Saturday, March 21, 2009

What Is Horse Cribbing

What is Horse Cribbing and How can I get my Horse to STOP?

WHAT IS CRIBBING?

Do you know that CRIBBING is not only rough on barns and fences, but it also may be detrimental to a horse's health? The horse wears down his teeth and swallows air, which can lead to inappropriate digestion and colic. Cribbing can lead to serious health problems, such as poor digestion, colic, and various dental problems.

Cribbing is an obsessive-compulsive behavior when a horse chews on wood and swallows air. The cribber uses its upper teeth to grab a stationary object, such as a fence board, and then arches its neck, pulls backwards while swallowing air and grunting. Other horses crib by resting their incisors on an object without grasping it; still others rest their chin on an object and swallow air.

WHY DO HORSES CRIB?

It's not known what causes cribbing in horses.

There appears to be an inherited susceptibility to STRESS in horses, so genetics are part of the answer. When a horse cribs, it is believed that his body releases endorphins, which stimulate the pleasure center of his brain as why it is such an addictive habit, and such a hard one to break. This may explain why horses crib when under stress, as well. A horse's INABILITY TO GRAZE can be a significant stress that is commonly thought to lead to repetitive cribbing behavior.

IMPROPER DIET AND FEEDING PRACTICES are commonly cited as factors that may lead to cribbing. Improper diet and feeding is also thought to contribute to cribbing, perhaps because it may cause a horse more stress.

Another popular theory is that cribbing is due to BOREDOM, AND LACK OF EXERCISE. Horses kept stalled are more likely to become Cribbers than horses that are allowed to roam in a pasture. Semi-wild horses or horses in the wild or in the pasture naturally spend 90% of their time grazing and are less likely to crib.

Every horse handles stress differently, some better than others. It appears that susceptibility to stress in horses is INHERITED, so genetics may play a part also.

WHAT IS THE TREATMENT FOR A CRIBBER?

Food - Horses need to eat throughout the day and keep their minds active lest they become bored and stressed, since boredom is the most common reason why a horse will pick up the cribbing habit.

Cribbing Straps - Crib straps aren't perfect but they do succeed in suppressing many cribbers, so it's an inexpensive option that's worth a try.

Electro-Shock Collars - These collars are worn around the upper neck just like a crib strap; the strap emits an electric shock to shock the horse each time he takes hold of a fence to crib.

Electric Fencing - Stringing electric fencing along the top of any paddock and/or pasture fences is an effective way to stop them from cribbing on fences. Electric fencing is highly encouraged since it will effectively stop cribbing in its tracks on the protected locations.

Chew Stop And Related Products - Some Non-Toxic Products are now available in the market. These can be sprayed or painted on popular cribbing areas to lend a very unappetizing taste and smell, thereby discouraging a cribber from taking hold of the area. These products are typically recognized as the most humane and cost effective methods to stop your horse from cribbing.

Surgical Procedure - This procedure entails cutting some of the muscles and nerves in the ventral neck region as well as the removal of some muscle tissue.

Anti-depressant - It is an injected to the animal, which prohibits the creation of endorphins, thereby suppressing the natural high a horse gains when he cribs. This is not a practical solution since the effects are short-lived, but further research is being done on similar drugs that may have a longer lasting effect.

MORE TIPS AND PREVENTIVE MEASURES

Once a horse starts cribbing it is difficult to get them to stop. The best thing is to try to distract and prevent it from occurring in the first place. One of the most common aids in breaking your horse from the cribbing habit are:

-Allow your horse as much pasture time, in as big a pasture as possible
-Spend time training and handling the horse to help prevent boredom.
-Provide your horse with a companion, preferably another horse, but goats also often make good companions for horses.
-Distract your horse with multiple feedings; pasture time and toys before the habit becomes ingrained.
-Allow your horse access to fresh grass, or grass hay at all times.

To date we know of no proof or studies that indicate a horse learns to crib from being around a cribber, and it is likely that several factors come in to play to cause this disorder.

