Biting horse..

So, I have a 4 year old Quarter Horse. He's green broke at the moment, but he bites. I'm not sure if he's meaning too, or what, because he normally lips at your hand but if I'm wearing gloves he'll nip at it. I'm thinking it might be because he smells old treats on them? He's never just bit me that I can remember, & he's the bullied horse out of my 5. He always tries to bite phones, or anything, if you have them out & he's near you.
How can you stop this annoying problem without hitting them? Or is smacking of the nose useful?
Whenever he does it I normally just shake the halter & back him off.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. :)

Well first and foremost (if you are doing it) stop hand feeding him. I rarely hand feed my horse and if she starts to get pusy I immediately back her up.

If your horse bites you, bite him back (you don't have to lol), or just a quick slap in the face. After that rub his face and his mouth so he doesn't get shy around that area.

I am sure once he doesn't bit you he'll stop biting things on you, etc. if he does then I would just back him up, if he leans over to check it out and your almost certain that he will bite it,back him up.

As for horses in the pasture, that will be their problem. Sounds harsh. But it's true. If they didn't want him biting the other horse then they will either get out of his way or step it up.

Good luck!

I don't hand feed him, I just get treats and stuff out for their feed with my gloves.
I swat his face and back him up each time he bites at me or my phone.
He's never just came up to me or anybody else and bit them or anything.
And for biting horses, I've never noticed. He runs away from my mare's and geldings. He's the fleeing horse of the group, lol.

If he bites, bop him under the chin. This will not make him head shy because they can't see it coming and don't learn about reacting, but always rub it away afterwards.

But I'm still not clear on how and when he does this, could you give me an example?

If I have gloves on, and standing by his head, say grooming him and stopping for a break, and he stretches his head to sniff or something, he'll lip, and then bite. He's never bit me without the gloves on unless I have something edible in my hand that he wants, and one time he did that was an accident cause I moved my hand right when he tried to get the treat.

I would stop feeding him treats. He has lost that honor. Some horses are just not that type of horse. Reward him with a scratch and a good boy. I would also stop letting him sniff my gloves. He is testing you in my opinion. If you fail this test of gradual attempts to bite he will continue to bite. How do you respond after he bites? Is there punishment if so what?

About the only time my horses get treats is at feeding time in with their feed....I never hand feed because that does lead to biting problems......this is something you need to take care of right away before he gets worse.

I give my other four horses treats by hand & they've never offered to bite in five+ years. When he nips/bites, I normally swat him & back him up if he's all up in my space.

First bolded - that's great, but this horse is different.

Second bolded - that may be part of the problem right there, you back him up if he bites you while he is "all up in your space" , does that mean if he doesn't bite you he is allowed to be up in your space? The underlying issue here seems to be an issue of respecting you - because if he did respect you he would not be up in your space and he would not bite you on purpose or otherwise (and, let me assure you, if his teeth are coming into contact with you it is intentional).

As this is an ongoing issue it is apparent that your current reaction has not made enough of an impression on him to create a desire to NEVER cause that reaction in you again (aka never to bite you again).

It's time to wash your gloves and use some type of scoop to handle treats.