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I'm moving my 13 year old (pregnant) Trakehner mare to a new barn, a mare motel set-up, and one available stall is next to a cribber. The owners of this horse do not believe in the cruel use of a cribbing collar or any device, hence the horse cribs like a major addict.

What are the chances of my mare picking up this addictive habit?

Thanks for your input.

There does seem to be some validity to cribbing being "contagious." Personally, I think it's because horses tend to mimic each other's behavior for mutual aid. Watch a horse with an itch. It will walk up to a herdmate, facing the opposite direction. The one with the itch will start to nibble the herdmate in a spot corresponding to the itchy place, and the second horse will respond by nibbling at the itch. Apply that dynamic to cribbing: the second horse only understands that the first horse "wants" it to nibble on the fence. Upon doing so, it learns that it's a pleasurable experience, and gets hooked.

Perhaps cutting off visual contact will help -- maybe by lining the stall walls with heavy canvas. And, of course, there's the possibility that your horse may be one of those who seem to be "immune" to cribbing.

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