18mth old Biting HELP

[Grinch]

Hi - Just taken a gorgeous baby (18mths) on from Rspca bless him.

He has settled really well but he has started to "Bite" not nasty more "Play" - What is best way to tell him off.....

My thoughts are to - Make myself big and send him away ......

 

[stormox]

Play or not, he's still biting, and he mustn't be allowed to do it because it will develop into worse and worse behaviour.
Suppose he goes to bite your arm- I would, as he does it, raise my arm sharply into his face so he gets a bit of an unpleasant experience each time he tries it. Or if he went to bite my backside I would raise my foot and send him away sharply - in the same way as if he went to bite another horse he would get the other horses hind end turned on him to send him away.
This is how horses learn the pecking order in a herd, and he needs to learn the pecking order (him bottom) with you.
And I don't mean hit him- he will soon learn to duck away from your hand. Just a slight fright and make him move out of your space.
Is he still a colt? Colts always play bite, but they still need to learn to respect humans.

 

[honetpot]

I find a quick and I mean quick slap on the side of the muzzle like swotting a fly, usually makes them take a step back. I have a lot of colts and you only have to do it a couple of times, sometimes only once. The big thing is no cuddles, making sure you have your personal space, no titbits, be firm but fair. I have seen people who I had thought were experience waggled their fingers under a ponies nose and wonder why the animal tries to bite them.
There are some ponies who will be a crafty nippers, usually when your guard is down, they tend to be older and although their seems to be no malice in it, its like having the last word.

 

[FinkleyAlex]

My youngster went through this phase at 2yo - I found simply pushing him away and associating it with a firm no worked for a number of years. I turned him away after being backed to let him grow (a mistake as he really wanted to be working) and he started on the cheeky bites (more a cling and chew manoeuvre really) as he was bored. Pushing away did nothing so I resorted to the 'accidentally on purpose' technique - ie carefully place yourself so that when he brings you teeth you bring him elbow. He'll get a knock from it and after a few goes this will register in his head as a pointless endeavour. It's worked for mine! Some people use a water spray technique but it sounds far too fiddly and impractical for me.

 

[fburton]

My thoughts are to - Make myself big and send him away ......

I think that's a risky strategy!

My youngster went through this phase at 2yo - I found simply pushing him away and associating it with a firm no worked for a number of years. I turned him away after being backed to let him grow (a mistake as he really wanted to be working) and he started on the cheeky bites (more a cling and chew manoeuvre really) as he was bored. Pushing away did nothing so I resorted to the 'accidentally on purpose' technique - ie carefully place yourself so that when he brings you teeth you bring him elbow. He'll get a knock from it and after a few goes this will register in his head as a pointless endeavour. It's worked for mine! Some people use a water spray technique but it sounds far too fiddly and impractical for me.

Much better, in my opinion.

I have previously described the method I use to stop nibbling. It involves poking a finger into the palate to make the subject of nibbling, be it clothing or oneself, literally unpalatable, and it works just as well with headcollars and ropes.

Here it is:
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/foru...your-horse&p=11444887&viewfull=1#post11444887

 

[Victoria25]

When my arab was three she bit me so hard on the shoulder when I was 'ignoring her' whilst talking to friends just outside her stable door (and I mean an intended huge v big bite!!!) - I practically jumped over that stable door and she got an absolute crack across the chops - 10 years on she's never ever bitten since!

 

[NU ABO]

My rising 2YO is in this stage of his life at the moment (both with people and his field companions), everytime he does it he gets a swipe round the nose and firm telling off.

His favourite game is to try and take a playful nip out of you while your doing his front feet or brush down his sides, that's when I'll lift my foot up as though going to kick him like another horse would, I'd never actually kick him but on occasion my heel will catch his nose as it's going up and in my mind that's his own fault for trying it on anyway.

So far he's getting better and better, he just needs reminding every now and then!