Nippy pony

[kez23878]

Hi,

We recently bought my daughters loan pony.

He wasn't in the best condition and was really quiet. We've worked hard on building condition and not actually done that much work with him. Now we are he is starting to try and bite. Hes not really nasty but if we try and walk out he snatches at the grass and then if we stop him he snaps at my daughter. Lunging, grooming, feet everything else he's lovely just the moment hes required to put in a bit of effort he gets grumpy. My daughter is getting quite nervous about working him and she was nervous anyway as she had a bad fall in the past.

Thanks

 

[Shay]

A lot of kids ponies nip for some reason. You haven't given a whole lot of information to go on but in general terms...

They won't nip if they can't get away with it. Don't hand feed treats. Teach your daughter how to get him to respect her space if you can - but if your daughter is very young you might need to intervene simply so she is safe. Learn when he is likely to try it and simply foil him before he can. Sometimes they nip when being tacked, or when the rider is trying to mount? Sometimes it is more a dominance on the ground thing. There is quite a good series of workbooks for children called "Think like a pony" which can help - but do supervise any ground exercises.

If you can figure out what he is trying to gain by doing it - and then deprive him of that gain he'll stop doing it. If he is doing it to get out of work - don't let it work. Don't punish him - but he works whether he nips or not.

 

[kez23878]

The only time he really does it when we are walking out. He keeps snatching at the verges and when we try and stop him he goes to bite. I am starting to wonder if he could be a bit hungry. Hes on a small paddock over night and in during the day with some soaked hay and a couple of handfuls of happy hoof twice a day. This is all due to lamnitis in the past. I do also agree with the dominance thing as she spends more time loving and brushing him than she ever does trying to make him do what she wants!

Thanks for your help

 

[Shay]

Sounds more like bad manners I'm afraid. At some point he has learned that if he snaps at the leader they'll let him eat.

Are you walking out with him tacked? Daisy reins or grass reins may help. Small children are fairly powerless when it comes to a small pony's neck diving for the ground. Otherwise perhaps best to only have an adult lead him and not let him graze. He has to get the idea that he is not to snatch at vegetation when he is working. Once he figures out snapping at the handler will not produce the desired result he'll stop. But be prepared for an escalation in behaviour in the short term whilst he tries to see if that will make a difference. He might actually connect or lift a leg or try to drag the handler so best to keep it to just adults for a while.

A possible half way house could be to never let him graze with a bridle on so it doesn't set up problems for your daughter when he is ridden and then only let adults lead him in a headcollar. Having dealt with kids ponies for almost 20 years now I prefer to insist on a well mannered pony at all times. It only takes a moment's lapse and a child can get hurt. But you need to work out what works for you and sometimes half way is better than nothing.

 

[LHIS]

One of the ponies on the yard I'm at tries exactly the same with me. Leading him down to the field he'll try a grab at the hedgerow for anything to eat, I pre empt this and don't let him, and then he will try a quick nip. He's a cheeky pony and is trying it on. I lead him in a dually and this helps massively with teaching him some manners. He's getting better and he's learning not to try it on with me.