The biting HAS to stop

EquestrianFairy said:
My boy used to 'attempt' to bite at one point, which i ignored until he actually made contact and caused a massive bruise. From then on, ANY movement in a nipping attempt had him a short sharp smack on his nose.. im not beating him, he would kill me, but a significant smack enough to shock him.

Now he will pull faces but leaves well alone.

They have a large mouth, an ample set of teeth and 1 tonne+ of force behind them- if a small smack stops my arm being taken off then so be it.
He spends 99% of his day in the field, i ride for an hour and during that hour i expect him to respect me with the respect i give him. I do not bite him and as such, he will not be allowed to bite me.
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Why don't we have a Like button here?
 
hollie123 said:
Oh my god will you shut up. I read the forums all the time but never had to join just to stop someone on their high horse. Stop picking on someone who has been more helpful than you. Youre the typical loser that never gets off the internet and thinks you know it all. SHUT UP
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What a charming first post, welcome to the forum.
 
That's the million dollar question: WHY?

He may be in pain. More likely he doesn't trust/respect/like you enough to want you to touch him.

Trust and respect are not the same thing. You can be nicey nicey to him for a lifetime and he may never respect you. You can be harsh and firm with him and he may never trust you (and 'fear' is not 'respect').

Without seeing you with him, there's no way to knew what's going on. You might be being too harsh. Too soft. Too inconsistent. Too nervous. Too brash.

Which is why getting someone out watch and help you would really help. Like riding instructors, you aren't aware your hands are too low/your legs swing/contact too tight blah blah etc etc until someone tells you and, more importantly, explains how to fix it!
 
Imogen_ said:
Only myself and my mum handles her :S
I can assure you if someone she didn't know (oh wait, I've already said someone has) to go in and handle with a fist than the result would be different.
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Sounds about normal, I would expect any horse to either back up and try to get away, or attack before it was attacked in that situation.
 
Enfys said:
Sounds about normal, I would expect any horse to either back up and try to get away, or attack before it was attacked in that situation.
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Well no, obviously they didn't walk in shaking a fist :S
But I meant when she starts to show signs of reacting, the telling off just made her worse.

I don't need to argue over things being taken out of context and assumptions made.

Only a selective few have manged to try and find out why this mare in question goes to bite. I was simply trying to help OP but obviously I have been so helpless I shan't bother again :S
 
Never had much success hitting a horse in the face , so I am guessing OY mean a sharp slap on the shoulder, everyone I know that his on the face have scared head shy horses.

Pony used to give a nasty nip when he first got here, so I gave a quick sharp pinch on the nose and touch wood he has not dine it for months .

Good luck oP
 
Thank you for all the helpful suggestions and advice. Does anyone know someone who will come out and help with ground work in the South Buckinghamshire area?
 
Footlight. Start a new thread for that as this one is quickly going to decend into kids bickering, and you're question will be lost.
 
Henesy used to try and bite me when I first got him. He didn't mean business though - it was more of a "I'll see how much I can get away with"
It is a lot of the time insecurity and once they realise you are someone to be respected and are the leader - they quit trying to dominate you. It is classic herd behaviour really.
When he first tried to bite me I reacted instantly by growling and rushing at him waving my arms. You have to react within about 3 seconds really - or they will just think you are a bit odd and not understand why they are being rushed at.
He tried to bite me one other time - got the same reaction from me and never tried it again.
We bonded good and proper...he would follow me around like a dog and would much prefer to be in my company than his fieldmates. Horses love boundaries and knowing where they stand.

I never hit him....I didn't have to. But I don't judge those who do give a good sharp smack on the shoulder.
 
Smacking always prompts so much debate! I, on the whole, will avoid any kind of smack....however, my horse is a pretty challenging chap and also loves to play. He has nipped in the past and any firm 'nos' and pushing him away worked, but only temporarily.

He loves to 'fiddle' with my hands (lips only) when doing front straps on his rug, or take my trousers down (unsuccessfuly, I'm pleased to say) whilst picking out his feet, which is all playful and no problem - until he pushes it a bit too far and continues to grab my sleeves, or bottom, until sometimes I definitely feel teeth!

I tried poking his neck with a finger and experienced quite a violent reaction in him coming back with a bite, not a nip and lashing out at the same time. Since then, a slap on the neck worked wonders - he needs one about every 6 months!

Incidentally, He is stabled next to an ex-racehorse that sounds just like OP's. It's mostly bluff, but can make contact which hurts! I looked after him for a week and found that saying quietly 'no' when his ears went back helped a lot. Since then, I read or heard someone in the racing world say the same thing works - might be worth a try?
 
I am not against smacking horses, if their behaviour warrants it
BUT
I wouldn't smack OP's horse.
I bought a confirmed biter almost 18 months ago. She doesn't actually bite but she does threaten to, only ever associated with tacking up, or leading to the mounting block. She has been used in a RS for disabled riders in her past. Having had previous ex-RS horses who were used to being roughly treated by novices, I understand where she is coming from. I have taught her not to bite by a) stripping the saddle down and putting numnah, saddle, girth on separately, using a humane girth and tightening it very slowly,
b) treating her for every piece of tack put on, c) ignoring her threats d) feeding aloe vera in case her stomach is too acidic e) leading her to the mounting block by the nose-band, rather than the reins, so that she can't bite.
These tactics have worked, I now tack up normally, lead by the reins and treat less.
She did bite me one day when I left my finger in her mouth with the bit (entirely my fault), I yelled, she let go as soon as she felt my finger and jumped back so fast that she banged her head. She was very scared of what I would do to her and of what sister was going to do when I had to ask her to tack up for me because of the plaster. IMO this was because of having been hit previously for biting/threatening to bite.

