Foals biting

Irishcobs

Irishcobs

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How do you correct your foals when they bite?

The lady we used to share a field with, told us to 'bop' her foal on the muzzle from underneath with a closed fist, so on the lips really when he used to bite us. I wasn't keen on this as I don't like hitting heads but as it was her foal we did as told. I don't know if it works as he was weaned at 4 1/2 months and we never had much more to do with him.

Colt at work is now getting nippy. He is 10 months old and will (hopefully) be getting gelded soon. I try to hit him on the base of the neck or the shoulder with a closed fist when he bites which seems so far to be working.
 
Just pushing them away firmly but gently (at first) usually does the trick. Just keep repeating til you get the message, if they don't you can charge them like a mare would when she gets fed up. Hitting them is the best way to make them head shy!
 
might be being bit coltish, but try catch him with your elbow when he goes to nip, make him think hes just knocked himself in the chops rather thn u actually hitting him, and if your on target give him a blooming good nudge. tht way he shld learn tht every time he goes to nip he catches himself on something thts not very nice and hopefully give it up, and i wldnt tit-bit at all while hes getting through this phase
 
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We shake a rattle at ours, although to be honest none of them are biters really. Even the little colt is an angel!

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I've used the rattle trick to great success as well. A small water bottle with a couple of pebbles in it...... it's a bit 'Blue Peter' but does really work
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Do you remember the problems I had with H when he was foal - like 3 months old? I got an absolute slating for, and I quote, "a person of your supposed experience, not being able to deal with such a young foal nipping" via pm from a well respected and highly regarded member on here! Anyway, I rectified the situation, thanks to someone else on here, by buying those little squeasy jiff lemons - they fit in your hand and can barely been seen. When the little sod was having a go - and believe me, they were not mere nips, he really got my Mum a corker! I squirted at his muzzle, hoping to get it in his mouth - didn't take long for him to get the hint!
 
Don't tit-bit ever with a colt from the hand unless you expect to get nipped, my boy is a star in terms of not nipping but one guy gives him a carrot every morning (can't stop him) and if he turns up and doesn't have one Rocky gets very annoyed.

When my boy went through this stage I just turned around really really quickly and sent him away using body language and occasionally my arms (though it is easier as I left him loose either in the enclosed yard or in the stable when I dealt with him then). Now he is rising 2 I tie him up and when he tries to nip me I just put my elbow up towards him behind me (he always tries it when I'm picking up his front feet) and he doesn't ever make contact, though I do have a good sense of where is is at all times.

Hope this helps, good luck with him.
 


Although I don't agree with hitting head/around head as it is the fast route to a head shy horse, we did have a nippy pony who was very persistent & we tried everything. The only thing that helped was keeping your elbow out to nudge him on the muzzle, like he'd walked into it or to give him an immediate, short sharp slap on his bottom lip, almost the 'chin' area. They can't see it coming & it only took 3 or 4 taps for him to know it was bad.

He wasn't head shy & those smacks were only when he actually bit & not nipped.
 
We don't ever tit bit the horses anyway so thats not a problem.
I have elbowed him once, stupid colt tried to bite me on the elbow, but I thought elbows might be a bit hard and pointed to hit with?
Good idea with the bottle to rattle at him, I bet it would work as he doesn't like strange things.
 
I read somewhere (probably here!) about pulling the youngsters whiskers, it certainly puts them off what they were about to do, although we have been lucky and ours isn't nippy (yet!). Sending the youngster away with body language is a great idea, but our filly is ridiculously unworried by anything, you can run flat out at her waving your arms about and she just stands there, and she tooka hammer out of my husbands hand once, he had raised it to hammer a nail in, we were fencing, and she neatly removed it! I've thrown piles of haylage onto her back, she looks like a pack pony, and the other three stand around using her as a mobile buffet!She should make a bombproof hack one day.
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