How to stop a yungster nipping? UPDATE

diamondgeezer

diamondgeezer

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Hi to all who replyed to my last post.
I have been doing the rattle bottle thing just as he goes to bite. For the first 2 days he seemed shocked and hesitated before coming back for another then he seemed to get used to it. My friend that helps me with him (she has delt with alot more youngsters than i have) took him for a walk on saturday as i was convinced that it was just me that he tries it on with. He nipped her 2x then full on bite the top of her arm. neither of us quite no how he managed it as she was walking by his shoulder. She gave him a flick on his nose to move his mouth off he coat, then he went into a fit of lunging and rearing at her for about 30 seconds but seemed alot longer. She gave him a slap with schooling whip and that seemed to shock him out of it. we took him yesterday for walk and he was good as gold. But then!!! going in to top up is water before left yard this evening he bit back if my leg so did rattle bottle again to which he spun and kicked out at me in stable (missed me but only just).
 
it sounds as if he is seriously testing the boundaries with you.
i'm sorry but the bottle rattling doesn't sound as if it's working.
if my youngsters have ever bitten me (and they'll all try it at least a few times) i give them a slap on the nose - fairly light if they're foals, but if they're getting big and strong then i will do it hard enough to really shock them and make them realise that i am NOT to be played with like that. it has to be instant and on the muzzle, not higher - you don't want a headshy horse, you want a respectful horse who knows biting is not on.
i would also yell NO at him if he does it.
i am usually pretty soft with my horses and love them to bits but they HAVE to have boundaries. biting, and kicking out at you the way he would with a field mate, is just a laugh for him but he could really hurt you.
hope you manage to impress him enough to stop him doing it before someone gets hurt.
 
My farrier recommends biting them back and very quickly. He lunges at them with his hand like a mouth and pinches their neck just like another horse would - my little monster only did it the once. If you watch two horses together this is how they behave. If the little chap nips at my mare she flys at him and gives him a damn good chomp back and he soon retreats and says "okay you are the boss, sorry!"

Worth a try.
 
I flick mine on the nose and it works for about 2 weeks then she tries it on again, so i keep flicking her nose (like a pinch) - eventually i hope she will stop all together, MY 11 yr old nipped me on the leg a few days ago which was a total shock as he had never done this before, so i did push his head away from me firmly and shouted no at him, he understood as his put his ears back for a few seconds, hasnt tried it since. Unpredictable buggers at times
 
Mine was a bit nippy, she is very bold and not much fazes her so shouting, waving my arms etc had no effect, I tried giving her a smack on her neck and she just stared at me like I had lost the plot but not worried at all.

The thing I have found that works is to pinch her top lip like twitching, she hates it and has associated it very quickly with nipping and she has almost stopped nipping since I started doing this.
 
You could try a different approach. If he goes to nip you tap his cannon with your foot, hard enough so he can feel it but NOT to cause pain! It works as a distraction technique, you have to be patient and keep doing it but if you persevere it does work! My youngster actually looks like she is going to bite me, stops and looks down at her leg now!!

Try it, its free and doesn't hurt or frighten your youngster, you can growl at him at the same time if it helps.

Good Luck
 
My farrier recommends biting them back and very quickly. He lunges at them with his hand like a mouth and pinches their neck just like another horse would - LOL that reminded me, when I was about 14 my colt bit my bum & I turned on him & bit his ear, he never ever bit anyone again!
 
I think I remember you saying this was a gelding. I cannot remember his age so will go for two approaches. I still have a scar on my upper arm from a bad bite so I do sympathise with your situation. It is very easy to give advice from afar but when you are in a situation with a youngster launching himself at you teeth and hooves flailing it is not easy to keep your nerve. So

Firstly, stay safe hat body protector glovesand I used to wear an old leather coat. Always carry a schooling whip possibly with a plastic bag tied to the end that you can shake at him to back him off.

In the stable my remedy for bunny hopping or kicking out youngsters is to leave the stable return with a schooling whip and if the situation recreates itself. Two hard whacks on the backside a good growling and leave the stable. This has worked with two bold foals who are now a yearling and two year old and they have never kicked since. You may need to repeat but rarely.

The biting is tough. Look at my previous post again. In the stable I also used to bite back but colts can take this as a cue you are playing with them and the biting circle continues. If the horse has a headcollar on, shake it and back them up if you can growling (some gentle ground work can achieve the back up so they know how) . When things did get desperate when my lad was two before he was gelded I used to groom him in a muzzle. All my nippy horses have grown out of it but they are demons going through it and you need to keep on top of it because if he is allowed to continue without consequences you will end up with a spoiled, bold young horse ith bad habits.

I just remembered something else we used to do walking our biter out. My daughter and I would take a side each and both walk him out which controlled his head a bit more.

Sorry this sounds a bit random but I am wracking my brains for anything that helped for us. Do bear in mind when another horse kicks or bites at another they are not namby pamby about it so you do need to be firm in your approach.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I tried all sorts of things to stop the Little Cigar nipping when he was a baby; biting back, squirting water at him... nothing worked until I weaned him and overnight he was an angel.

[/ QUOTE ]

The colt I had last year was just the same PF, he went from trying to eat or kick me to a little darling practically overnight.

Another colt I had years ago stopped all his nipping practically as soon as he could focus his eyes again after being gelded.
 
Excellent!! thanks again guys for more helpfull tips.

