How do you deal with a horse that bites

[Flowerofthefen]

Given all the press about Charlotte D I do find some remarks here very concerning.... The horse needs to be scared of you.... Hit it if it bites you......The horse should not fear you. It should respect you.

I wouldn't ever ' hit 'a horse for anything else but dangerous behaviour . It wasn't even me that smacked mine across the muzzle but it needed dealing with. I'm not trying to make his legs go higher or prance around, I'm trying to make it safe for myself and the horse. So if I ever have another that bites I know how to deal with it in a black and white way. I had never encountered a proper biter before and it can be very dangerous.

 

[Ceifer]

I’ve only come across one serious biter and I was stumped how to correct it.
It was mid teens and in my opinion dangerous and should have been PTS.
I was yard manager at a competition yard when this horse came in for a season. The owner said it has always been this way, she had purchased him for £1 from one of the best 3 day event riders the UK has. They had tried to correct him by beating him with a shovel.
He had broken a grooms shoulder by grabbing her and throwing her to the ground hence coming to us.
Any form of correction whether it was verbal, or a sharp tap to say no was met with escalation by the horse.
The owner had every medical test done but nothing found. The horse was actually very nice to ride once you’d completed the gauntlet of tacking him up.
The only thing I could think of doing was keeping a leather headcollar on him at all times so he was easier to catch and tie up and only allowing senior staff to handle him.

 

[Love]

I heard someone once suggest having a dandy brush to hand. When they go to nip, position the brush in a way that they end up prickling themselves on the nose instead

 

[dorsetladette]

It sounds like the OPs horse's behaviour hasn't been corrected as a youngster.

I've had lots of babies over the years and they all go through the nippy stage. I've always found the quickest way to nip it in the bud is to growl at them make yourself big and send them out of your space the same way an alpha mare would in a herd or their mother. Usually a couple of times of this and we solve the issue. It does usually reoccur and normally coincides with teeth coming through so I prefer the 'get out of my space, thats not appropriate behaviour' approach rather than physical in this case simply because they are already uncomfortable.

I don't mind mouthing or touching with lips or holding ropes etc - all of mine do this. My nervous nelly bops me on the arm with his nose if he is worried about anything when we're out. Like an 'is it ok mum?' or an 'I'm just checking your still there' sort of touch. It's his way of letting me know he is not so sure of something. It's our little thing and I like to think it's because he trusts that everything is OK when I'm there.

I think welsh in general seem to be tactile by nature, so if not given firm guidelines they will push boundaries.

 

[Mrs B]

Longer-standing forum members will have seen this (so forgive me for the repeat, guys!) but I think it's worth showing again. Do NOT underestimate the damage a bite can do.

I'd owned this horse for about 10 months (10 years later, I still own him!) and all I did was put my hand on his door as I looked over to check he had enough haylage. I'm a long-time owner and pretty experienced at reading horses, but I did not see this coming - it was one movement from net to hand, quick as a snake-strike.
And this was through gloves.

 

[dorsetladette]

@Mrs B ouch!

How did you resolve the behaviour issue?

 

[McGrools]

I don’t tolerate biters. It is a habit that should never develop. I got picked up by a boob and thrown by an excracer once that was a put down case imo. He was gone in the head. I also have just worked alongside one that was a lovely ride and a useful racehorse but would have you in the stable if you dare touched him anywhere in his body. His future will be very uncertain when he retires from racing because I can’t see anyone putting up with that behaviour. Not helped by the fact his senior owner stuffs him full of polos at every opportunity!
I like to teach boundaries from early on, they should not be allowed to enter your space uninvited and should respect you as leader. Absolutely no hand treating.

 

[Birker2020]

I heard someone once suggest having a dandy brush to hand. When they go to nip, position the brush in a way that they end up prickling themselves on the nose instead

That's what I did with Lari but with a hoofpick brush. It did work but it was hard to always carry it about with you and deploy it at the same time as the nip.

I'm sorry but horses have the propensity to cause a tremendous lot of damage to us and I see nothing wrong with a tap on the nose and a stern NO at the same time. There's a world of difference between slapping or punching a horse as I have heard some people do, and tapping it on the nose or shoulder.

There used to be a horse on our yard that nearly bit me on the face, he'd also turn his bum on you if you walked behind him whilst he was waiting for his tea. Personally, I'd have given him a stern talking to but he wasn't mine.

Bailey never mugged for treats and Lari only did during ground work, if we visit him at retirement he never dreams of mugging you when you have treats but it's taken time.

 

[Mrs B]

@Mrs B ouch!

How did you resolve the behaviour issue?

I quickly learned how to observe & identify what was bravado and what was 'meant'. It was mostly the former and I pretty much ignored the face-pulling and head-swinging that went with it.

I avoided putting myself in danger by not standing outside his stable door unless I was facing him, and never rested my hand on the door again! I made everything as clear & calm as possible in terms of what I was asking and what was expected. Any 'snaps' of the teeth got a sharp neck pinch in return. They became less.
Treats were only at very specific times after work: he never looked for them at other times and is gentle as gentle taking them.

He's gone to bite properly only once since in the last 9 years - and that was a good few years ago now. I had been grooming him quietly and went to leave his box - he lunged after me and went for my back between my shoulder blades. Fortunately, a flat surface isn't that easy to grab and I was wearing a good few layers. I immediately flew back across the box at him, walloped him across the chest and roared at him. I rarely raise my voice and the combination shocked the hell out of him.

He's never tried anything like that again. He still pulls faces but that's just him. He loves cuddles and to dreamily doze with his head in my arms. I adore the bones of him and he's a complete cheeky goof-ball.

But I'll always keep a part of my brain alert until the day he trots off into the sunset.

 

[maya2008]

.smacking them in the face only makes them headshy.

Horses become headshy if your timing is wrong and they perceive that you are likely to randomly hit them with inappropriate force/aim or for no reason.

 

[SEL]

I can't like that Mrs B! But I have wondered reading this thread and the link to that FB site how many people have dealt with a true biter. I wasn't carrying a whip on purpose that day when I opened the stable door and a young Appy launched herself at me, but I sure as h3ll wasn't going to give her a pinch on the neck. Even today I have a sign on her stable warning people she is protective of her space (& it's my yard)

Yes, I'm sure in many cases there is "something" that has happened in the horse's history, but that's no consolation if they're sewing your finger back on in A&E.

The best thing that happened to my young Appy not long after that was being turned out for winter in a mainly mare herd. One hoof out of line and retribution was swift. Her manners got better all round.

 

[WestCoast]

I had a mare that could bite - sweetest horse ever most of the time, loved a scratch and a fuss. But just sometimes you’d do something she didn’t like and she’d forget herself and proper bite like you were another horse. I had a couple of real nasties over the years.

It never started with biting though, it always started with being busy and not being consistent with the little things. Like her getting in my space, not moving over when I asked her to or pulling to grass when lead.

So I had to be incredibly self disciplined and make sure that I always insisted that she did as she was asked on the ground. That sometimes means being willing to give up what you are planning to do to while you concentrate on one tiny bit of manners for 10 minutes or more.

Oh and I always groomed her tummy with the curry comb on doom in my hand nearest her nose. If she whipped around to bite it would be in the way.