how to download. lol!

i've got a pic posted now. ck it out!

Where did you post the pic?

Jessi

That's really neat! If I still had Daisy (who was a MAJOR cribber) I'd look into them. Fortunately none of my guys I have now are cribbers It's so nice to have gates that aren't destroyed by cribbing anymore lol! Something to think about in the future if I ever get another cribber though

Wendy i have a question- can he put his incisors together? the bottom and the top? or does that hurt him also? this sort of seems weird to me, like a sliver or other irritant. i'd be concerned that he is in pain from them. i saw the photos. what are the rings? made of? i don't know enough about these things, so please don't think i am insulting them, i am just asking, b/c of what it looks like to me.

oh no, i u/s. i'm still trying to u/s this too. they are copper. and he doesn't seem to have any problem putting his teeth together. i'm sure there is no pain b/c spirit is eating, drinking, playing, being ridden, and is his usual goofy self. he doesn't really show any bother by me touching them either. i think it's doing the trick. now that's not to say all horses will do well w/ them. what cha think?

i want to think this will become a great cure for cribbers. but to me it sounds like splinters between your fingernails. ( maybe a bad example) i can't explain it. it just seems like it would be painful all the time. i don't know if it is, but seems like it could be, which is why the horse won't crib. i wish we all had more info on it. Shooter cribs but we outsmart him and he is not cribbing anymore. if he gets a chance he wil grab something, but he usually does not get that chance.