what do i do when my horse is biting when i titten the girth:?:
When you tack up keep your left elbow up and ready for him to "run" into it if he turns to bite. It usually only takes a couple of times before they figure it out.
Maybe you would like to start your own new topic. Tagging on to someone else's thread results in your questions getting "lost"YouTube - My Worst Horse Injury (Bite)
This on top of three scars I have from my horse biting.
Plus numerous times that it didn't scar.
My horse bites if you try to pet him through his stall bars,
so I assumed it was territorial.
But he also nips at you if you are putting him the cross ties,
so if he gets close I'll bring him out with a chain lead rope.
Then he tries getting you when you groom and tack up,
figured he was ticklish, so try to be gentle.
I've only smacked him a few times,
don't want him to become head shy so try not to.
He bites you when you put his blanket on too.
Honestly, I don't know what to do.
Need help!! PLEASE!
Very well said, that sounds like a great way to teach them that the cinching of the girth is okay by making it as comfortable as possible and rewarding the good behavior!Another lesson to try once you rule out a bad fit is run the leather(s) of the billet through the ring(s), then pull the girth to the point just shy of point where the horse may protest and immediately release the pressure. When the horse does not react, praise. Now bring it up again a little more snug and immediately release and praise the horse for no reaction. If the horse does react go back to the point he does not and start again. The point is to put the pressure on and then remove it before the horse has time to react, thus he finds there was nothing to react to. You would use the same approach/retreat before the reaction for ear shyness type issue too. Again, the key is to be long gone with the pressure before the horse reacts.
Biting is a declaration of war and should be dealt with strongly and decisively. There are many people missing body parts due to horses biting and nipping. It is the one behavior I will lose my temper with a horse. But I will never strike the horse in front of the poll or on the legs. The correction can last no longer than 3 secs from when the horse bit to when you quit and after the correction I reassure the horse I still care for it, just not the biting.