Re: what does crabbing mean

[CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com]

In a message dated 12/27/98 8:22:46 AM Pacific Standard Time,
greenall@vermontel.com writes:

<<  Because horses trot in a diagonal gait, unlike dogs, they cannot 
 be compared.  When a horse "crabs", one hind leg travels to the 
 outside of the track, either to the left or right, while the other 
 steps in or under the horse, thus bearing most of the weight. The 
 "outside" leg is the one being compensated for.  >>

Your definition of crabbing is very accurate, but I would like to correct the
notion that dogs do not travel in a diagonal gait.  They most certainly do,
but given different back structure and the fact that most dogs are not
required to carry weight, it is less apt to cause problems in dogs.  As a dog
breeder as well as a horse breeder, I can tell you that crabbing is considered
to be a fault in dogs, too, and IS a problem in any of the breeds that do any
amount of pulling, where they also need to travel squarely in order to
distribute weight properly.

You are right that crabbing may not cause problems in horses that are not
worked to their maximum potential, but it has been my experience, like yours,
that if horses who crab are continued in a career like endurance, at SOME
POINT they will eventually develop either hind end lamenesses or back
problems.  Crabbing usually  indicates that there is, indeed, a problem
SOMEWHERE--can be anywhere from a hock injury to a back problem--and the horse
is developing a mechanism for coping with the problem while continuing to do
his work.  Much better to try to find the problem and deal with it when the
horse first begins this compensatory behavior than to ignore it, let it become
chronic, and have a whole host of secondary problems develop.  One may need to
pursue everything from a good lameness workup to a thorough chiropractic exam,
and if nothing is found to be medically wrong, pursue dressage to try to
correct the problem, as it may just be a lazy side.  Am far more apt to think
it is a lazy side in a green horse, whereas in a well-started horse who has
always travelled straight and then begins to crab, I am much more apt to think
there is injury or discomfort somewhere.

Heidi Smith, DVM