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Biting horse..

3K views 17 replies 12 participants last post by  natisha 
#1 ·
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. :)
 
#2 ·
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!
 
#3 ·
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.
 
#4 ·
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?
 
#5 ·
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.
 
#6 ·
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?
 
#8 ·
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.
 
#9 ·
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).
 
#11 ·
Stop him before he bites. In other words, prevent it. When he turns his face to you, or puts his head by something he would normally bite, or nip at, put your hand at the side of his nose, and gentally push away, if he keeps on putting it back, push it away until he keeps it away and respects the fact that he has to listen to you.

Sometimes the horse will put their head back many many times, kind of testing you and their boundries. Be patient with this, don't surrender to the horse, make the horse surrender to you.
 
#14 ·
Stop him before he bites. In other words, prevent it. When he turns his face to you, or puts his head by something he would normally bite, or nip at, put your hand at the side of his nose, and gentally push away, if he keeps on putting it back, push it away until he keeps it away and respects the fact that he has to listen to you.

Sometimes the horse will put their head back many many times, kind of testing you and their boundries. Be patient with this, don't surrender to the horse, make the horse surrender to you.
You were doing great for the first two sentences - but then you ventured into an approach that is creating a game of the whole thing rather than a situation where the horse develops a very clear understanding of the behavior being very, very wrong.
 
#12 ·
Just a symptom of bad manners.

You can stop any 'nippy' horse in one try without hitting him and without making him duck, dodge or get head-shy, and he won't make a game out of it. Just hold a nail in our hand with the point sticking out between your fingers. Keep that hand between you and the horse and make sure he runs into it if he brings his head around. I have never seen a nippy horse that took running into that nail more than twice. Many only take one time. To a horse, it is like running into an electric fence. I would not want a horse that took very many tries at either one.
 
#13 ·
You could also try a tack.

Try really hitting him hard under the chin. Maybe you just aren't being hard enough and now he thinks he will just get a little tap so it isn't really registering that biting is unacceptable.
 
#16 ·
My young one tested me. He got a couple of really hard lip twists and a lot of yelling and it worked. However, I wouldn't wait for him to decide the situation as you have to be well prepared to deal with it and quickly. I would set up the situation. For example when walking on a very loose lead mine would try to bite my hand that was closest to his mouth. So off we went for a lot of loose lead walks. I delibertely would put my hand closer to his mouth. He went for it and I was able to react instantly. He only bit me twice. I will still watch him when I lead him and I see his mouth moving and he will move his mouth towards my hand and then he thinks twice about it. It is a little funny seeing his brain just a going about not nipping my hand. He looks at my hand, chews a little and then decides not to. However, if this type of reinforcement did not work, then much harder reprimands would be in order. No one wants a horse that bites.
 
#17 ·
I know that you give treats to your other horses. At this time he is not able to handle that. I have a horse that responds well to treats. Its been a big part of me teaching him a few things.

I have another younger horse who was given treats and allowed to be mouthy. He will bite and mouth you if given the chance. So, he does not get treats. Getting treats is not a right, its a honor. If I can't trust you to have your mouth near me and be responsible then you don't get your mouth near me. This has not damped the horse spirit or made him like me less. Heck there was a time this summer where EVERY TIME I took him out he was reprimanded for something, walking to close, trying to mouth on me, not paying attention when leading, trying to nose dive for grass etc. Every time he did this I would correct him, and he would still meet me at the gate the next day eager to be yelled at again. Be your horses leader not its friend.
 
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