Irishlife; You are right he is gelded. He is coming up to 20 months now. Is really helpfull to know that some times they do need a good slap, as alot of the books and other people say that its a big NO NO! I always make sure that i have gloves, hat on and a shcooling whip when handling him so will be on a mission tonight to dig out my body protector from where ever it is hiding!!
We have had to lead him with one at each side when he was allowed out from his box rest just after christmas (pulled shoulder all better now) the only problem i have with this the majority of time there is only me about when going too and from field. Also i dont allow any one other than me my OH and good friend handle him. so means i'm relient on other people. (safety issue!!)

I will definatly be trying these tips and will keep u posted.

Really big thank you to everyone!!! x x
 
How is he to lead and be around, does he generally invade your space and think he is boss...?

I find that the more respectful of your space a youngster is the less likely they are to nip or kick.
I have usually found that youngsters that have had a lot of handling so are not afraid of humans, but have not been taught the boundaries tend at this age to try to push those boundaries. I suppose naturally they would be doing this with each other as teenagers maturing into adults to see who is going to be boss!

I find doing some Monty Roberts/Pirelli/Steve halfpenny (all similar principals) can work really well.

I get mine to back up, move their shoulder away, turn their heads to the side and move their behind away etc.
NEVER let them invade your space and NEVER feed them from your hand as in the past when I have allowed this to happen, it has generally led to barge and nippy behavior.

If you do the ground work with them so that they respect your space, then hopefully then they will start seeing you as the boss and will be a little more respectful generally. If they still bite I would probably growl and bear my teeth, lunging at them (like your lead mare might)

I would probably not bite as agree that with geldings/colts they can play fight together with no malice, so you don't want him to think you are looking to play with him.......

I would avoid trying to hit him unless you really have to. What you don't want is for him to hold anything against you.... not all horses are like this, but I think some will 'get their own back' so to speak if you have been unfairly aggressive with them.
I have turned round and backed into a youngster and lifted my leg as if to kick, if I feel they are trying to be dominant and this has worked with one youngster who was rather food aggressive...

If things were still bad, then I probably would resort to some of the methods suggested above.
 
Hi Madsmw

He used to be fantastic to lead. Last year we did a few hunter yearling classed and he was one of the best behaved in class. I use a monty roberts dually head collar with him now. I know that they start to push the boundaries again at this age but all he used to be good at has gone out the window. He backs up and if i stand at either of his sides and say over he moves away (and if behaving still does), He is never fed from the hand. Just 70% of the time lately he is horrid. Bites barges lunges kicks generally has no respect. Growling or rattlebottles dont work and if you square up to him he WILL kick.

Walking him in this evening he went to bite so i flicked his top lip, he stopped walking to pawed at me with his front leg, I growled NO and backed him up 3 strides. About 10 strides further he decided he wanted to get to the stable faster and lept in the air shaking his head and squeeling. Growling NO at him i turned to face his bum (preparing to ask for him to back up) and he shot back about 3/4 strides. He is a clever horse and clearly out whitting me!!
 
Have you considered getting help from Richard Maxwell? I know he is in Essex - so far from you - but he is excellent at helping owners to sort out problems like this. His website is easy enough to find. I am sure it would be worth emailing him
 
You do sound like you have your hands full...... what do they say about the terrible two's! I am sure it does apply to horses as well!

I think if he was mine, I would leave him out 24/7 for a while with a few other male youngsters and do minimal handling.

I don't know what you have him turned out with at the moment, but I know my 5 year gelding old, when he was two spent his days rearing, biting and generally playing with his fellow field mates which were the same age as him. Prior to this he had been with an older gelding and had become boss of him. However the flip side was this older horse didn't want to play, so he became frustrated and harder to manage. Once he was in a field with his own age group and could express his boisterous side he was a much happier horse and easier for me to handle. I suspect your boy is a frustrated teenager who just wants to be a horse and have some fun! If he isn't having this with youngsters the same age as him, as he would naturally in the wild, I suspect he is trying to have it with you instead!


All horses are different and you can have some which are wonderful at this age and are very trainable, but others can be brutes, constantly pushing your boundaries.

I had a mare who morphed from an angel as a yearling into a witch as a two year old.... she was always the bottom of the herd order in the field, being pushed around by the other horses, so she would then try to do the same with you, including turning her bum in you and trying to kick!!! She was the sort of mare you could not scold or hit at all, as she would remember and use it against you.
I ended up finding a friend the same age, so she wasn't always been pushed around, but had a more equal relationship with a horse. I also just left her be for a few months, doing the minimal handling, I only ever showed her kindness, when I was around her and then slowly built up the relationship again working her from the ground. Thankfully it worked.

The nightmare is I don't think there is any right or wrong.... you just have to try different methods to see what works best for your horse.

I do think trying to mimic/provide them with the most natural environment for youngsters is best. Wrapping them in cotton wool and pampering them can sometimes do more harm than good.
I tend to leave my youngsters out 24/7 with similar age/sex horses, only do minimal handling (although like to handle them a lot as a foal) and this touch wood has worked.

The other thing I did wonder is, could he be a rigg????

Good luck with him and let us all know how you get on.
 
I have him on a livery yard and not allowed 24/7 turn out till summer. He is out with my shared horse who is 13 this year, they get on really well. play fight bite chase etc, looks rough but they love it. There aren't any other babies on yard.

I know for deffinate that he is not a rig as my friends partner is my vet and he castrated him for me. Plus i had to pick them up while tidying stable afterwards. Yuck!!!

Hoping now that the nights are getting lighter too he can get out for longer on an evening.

Fingers x'd
 
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