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  Discussion on Is Cribbing an Adaptive Response to a Stressful Environment?
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DrO

Posted on Monday, Jul 20, 2015 - 6:32 am:

I did not know this was even a question but apparently there is information that suggests it is not. I don't know of any horses that crib that did not come from a stressful environment: often confinement with too little food to eat for a time. I have known many horses that do continue to crib in a good environment but came into the practice that way. The take home message is the last two lines: "Our results suggest that crib-biting is a coping strategy that helps stereotypic individuals to reduce cortisol levels caused by stressful situations. We conclude that preventing stereotypic horses from crib-biting could be an inappropriate strategy to control this abnormal behavior, as it prevents individuals from coping with situations that they perceive as stressful."
DrO

Physiol Behav. 2015 Jul 14.
The physiological consequences of crib-biting horses in response to an ACTH challenge test.
Briefer Freymond S1, Bardou D2, Briefer EF3, Bruckmaier R4, Fouche N5, Fleury J2, Maigrot AL2, Ramseyer A5, Zuberbühler K6, Bachmann I 2.

Abstract
Stereotypies are repetitive and relatively invariant patterns of behavior, which are observed in a wide range of species in captivity. Stereotypic behavior occurs when environmental demands produce a physiological response that, if sustained for an extended period, exceeds the natural physiological regulatory capacity of the organism, particularly in situations that include unpredictability and uncontrollability. One hypothesis is that stereotypic behavior functions to cope with stressful environments, but the existing evidence is contradictory. To address the coping hypothesis of stereotypies, we triggered physiological reactions in 22 horses affected by stereotypic behavior (crib-biters) and 21 non-crib-biters (controls), using an ACTH challenge test. Following administration of an ACTH injection, we measured saliva cortisol every 30min and heart rate (HR) continuously for a period of 3h. We did not find any differences in HR or HR variability between the two groups, but crib-biters had significantly higher cortisol responses than controls (mean±SD: CB, 5.84±2.62ng/ml, C, 4.76±3.04ng/ml). Moreover, crib-biters that did not perform the stereotypic behavior during the 3- h test period (Group B) had significantly higher cortisol levels than controls, which was not the case of crib-biters showing stereotypic behavior (Group A) (A, 5.58±2.69ng/ml; B, 6.44±2.38ng/ml). Our results suggest that crib-biting is a coping strategy that helps stereotypic individuals to reduce cortisol levels caused by stressful situations. We conclude that preventing stereotypic horses from crib-biting could be an inappropriate strategy to control this abnormal behavior, as it prevents individuals from coping with situations that they perceive as stressful.
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