Does anyone know why and how to get them to stop without abusing them?
Answers:
This is quite a broad question.
When does the horse bite? ie: in the paddock, in the stable, when he's being groomed, when he's being tacked up?
Have you had the horse its whole life? How many owners has it had prior to you if not?
These are all questions that need to be answered.
If you have had the horse its whole life, then is there something worrying him? ie: lameness, any pain at all, you may not necessarily SEE where the horse is hurting if it is. If the horse Bites when tacking up, it could be that the saddle is pinching him, or not fitting correctly - have a Saddler check this out for you. If the saddle is fitting then i suggest you get your vet to do a general "check up" just to make sure there's nothing physically wrong with him, like back pain, lameness, teeth, etc. I realise this may be expensive but it's worth it in the long run
If he bites while being groomed make sure you're using the correct implements - DONT EVER use a steel curry comb on a horse, for example. It could just be that your horse has very sensitive skin and is exceptionally ticklish - this is NOT his fault and you shouldnt reprimand him for it.
Does the horse lay his ears flat back when he tries to bite you, or are his ears slightly forward or to the side?
If his ears are flat, then he's ticked off about something or afraid. This could be for a number of reasons. If you haven't had the horse it's whole life then it could have been neglected or abused at some point, and again, there's not really a whole lot you can do at this point because the instinct to defend himself has become a habit. All you can really do at this point is to watch your back, and watch the horse, dont make eye contact, and when you approach him make sure to stand to his shoulder and not his head, when tacking up do the girth up slowly and try get a leg up as its safer to do the girth up when you are mounted. (safer for you that is)
When grooming, try standing him outside where he can eat grass and just generally be distracted from what you're doing. (My first TB horse was a HORRIFIC biter, in the box he was an absolute nightmare, but once you were on his back he was an absolute dream. just to give you an idea of how bad he was, one time i was putting his blanket on and he lifted his back leg slightly, so i said "No" quite firmly, well the next thing i knew he'd spun around and pinned me in the corner, and was chopping at me like he was going to kill, i have never been so frightened in my entire life! - however, this WAS early on in our rider/horse partnership, and he never did it again, purely because i never EVER challenged him in his box.)
However, if his ears are forward or "floppy" then he's simply playing with you, and would probably be quite surprised if he actually got you. In this case it's not a bad idea to give him a smack, on the shoulder or upper neck, NEVER smack a horse in the face as this WILL cause the horse to become headshy!
Also - if the horse is a gelding, try to find out how OLD he was when he was gelded, horses that are gelded late retain alot of stallion "instinct" and are therefore quite territorial - ESPECIALLY in their paddocks and stables - I would advise NOT challenging the horse in this circumstance.
I'm going to stop here. It is a VAST subject, and I could write PAGES on it. If you would like to contact me, please dont hesitate, i know EXACTLY how it feels to have a horse that bites, I was only 13 when I dealt with the horse I mentioned, I'm now 23 and have had NUMEROUS encounters with biters!!
Either way, I hope this helps you!
Shoot it= glue
Maybe evolution is taking over and horses are becoming carnivorous.
get rid of the horse
I've heard of peope holding sharp objects in their hand, pettin the horse very nicely and then when it goes to bite, let it bite on something sharp, after it hurts itself enough times, it will stop biting.
I believe in the horse whisperer method of training and have been training using this method before anyone knew what it was. Having said that, swift and painful retribution is delivered for biting and kicking. You always keep your eye on your horse and watch the body language. You will see the thought of the bite, watch and you will, before the bite. When you recognize the thought either smack, not hard, or correct with lead by popping it and change the horses mind. Even if a horse is still wanting to bite, they will not if they know you are watching them.
for some reason, usually stallions and sometimes geldings do bite and it can be bad. personally, I would slap him in the mouth hard everytime until he just sees your hand and stops. You can hear them getting ready to bite if you are vigilent. they make an opening jaw sound because they contemplate if before they do it, unlike dogs who bite first and ask later. the only hope you have with a horse is to let them know you are not afraid, if they smell fear, they will take advantage everytime and this is dangerous given 1200-1500 lbs.good luck
Your horse sounds like its stressed and unhappy, anyway all that aside.
I found that simply raising your hand and a ferm 'no' works for me.
I am NOT suggesting hitting the horse, i would never hurt my horses, but lifting your hand will send the horse a clear message.
Some horses do bite.
I don't recommend slapping it in the face like someone suggested above -- you'll end up making the horse head-shy.
Is it an all-out bite, or does it just nip?
If you want to be a frog lover and don't want to hurt the horse, just show it that what its doing hurts. Really loudly say OUCH and pull back. It shows him hes hurting you. It works for dogs. I'd hit it on the nose until it stopped, but that's me and I don't like big animals.
Is this the only horse you have? If so, the horse is depressed, confused and living in an un-natural state, causing him/her to bite in order to gain attention (any kind of attention) or to express his/her negative emotions. Horses are herd animals and require the companionship and relationships of other horses. They exists naturally within a very structured society. Placing another horse with this one will help in so many ways with so many problems.
If the horse is with a group of other horses and bites, he/she may need to "chew" or "crib" on something. Is there hay or forage available all the time? Does the horse chew on other things (fence posts, barn, etc.)? If so, boredom is the cause.
Hope this helps..
I knew a gal whose horse bit her. She bit the horse back and broke him of the habit. Later the horse kicked her and the horse limped for a week.