Finally, if your horse suddenly picks up cribbing and doesn't seem to have developed it from one of the normal causes, it would be a good idea to ask your veterinarian to check your horse and make sure there isn’t a medical cause for the cribbing.

For more helpful information on cribbing please visit www.horse-cribbing.com

Understanding Pet Health Insurance

Insurance as we all know is a type of " risk management" mainly done to evade any sort of risks of prospective monetary loss. However, there are different types of insurance related to matters other than financial-for example different pet insurances to care of your pets. Among these, pet care insurance or pet health care insurance, is the most common type

Here, some amount is paid to the person, whose pet falls ill or suffers any accident. The pet insurance policy that is paid, is usually limited by the sum that will be paid by three ways-either by putting a check on the total amount to be paid in a year or by putting a check on for each illness or accidents or even putting check on for every claim along with restricting the period of the claim. The pet owner generally has to pay some amount for any claim called premium.

Mostly, these types of insurances are available for cats and dogs only. Sometimes special insurances are also offered for horses. These policies are almost available in all (developed) countries. But the rules and other details regarding the policies differ.

After making a good study on different companies who are engaged in this business it has been found that till now ' the king of the jungle' is VPI pet insurance, which covers almost over 6400 illness, accidents or injury cases. They also cover for vaccines, though generally insurances are not paid for veterinary cares.

Pet insurance has now become the fastest growing form of insurance in the market as it helps us to get the best care for our pet and also helps us to get ready, beforehand for any sort unanticipated emergencies. It also helps us to cope with the rising veterinary costs.

Top 6 Reports

If the mass media cared more about studies, it would have done a rating of the most popular reports. But since it doesn’t care, then I’m the one to tell you about successful report writing and the rules in writing a report. So, here are our top report writings.

Writing a Book Report

The style of writing a book report can be different. Three ways of report writing are: writing summaries, character analyses, and theme analyses. Writing a book report helps you practice giving your opinion about different aspects of a book, such as the author's use of description or dialogue.

Writing a Business Report

As the business environment grows in its complexity, the importance of skillful communication and report writing becomes essential. A business report conveys information to assist in decision-making. Some people are writing business reports to solve a business problem; other people record historical information that will be useful to assist in future decision making. Either way, information is being "reported" that will be useful in making decisions.

Writing a Case Report

Writing a case report is common in medicine. What do you need to do it for? Publication of case reports serves to offer new information for review by others practicing the same concept. Often, as part of your course requirements, you will need to present your instructor with a written case analysis. This may be done either individually or in a group. Anyway, writing a report is essential.

Psychological Report Writing

Psychological report writing is an exposition of a psychological evaluation; it includes conclusions and predictions about a specific person or persons. The report writing can be done with the help of concrete previous experiences, brainstorms and deep analysis of the psychologist or any other person, academic or not, connected somehow to the problem.

Writing a Research Report

Research report writing informs about the results of researches, field work, and other activities. Often, research report is the only concrete evidence of your research, and the quality of the research may be judged directly by the quality of the writing and how well you convey the importance of your findings. Even if you don't consider yourself a writer, then it is still important to consider clarity and organization when you are doing your report writing.

Writing Analytical Reports

The purpose of any analytical report writing is to provide an informative description of the results of the writer’s findings. The report is not a record of the writer’s thinking process, but rather a good report writing of the results of that process. The writer is ready to write this report when he/she feels that further analysis and thought would add nothing more.

As to the techniques of writing a report, they are simple. A topic is essential in successful report writing. It has to be significant. When writing a report, remember about accuracy, brevity, and clarity. Report writing must constantly strive to make his/her reader's task as easy as the subject matter permits. One more advice on writing a report is that its structure must be followed. Make sure you have an Introduction, a Body and your Conclusion.

So, whether you are writing a business report or struggling with psychological report writing, just keep these main rules in mind.

Jennifer Burns is the head of customer care center at Custom-Writing.org, essay writing service. Having completed a number of academic assignments himself, Jennifer uses her knowledge to provide individualized customer support to students, who order report writing and essay editing.