Mini biting

MiniMilton

MiniMilton

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I have a mini pony. 95% of the time he is very very sweet. Randomly he tries to bite me, completely out of the blue, usually when leading him. He is very quiet and I have done a bit of schooling in hand, tacking up etc with the intention of making him a childrens starter pony. Biting is obviously not what I want in a starter pony. I have him stabled at night and in a paddock during the day with goats as i'm worried my other horses will injure him. When I bring him over to meet my other horses he does a lot of pawing the ground and he drops his willy and he makes a funny whickering noise. When I go to lead him away he usually gets naughty and nippy. Sometimes I wonder could he be a rig?
Or could he just be fed up of no equine companions?
How do I put a stop to the biting?:confused:
 
Has he definitely been gelded? I was sold my mini as a colt and I presume he is but you wouldn't know by looking. He's so fluffy you can't see any boy bits.

Unless your big horses are really aggressive I think he'd be fine out with them. My mini goes out with the big boys and they're good at teaching him manners. He's so small that he can leap of out of the way if they try and kick him. Tbh if they do kick him its prob because he bit one of them.
 
If you don't want him in with the bigger horses could you put him in a paddock next to them so he can interact with them? (Or fence off a corner of their paddock for the same effect?) my mini was such a miserable sod as a stallion - mixture of hormones & not being allowed to interact with my other two because he bullied them. Now he's gelded & back in with them & much much more settled. Think they all need some equine company.
He can still be a bit nippy when being led - I think this is a 'personal space' issue with him. Be patient and consistent with him, sure he'll improve
 
He needs equine companions, and is trying to tell you as best he can.

Just because he's small, doesn't mean he's any less a horse - he has the same needs as your bigger horses. If you're really worried the bigger horses will injure him (Shetlands and very large horses can live happily side by side so I'm not sure a mini would be any different) get him a companion of his own size. A Sheltland or another mini would be ideal.
 
Brightbay said:
He needs equine companions, and is trying to tell you as best he can.

Just because he's small, doesn't mean he's any less a horse - he has the same needs as your bigger horses. If you're really worried the bigger horses will injure him (Shetlands and very large horses can live happily side by side so I'm not sure a mini would be any different) get him a companion of his own size. A Sheltland or another mini would be ideal.
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Ditto. I find putting others with the new one works better than putting the new ones in an established herd and of course any introductions need plenty of space so escape is easy. An adjacent well fenced paddock is a good idea so the herd are used to him close by for a few weeks or months if necessary.
Mine are a mixed herd of minis and up to 16 hh and all live together very happily. None are shod and this does need serious consideration during any introductions.
 
minimilton said:
I have a mini pony. 95% of the time he is very very sweet. Randomly he tries to bite me, completely out of the blue, usually when leading him. He is very quiet and I have done a bit of schooling in hand, tacking up etc with the intention of making him a childrens starter pony. Biting is obviously not what I want in a starter pony. I have him stabled at night and in a paddock during the day with goats as i'm worried my other horses will injure him. When I bring him over to meet my other horses he does a lot of pawing the ground and he drops his willy and he makes a funny whickering noise. When I go to lead him away he usually gets naughty and nippy. Sometimes I wonder could he be a rig?
Or could he just be fed up of no equine companions?
How do I put a stop to the biting?:confused:
Click to expand...

My way:

When my boy was a colt he would bite/nip. I stopped him by

a. not feeding him by hand
b. when he did bite hard i bit him back once (only) then each time he nipped i tapped/smack him on the nose and said *NO*. He does not do it anymore.
 
Minis and Shetlands are essentially large horses in small bodies. I have one of each and both are established herd members and are field companions, as well as show horses, for their larger counterparts.
My Shetland is still a colt and very nippy and jumpy until gelded, just typical behaviour for them at that age. He is the field companion for my 16+hh 2yr old baby and they wouldnt be apart.
The other is my champion mini horse, field companion for two 16+hh sport horses and is the boss!! No one will mess with her or they will get their knee caps double barreled!
Had her from a weanling and now 6, a mare and still nippy at times. Just the breed as know many that show and the same.
 
Thank you for the replies. I have to assume he's gelded for the moment, I've had a good root around and I can't feel anything! I decided to put him out with a gelding who is usually very easy going. The mini launched into attack mode and tried to kill him. Then I tried it with a different horse and it was the same reaction. I guess I don't need to worry about the mini getting bullied! It does make me worried that he is a rig. I removed the mini and put him back into the adjacent field. I might just put him back out with the first horse and just leave them to sort it out themselves. Supervised of course. Interestingly even though the turnout attempt was a bit of a disaster, he didn't try to bite me today
 
He will be fine, they can be bossy wee things! I had a horse on loan kept on his own until I moved him, he was big and bit me so much I was covered in huge bruises. It is colty behaviour but they do it a lot less when they have other horses to teach them there are ramifications to that behaviour. He could still be nippy when i moved him but a lot less so. Would also direct an elbow or prickly brush at him if he did go to do it so he bumped himself on it!

Lots of horses are aggressive when first introduced, it took my girls a whole week of introduction over a fence as my bigger horse wanted to flatten her new small companion, so I gave them time then everything was fine when I put them together :-)
 
My mini is more likely to injure someone else than be injured, he can well look after himself and he has only lived with other minis prior to me getting him.

As for the biting, don't feed treats from your hand always use a bucket and when he bites, bump his nose with whatever part of you he tried to bite.
 
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