Despite many horse owners’ belief to the contrary, researchers concluded in a new study that cribbing does not appear to be a learned disorder. However, genetic predisposition appears to be a factor, especially among Thoroughbreds.

Julia D. Albright, MA, DVM, and her colleagues at Cornell University surveyed horse owners about cribbing. Although 49% of owners thought cribbing was a learned behavior, only 1% of cribbers actually started cribbing after exposure to another cribber.

“Cribbing seems to start at a fairly young age, and after the horse begins to display the behavior the initiating factors probably aren’t contributing,” Albright said. “In other words, if you have a young horse, we recommend weaning in groups in a pasture and with little creep feed. However, if you have a 10-year-old cribber, lots of pasture time probably won’t make a difference.”

Social isolation and being housed next to an aggressive horse might aggravate a crib-biter