what do yall do?

I think I like the idea of heading and cutting the horse off. I don't really like the idea of bribery of feed or whatever treats (even though I'm guilty of it) because the horse learns they can get the better of you by not being caught and then you have to break out the feed so the horse gets a treat for being bad

Reeco gets a treat whenever he comes to me irrigardless of whether he has played up or come straight to me. That way he gets a reward for being caught as opposed to a reward for playing up.

Hey I don't really like to give alot of treats because they get nippy because they want their treats.... I try to give them out sparingly

I lure them to the stalls with sweet feed and give them a cup or two of it and then put the halter on.

Few, if any, of my horses would let me walk up to them and put a halter on but I really don't care - I wouldn't want to be caught either if I were them.

They're good horses under saddle and makes no never mind to me if they will let me catch them. One of my horses doesn't even want to be haltered when he's trapped in the stall. Neither does he want to be bridled - LOL!

I'm working on that problem now.

Judicious use of treats makes life so much easier and if you do it sensibly then you won't get a nippy pony

If you don't allow nipping and give them heck for it then they don't become nippy. The only time they become nippy is if you allow it. I have hand fed all of my horses treats, they have learned not to nip because they get in big trouble for it. Even a baby will learn not to nip for treats. I have raised babies from the get go that learned very early on that nipping and lipping is NOT allowed.

If you never give the horse a chance to make the mistake of nipping (and then correct them) then they will never learn that it isn't allowed because they are never told not to. Personally I would rather know that my horse isn't a nipper because I have trained them not to be, instead of refraining from something because I'm afraid of the outcome of the action.

well said.
My lad is fed treats regularly but because he has had a good smack accross the chops the one time he did try to nip, he no longer even tries. And because siad smack was administered properly he is not head shy either.

I haven't really had this problem except sometimes Tango will turn away from me and get back to eating, but then I just grab his mane and it's all okay.

A pony that I used to have had a real bad problem with being caught. I'd get on Tango or Corn and rope his butt and then work the crap out of him.

True. They also learn quickly to do the minimum they can get away with. That's why rewarding them works but bribery doesn't tend to for very long.

Bribary worked for 10years with stan,
So far for 15 years with pride, 18 with harvey and 12 years with Rian. Hmm I think i'm pretty safe in saying that bribery can and does work. It only stops working when you start using treats all the time or when you reward bad behavior.