Best way to stop a mouthy youngster biting!!

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bunnereeny

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Help please!!

My boy is now 14months old and gettin very nippy! He's typical baby liking to explore everything with his mouth but he is gettin very nippy. He tries so bite when being lead which is causing probs as if i don;t let him "hold" the lead rope he tries to take chunks out of me and if i hold him by the headcollar so that he can't take chunks out of me he throws a paddy.

hes also nippy when being groomed and actually caught me on the back yesterday. Shoutin gat him hasn;t worked he's also had the odd slap on the shoulder when he gets too close. I don't really want to go down the forcefull route with him as he is very strong willed and it will prob turn into a battle. He's rather large standing over 15hh now so i'd rather not fight with him plus thats not way i like to do things but its getting a bit much.

I have bought him a bridle and he has had that on twice over the weeked with a sweet iron french link bit. he seems to like this and wasn;t phased at al but i don't want to get into the habit of having to lead him overwhere is a bridle i'd rather nip the problem in the bud now.

He started all this about 12weeks ago i thought it would calm down once he was snipped but i was wrong.

Help please!! :)
 
Is he gelded?

Mine was really nippy from about 14 - 18months. He isnt at all now. He wasnt gelded before though as he only had one (we were waiting for the other to drop but it didnt appear) so he had the operation. He stopped biting about 3weeks after the operation and hasnt since.
 
My 3 year old gelding pony is nippy. I don't let him in my space, simple as. if he turns his head towards me I firmly push his head away back out of my space. If he comes too close we stop and back up just a couple of paces and it's all nice again. Consistency is the key. I lead mine in a Dually headcollar and it's fab, honestly it's all i need as I didn't want to get into making him wear a bridle etc as really that doesn't solve the nipping habit. Do lots of groundwork with him so he see's you as leader. Good luck.
 
There are lots of posts on this subject in here, IF you can get the search facility to work... I used the squeezy jiff lemons on my lad when he was a foal and again as a yearling. They're easy and discreet to have in your hand and you squirt them in the nose/mouth as they go to nip - if you can get him the mouth, all the better! Lemon was most certainly NOT on my lad's list of favourite treats lol!
 
hi
my lad was also a nippy youngster
there was a piece in kelly marks book perfect maners that i tried and it worked a treat.

every time he put his mouth any were near me i kicked him in the shin (not hard just a sharp tap)
you do have to be carefull they dont see you do it as some will kick back lol
this really did work well, i have since tried it with a few cheeky ponies and it worked well with those too.
i prepared myself with a nice thick jacket on and just stood next to him minding my own buisness but ready to tap him.
it didn't take very long for him to get the message ,however i did have to repeat this a few times as he would just push his luck once a month or so.
even now at 7 he some times goes to bite then changes his mind and looks down at his legs to make sure there ok :)

you do have to make it really black and white for them though and do not let him put his mouth on you at all ,because it will be easier for him to learn that its not allowed at all rather than sometimes (no teeth) it is allowed.

you can also still be his best mate in this game as i used to give mine loads of sympathy and pats and as he didn't see me do it i wasn't blamed for it.

you can also do the same with a nice sharp elbow if your back is turned on him ,just be ready to jerk your elbow back into his nose if he goes to bite, then turn around and say oh dear did you bump your nose poor boy.
then he will still be friends and not relise he is being told off.
they normally just think every time they go to bite ,they get a bump on the leg/nose
but don't blame you for it because your the good guy ;)

good luck
 
As previously said look up some of the former posts on here about biting.
We are going through this at the minute with our foal but he is a lot better than a few weeks ago.
We either bite him back, or quickly nip him hard or slap him on the nose.
Whatever you decide to do, it needs to be done immediately or it the effect will be lost.
 
I would never recommend slapping a horse on it's nose - youngster or otherwise. The muzzle is an incredibly sensitive area and it can lead to head-shyness.

I have a coblet who's just turned one and also a nibbler so I'm going through a similar situation bunnereeny. I'm trying to get him used to having his feet picked up but if I'm not careful he'll nip me on the bum! I do some very strange contortions trying to lift and avoid his mouth at the same time!! My boy was hand-fed treats by his previous owner for 6 months which hasn't helped either.
 
I used to carry a hoof pick with the brush on the one end, so when the youngsters ( boys generally) used to try and nip me they had the bristle end of the hoof pick agains their muzzle. They used to look shocked as if they had been had by a porcupine. But it seemed to help. :)
 
It sounds to me as if that young man needs to learn some manners. As above, NEVER feed titbits. No animal ever learnt any manners whilst being bribed.

If you react to being bitten in a retrospective manner, then your youngster will learn nothing. Your reaction to unacceptable behaviour must be immediate. The longer that you accept bad behaviour, the longer it will take to correct.

Slapping his shoulder is what you do as a reward.

Alec.
 
Ready for the RSPCA call but my little 3 month old is really bity. The other day I just told him "no" smacked him sharply on the nose with 4 fingers . He looked totally stunned bless him but all I have to is say "no" and he doesnt bite. And no hes not head shy at all.
 
As long as the slap is immediately (seconds) after the bite then it is associated by the horse as the punishment for the offence and they won't become headshy. 1 minute after is already too late.
We mostly tend to nip as it is the easiest and quickest way of correction after a bite. Though what works for 1 may not work for another. It's a matter of trial and error.
He doesn't get any treats and I certainly won't be encouraging this when he's older.
He is just like a baby simply trying his teeth out. Everything has to be mouthed, chewed or bitten. Just not me!!
Equine dentist is due for the others soon, ao he'll be having a check up too make sure that everything is developing ok.
 
Any of my foals who bite are very quickly reprimanded with a smack on the muzzle immediately. None of the countless foals I have raised have became headshy and none of them bit again. The same goes for any who try to kick people, they are told no immediately with a smack across the rear end. It is a lesson they need to learn as they will from their herdmates.
 
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