Researchers have linked gastric issues, such as colic or ulcers, and cribbing in horses, but they’ve never confirmed if one causes the other. | Photo: The Horse Staff

Researchers have linked gastric issues, such as colic or ulcers, and cribbing in horses, but they’ve never confirmed if one causes the other. So, a student at Randolph College, in Lynchburg, Virginia, sought to determine if treating gastric ulcers as the cause could reduce the notoriously difficult-to-curb behavior in cribbers.

Reilly Wren presented her study findings at the 2019 Equine Science Society Symposium, held June 3-6 in Asheville, North Carolina.

One theory as to why cribbing sometimes occurs simultaneously with gastric ulcers, said Wren, is that it’s a relief mechanism for stomach discomfort. Cribbing increases saliva production, which helps buffer the stomach acid that causes painful gastric ulcers. When horses crib, they also produce β-endorphin, an opioid that not only gives them an endorphin “high” but also can provide pain relief, Wren explained