feeding plan

Question
Okay so my horse is 14 1/2 months old. I am not sure about his weight or what forages are? but while i figure out all that. He's cribbing...... i need to get some of that bad tasting stuff i guess but he took a chunk out of wood today and ate it before i could get to him... why do they crib? he also tears up everything i found all the feed buckets at the bottom of his water tank when i was cleaning it out refreashing the water. ah he makes me tired. btw we put the saddle on him yesterday for the first time its a wonder after the fit he threw and the pannles were all bent up and how he landed he didnt break a leg.. hes ok just a wound on leg and swelling were taking care of.

Answer
Hi Hannah,

Thank you for your question, and I look forward to the other information so that we can make a ration for your horse.

It is believed that true cribbing starts when a horse develops ulcers...and the horse cribs in an attempt to appease the pain they are experiencing in their stomachs.  For the most part, ulcers develop as a result of feeding management.  The horse's stomach secretes very acidic digestive enzymes 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, regardless of how much they eat.  If they are secreting acid into an empty stomach, the acid begins to erode the stomach lining.  The  best way of preventing this from happening is to ensure that your horse always has some sort of forage to eat.  If they are turned out with at least a bit of pasture to pick at, it will appease the stomach.  If they are in a stall they are going to need hay to eat.  The magic number seems to be no more than 4 hours without forage in front of them.  The only problem is that cribbing becomes a bad habit that may persist long after the original cause is resolved.

As for your horse's playfulness, it may be a combination of age and boredom.  A gelding of that age is a lot like a teenage boy...and without enough to keep him occupied, he will get himself in trouble.  If your horse is spending a lot of time in a stall and is bored, look into any one of the number of stall toys available for horses.  Of course, the best solution would be to allow him a lot of outside time with a companion to occupy himself with if at all possible.  Another contributing factor might be digestive system upset of some sort (along the lines of ulcers, and might include a little hindgut acidosis).  This may or may not be the case, but again it will be fixed with constant access to forage...either fresh or hay.

Hope that helps.

Thanks, Corlena