Help this horse and research on crib-biting
Donation protected
Blondie, a 6-year old Quarter horse mare, is a "cribber". Cribbing or crib-biting is a behavior in which a horse repeatedly grasps a surface (e.g. feed bucket or stall edge) with its teeth, pulls back, and draws air. In order to inhibit this behavior, the owner applied a tight collar which caused a partial facial paralysis which resulted in a hanging lower lip and she almost lost sight in her right eye. As a consequence, the owner has decided to sell her.
But there's a lot more to it:
Blondie is the main actor in a scientific research project with the aim to develop a behavioral approach to reduce crib-biting. This is a completely novel approach to address crib-biting and she has already made a lot of progress.
From initially cribbing instantly and at high frequency after taking a mouthful of hay, she can now eat a whole ration without cribbing!
This is a huge success! The next steps are to expand on this and increase the time and conditions without crib-biting.
Crib-biting is a health and welfare concern and often the reason why owners decide to sell their horse
Science has not yet provided a successful treatment plan for crib-biting. Suggestions, such as reducing stress or providing enrichment, are not effective.
Blondie is on a good way to proof that a behavioral approach to reduce crib-biting is a promising option. But we risk losing this if she is sold to someone else.
In order to help Blondie, continue the research, and potentially develop a protocol that could reduce crib-biting and help many more horses and their owners, we need € 6,000 by November 30, 2019.
With your donation, we aim to achieve two things: [1] buy Blondie and give her a loving home for life (€4500) and [2] publish the research in an open source scientific journal to make it available to everyone interested (€1500).
As a Thank You gift, we will send you first results of this research and we will, of course, keep you updated on Blondie's progress.
NOTE: Should you have difficulties sending through the donation, you can also send it directly through
But there's a lot more to it:
Blondie is the main actor in a scientific research project with the aim to develop a behavioral approach to reduce crib-biting. This is a completely novel approach to address crib-biting and she has already made a lot of progress.
From initially cribbing instantly and at high frequency after taking a mouthful of hay, she can now eat a whole ration without cribbing!
This is a huge success! The next steps are to expand on this and increase the time and conditions without crib-biting.
Crib-biting is a health and welfare concern and often the reason why owners decide to sell their horse
Science has not yet provided a successful treatment plan for crib-biting. Suggestions, such as reducing stress or providing enrichment, are not effective.
Blondie is on a good way to proof that a behavioral approach to reduce crib-biting is a promising option. But we risk losing this if she is sold to someone else.
In order to help Blondie, continue the research, and potentially develop a protocol that could reduce crib-biting and help many more horses and their owners, we need € 6,000 by November 30, 2019.
With your donation, we aim to achieve two things: [1] buy Blondie and give her a loving home for life (€4500) and [2] publish the research in an open source scientific journal to make it available to everyone interested (€1500).
As a Thank You gift, we will send you first results of this research and we will, of course, keep you updated on Blondie's progress.
NOTE: Should you have difficulties sending through the donation, you can also send it directly through
Organizer and beneficiary
Michaela Hempen
Organizer
Parma, Province of Parma
Michaela Hempen
Beneficiary
