Biting horse - Not mine!!

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Miss Tipps

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There is a horse on our yard who bites. He takes chunks out of my horse (or his rugs) every time we have to walk past his stable, he's tried to bite me, he has bitten my husband (quite badly) and his owner numerous times.

However his owner is completely blind to the fact that there is even a problem and says he's just grumpy. She's otherwise a very chatty, friendly, helpful sort of person, but she just doesn't see that her horse's behaviour is an issue. Even when my husband got bitten she didn't accept there was a problem and always makes a joke out of it.

So I'm basically just having a rant about the whole thing because I just don't know what the solution is. I'm tired of running the gauntlet past the vicious b****r every day and I know that one of these times he'll catch me off guard and take a lump out of me.
 
He needs to be moved to a stable which isnt on a walkway- my grey horse is exactly the same and it's just about managing it. He hates being where everyone walks past so we dont put him in that situation.
 
My mare is like this, she hated open plan stables that other horses could either put their necks around and into her stable, or if they walked past. She is now in a stable with no walkways past it, and she can see the horses next door, but they can't put their heads in, and there are bars on all the stable doors. She loves it! She is always lying down (Which she didn't do at her last yard, so she must be happier) and she hasn't attacked anyone as of yet!
IMO I would echo what Bossanova says. Either move the horse to where there isn't a walkway or to the end of the row of stables, so that no horses will be coming past. Alternitively stable bars could be put up so he can't put his head out?
Hope this helps!
Izzi x
 
Ask if he can be moved, or a bar put up. If nothing will be done about his biting, do as I did, carry a whip and when it lunged out, I hit the door hard and yelled back if it lunged to have a go. Soon tucked its head back in. The owner did complain about this, but I said either do something about it or stop moaning, I am only protecting myself and my horse - this was a seriously agressive and ill mannered horse. It did stop attacking me - he soon learnt nicer to not attack. Had it got hold of me or my horse, then yes it would have had the whip on its neck.

My WB did go through a stage or leaning out and nipping - she was in a lot due to no turnout and bored and found it fun to have people scurry past and ponies jump.

I left a whip outside my door and asked people to bang the door hard and yell "back" if she did it but not actually hit her unless she seriously took a hold. Everyone did, and the only person she did lunge at was the one person who said it was cruel. This for me was a better option as I had nowhere else to put her and didn't want to bar her in. For her it was a lesson in manners rather than agression/fright.
 
I know that moving him makes the most sense, but there isn't anywhere for him to move without turfing someone else out and, like I said, its almost more of an issue trying to get his owner to recognise there's a problem!!!

He definitely has issues - since he's been in the next stable I've noticed changes in my boy too. He never had problems with his neighbours before but he gets really a***y with him.

Its all just very frustrating and I think my biggest problem is simply being assertive and dealing with it instead of wimping out
frown.gif
 
Would a chat to the YO work? Would others on the yard also speak to the owner about Mr Fang?

I am a fairly assertive person - especially if something is taking chunks out of the most gentle old horse like mine - he is blind on one side and trusts me completely to lead him past things without being hurt and he was starting to become frightened of coming out the yard.

Would anyone consider swapping stables to help smooth things out.
 
My three year old used to bite, a lot! It started when she was a foal and continued until she was about two.
We found smacking her made no difference and apparently horses who bite are naturally mouthy and when they bite they are playing! They are displaying their dominance.
We found the best way to deal with it was to back her up out of your space as soon as she made a move to bite, you have to be quick! But it does work, also horses who bite like to have a go at everything, ropes, haynets, rugs, etc, it's just the way they are, remind that you are boss, fingers in the chest and make them back up, they soon get sick!
grin.gif
 
I can't remember who H is next to, and it's probably someone new anyway by now, but I would ask C if you can put a board up between his stable and the biting horse. That will at least mean he doesn't have to put up with it lunging at him and trying to bother him through the bars.

Is it only you having a problem? If not then get together with everyone else on the yard and have a word with her, or get C to.
 
Hmm.....that sounds familiar.........though to get her to move would be to get her to accept it was a serious problem. I know it's tricky, it happened to me as well, but I boxes to avoid the situation. I would either talk to YO or suggest the horse may e happier in a box at the end of the row where no one walks past ;-)
 
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