I knew the horse, too. He was pretty well mannered--no biting or kicking--but real crafty. Funniest thing I ever saw was when he reached over the fence and started scratching a dog's back. The dog knew better, but he closed his eyes and was really enjoying the scratching until the horse got a mouthful of hair and pulled just enough to let the dog know he'd been had. That dog's eyes popped open and he had the funniest look on his face. That horse had a twinkle in his eye and a mouthful of dog until he decided the dog had had enough and let go.
Abusing them?! Isn't this horse abusing you??
Can something more be wrong with this horse then just biting? Are you touching a spot that is bruised? or hurting for some reason?
Has someone who did not no what they were doing messing with this horses head? Pulling on ears or ? Has your daughter have this horse since birth?
Or is this just one of those horses who think people are only there to feed them and do exactly what that horse wants you to do for it?
Is this the head mare?? Only horse? Then was this the lead mare somewhere and they sold it to you to get rid of it??
If this horse is not hurting somewhere, therefor bitting. Then someone needs to teach this horse who is boss! Someone is going to get hurt, or sell this horse! Get one more daughter friendly. Also if this horse hurts someone not only will you feel guilty but the person who may get hurt may want to sue.
Good luck - watch a horse DVD sounds like the advice everyone is giving in here these days.
My gelding got pinched before when he used to put up his back leg when I was doing his tail, noticed I used the words used too, and was. He doesn't do it anymore lol!
This has actually happened to my horse Malachai. He tried to bite me in the face when i bent down to put on him halter. I started to pay more attention to him, ride him more, and when i had free time just go out and "hang" He then turned into my best friend.
Get your daughter to spend more time with him.
Yes-the WORST thing to do is abuse them
any more questions/comments/info e-mail me at:
crazybout_connor@yahoo.ca
I read one time a tip to stop a horse from biting while leading to stretch out a rubberband and hold it ready, let it snap when you see the bite coming.
It is useless to slap at the horse when it bites. You just get a horse that bites and is head shy (yanks its head away from your hands).
Tammy C is correct, that is one method, but the object doesn't have to be sharp exactly. A small plastic braiding comb for horse manes held in the hand will work. Never jab the horse with the comb after a bite, again, it is useless and will make the animal headshy. Let the horse hit again against the comb with its own movement when it reaches to bite. You can adjust the position of the comb, but do not jab. A small toy that buzzes/vibrates or makes a loud noise may work, too.
If you think you're just too slow, try spraying your sleeve with Grannick's Bitter Apple庐 Spray which will leave a bad taste in the animal's mouth.
I've worked with a lot of biters in my life and there are a few methods I'd like to suggest as each horse reacts differently to each method. If the horse is not normally aggressive and just occasionally bites then stop hand feeding treats all together. Surprisingly enough, this alone can sometimes stop a biter. If that does not work try making a sharp noise if the horse tries to bite. This will startle them and generally stop the behavior without having to hit them. Finally if all else fails, I find the last suggestion to work even for the most aggressive horses but I suggest it only be used in a stall. After a horse bites (or tries) you have 3 seconds to make him think that he is going to die. Now, this does not mean you have to hit the horse at all, just mak as much noise, charge at him like you are about to attack him and scare the living bejesus outta him. This makes you the dominant one and rarely does a dominant horse get bit! After these 3 seconds though, go about your normal business as if nothing has happened. Horses don't hold a grudge and neither should you! If he is biting you while you are riding just have that foot ready to put in his mouth (most horses go for the knees and a shoe is most unexpected!) Good luck and let me know how it goes. I have a few other tricks up my sleeves! Just remember you don't have to hit the horse, just make him think that you will!
I used a very bad method on my best friend ( a horse) an now that he is gone, I really wish that I had done it differently. It worked and this was before I learned about the mthod I will suggest to you. My grandfather told me that any time a horse bites you, bite his ear. And I did and after about 3 times, he stopped altogether. I almost broke my jaw doing it once, so it is not only dangerous to do it, it is mean as well.I started reading up on Monty Roberts and listening to his stuff. Now the method that I suggest that you use. This is his method to get a horse to stop biting.
Watch your horse and every time he goes to bite you or if he does bite you, touch your boot to his ankle just under his fetlock. Put a little pressure on it so that it is more than just a touch but not enough to hurt him. After a few times, he will go to bite and then look down at his ankle, because he will be expecting you to touch him there with your boot. This does work, I used this method on my 5 year old Quarab. Whatever method you end up deciding to use on the horse, please make sure that it doesnt involve hitting or smacking with a hand or object, or pinching. Be kind, he is an animal too.
a trainer told me, way back when I was a teen, to pop it UNDER the chin, a good smack when it bit or even attempted to bite (as above, watch for the signals) and it really worked! It doesn't make the horse head shy, as he doesn't see you do anything (under the chin) and under the chin is sensitive, so it doesn't need to be very hard..
My horse was a booger, with several dominant issues, (race horse, gelded at 7 years) and for this to work seemed a miracle..
Abuse is a relative term. But it sounds like you don't want to discipline them. If that's the case, you can purchase a loose fitting muzzle that attaches to the halter by DE snaps. It's like a flattened bowl that fits over his muzzle and stops the horse from actually getting his teeth around anything to bite.
Of course, the horse only wears this while you're working on the ground with it. NEVER unattended.
It won't stop the biting, but it will stop you from getting bitten.
For what it's worth, biting is an expression of dominance, and this horse doesn't have any respect for the people it bites. So you may want to revisit your decision on discipline. Discipline and abuse are two TOTALLY separate things.
There are two possibilities: Her horse may either be bored or in a mood to play. She could talk to him and show him she is angry. Then she could give him something to keep him busy, such as a carrot or an apple.
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