Stallion or colt owners please help

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claire156

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Hi all stallion or colt owners,

I have recently purchased a full arab 15 month old colt and i have one problem............ he nips.
I dont know what i can do i ignore him and he tugs at my clothes if i ignore him more he tries to nip my arms, i have tried shouting at him waving my arms around at him and i have to say i have smacked him (i dont want to smack as i dont want to put him off me), but he thinks its a game and rears at me and i dont want that either. I dont want to have him cut but if the nipping carries on and it starts to get nasty (at the moment he is playing) i will have him cut. He is in a paddock next to my other horses and i work with him every day as i would like to show him but i cant until nipping stops, i dont want to be walking around the ring trying to stop him bitting. Any advice greatly appreciated
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Claire
 
Richard Maxwell uses a technique where you tap (or harder depending on how hard the bite is) the horse on his cannon bone every time he tries to bite you. This seems to work well with youngsters as it is what their mother's would do when reprimanding them whereas smacking on nose (we've all done it) or neck is more like what one of their friends would do to initiate play and hence encourage the behaviour. I found that this technique often surprises the horse as he is expecting a smack elsewhere and they soon stop. I use a showing cane or if nothing is to hand my foot as this draws the attention away from the hands.
 
I am willing to try anything. I dont want him to be his adult height and doing it, its bad enough already as he stands around 13'2 - 14 hands now. Thanks for the advice.
 
Oooh - another Arab-person! Hello!

Maxwell's technique sounds like good advice to me, so I have nothing much to add by way of suggestions.

But I have to ask (before another pedigree-obsessed arab-lover does) - what is your boy's breeding?

And do you plan to keep him entire?

My 3yo Arab stallion will occasionally try to nibble at people's clothing - collars and such-like - but if he encounters skin he just wiggles his nose on it instead, a nuzzle rather than a nibble, which is very endearing.

The only other thing I would suggest, which you probably already know, is to avoid hand-feeding treats as it encourages nippiness if you have a nippy colt.
 
ive been told dat u should tie them up quite short, so they cant nibble you. cos you dont want to make an issue out of it as it becomes a game to them. hope it helps.
 
My stallion used to do this and I was told to get a kids water pistol and give him a squirt any time he tried being naughty. Believe me it works! Nowadays, if he occasionally feels like trying it on, he only has to see me go to pick the pistol up, and he stops immediately. No harm done to anyone.
 
I have experience with lots of different young warmblood/sport horse colts and stallions and I would say to just not get into a position where he is capable of biting you. Tie him up close to the ring but not so he can't move his head when you brush or handle him. Make sure he is tied up if you go in the stable. With young colts it is a natural thing for them to nibble and nip, they all do it but your job is to make sure that they understand that other horse are for biting, not people. You have to be quite strict and it can be hard with your cute pride and joy to reprimand him but you will be glad of it in the future. If you don't want him to associate you with being told off, get someone who is experienced in handling young horses to teach him this is wrong. Personally I find if you keep business-like in your routine there is not much time for play-biting. Bring him in from the field purposefully, don't amble along and mess with him, catch him, pat him and walk briskly in and tie him up and get on with it, by all means fuss him and play with him but he needs to realise he has to be more gentle with humans. Everytime he goes to nip you he needs to be disciplined, whether you tap his nose with a stick, a water pistol or a firm voice it is upto you, but it needs to be right away and everytime without fail. You don't want him to realise he is the boss and can hurt you. If he learns it young you won't have any trouble when he is older. Tit bitting is also a definate no-no, mine are never tit-bited even at shows, they get their dinner and they are happy so they never expect to get little bits and nip at your pockets, hands and rustly papers. This is especially important for when a judge may come upto your horse with rustly papers!
Soon he will be able to have a little bit in and and that will keep his attention when leading and from thinking life is a big game!
 
Hi all

Thanks very much for your replies i think im going to have to try a water pistol as everybody seems to be saying to try one.
Kate (HTobago) i would just like to say your stallion is magnificent he is beautiful. My colt is called Praague and you will probably have seen him on AL or Desert Dancers (hope im allowed to say those forums), i would like to keep him entire and im going to do a few local shows to see how he goes. Unfortunatly if he doesnt stop nipping i will geld him and it is only nipping now and a nibble with his lips but i dont want it to turn worse as hopefully he may grow to Tobagos height.
Here he is:
Praague_0061.jpg

Praague_0054.jpg

Praague_0056.jpg


He is out of Praawica (dam) Galba (sire) i bought him from Cullinghurst Stud and he came in utero to England from Poland.

Thanks for all your advice believe me i am taking it in

Claire
 
Thanks Claire - I'm so pleased you like my boy!
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Your chap looks fab too - and his dam Prawica is one of my favourite mares! I saw her at Malvern last year and she totally blew me away, especially her movement - everyone was laughing at me cos I got so obsessed with her and wouldn't shut up about her!
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I'm no expert, but it sounds to me as though you are going about things the right way with your colt. If you're considering keeping him entire it's a good idea to get him out to some shows. OK to start with small local ones for education, but then I would take him to some of the bigger Regionals/'C' shows and see how he does against the best of his age-group.
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I think a lot of colts can be a bit nippy or go through a nippy stage - as long as this is 'nipped in the bud' (lol) so it doesn't get worse, I wouldn't be too worried.
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Is he good to handle in other ways?
 
Thanks ghost hooves for your comment.

Kate he is good box, hooves etc He tries it on when im leading him trying to nip and he thinks its funny when im poo picking his field to play lol

Im waiting for a halter and a stallion slip to arrive and i will start taking him out (well a friend will).

Im glad you liked his mum i found that how she looked in photos i had seen of her she looked like it in real life
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She is really beautiful.

Any more advice woul be taken gladly
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