ETA, this is one of the softest horses I have ever met, who will kiss when asked.
 
amandap said:
Purely because I read this not half an hour ago when looking up about vitamin D.
http://www.melfleming.com.au/images/health & healing rugging.3.pdfQuote
from above link.
"You may have noticed how many horses get
nippy and cranky when you go to do the front
of the rug up. Take note they are trying to tell
you something. They are sore"

Something to consider perhaps?
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Thanks but the link doesn't work. She/he may be right but I think Flame is just a touchy bugger.
 
I'm another who will smack. I don't mean beat around the face but a short sharp smack that is well timed should do the trick. He sounds as if he is testing you.

However it must be well timed, so that he knows what he is getting told off for. Walk up to him, if he puts his ears back then simply ignore, however if he turns to bite (even if its just at the air) then give him a slap on the shoulder. If he does actually get you then a slap on the muzzle.

My Horse used to be a bit of a biter. She hardly does it anymore, infact I can't remember the last time she has tried to bite (I have jinxed myself now, haven't I! :rolleyes:) but if she does try too, I won't feel bad about hitting her.

Oh and she is most deffiently not head shy!!
 
Any horse that bites me will get a wallop.

What worked with one particular horse, who was a complete grump, and needed showing boundaries, was take whip into stable. She would look at you with a "glint" in her eye. Show her whip, and would instantly look away from you. The one time she did go for me she got an almighty crack on the shoulder, not because I intentionally meant it, just natural instinct. Guess what... she never did it again.
 
I had the same problem with my (once) very nippy 6 year old when tied up. When i was grooming him he would turn his head and go to bite me. I could tell when he was about to turn and bite, so i'd stick my elbow out and instead of biting me, he got an elbow in the nose. I prefer this to hitting as he won't become head-shy, and it was an instant punishment rather than the usual "OW! HE BIT ME!" *smacks 5 seconds later*. He soon got the message
 
OK, OP you say that your horse is an ex-racer, a biter and was gelded late. Mine is too.

I got him when he was 7 1/2 and he'd been gelded 6 months. He would launch when tied and being groomed. He hated contact and is really thin skinned. Put tack on him and he became a big teddy bear. He bit me on my arm a couple of days after I got him and my instinct was to smack him back on his chest. BIG mistake. He literally attacked me taking a real chunk. I've been round horses all my life and have never seen anything like it and I've had those that if given a smack would never put a foot wrong again but not Baz!

So, how did I overcome it? Time, consistency, not taking risks and building a relationship. It was also found he had ulcers which were treated. I tied him short when handling, kept grooming brief and got him comfortable with me in his space over a period of time. I also bought and used a fieldsafe headcollar for a few months after he had an attempt in the field too.

Now, I can do anything with him - rug him loose in the field, tack up loose in the field/stable. He still pulls grumpy faces and I will growl at him but he has learnt to respect me, not from hitting, but from learning to trust. I do believe that there is a reason for all behaviour - and the combination of change of regime, perhaps a past history of rough handling and the fact he was gelded late are all going to be factors.

I would still advocate a firm smack if a horse was just being naughty but not with one with real intentions. The sense of achievement I have from changing Baz's behaviour is brilliant - it just takes time. Good luck! :D
 
My horse doesn't bite as such in a nasty, insecure way but he is a constant nibbler. Always hanging off your jacket, or has his bridle in his mouth, his reins, his rug, a brush, he will also nip at your clothes, but in a playful ears forward way, he adores humans he would never hurt them on purpose. However it is incredibly incredibly irritating.
He gets this soft goey look on his face when he has something in his mouth, like a child sucking their thumb. It doesnt come from a nasty place but from a playful place where he thinks it's a game.
I have smacked him and growled at him and also tried pushing his face away but all this does is encourage him to do it more. He's very boyish and if you smack him he doesnt care he just thinks its part of the game, like I grab your coat, I get a smack, I grab your coat, I get a smack, he's not scared of anything and he thinks its hilarious.
He is the same with other horses and he's been banned from being turned out with other horses as he spends the whole time chewing their manes or grabbing and tearing their rugs, so instead he head butts and tries to play bite over the fence the horses next to him.
Reading the replies, I'm not sure what method would work with my horse. I generally ignore him as i'm thinking he is only looking for a reaction but when he's constantly pulling the hood off my jacket its very difficult to ignore it! So I settle for ignoring plus pushing his face away if he gets too close.

He's only been smacked really hard once and that is when he accidently scraped his teeth on my head while I was knelt brushing between his legs, I gave him a wallop, he panicked and broke the string and ran off but funnily enough he has never gone to play or nibble when I brush between his front legs since!

It's a bloody pain though, but as this is pretty much his only quirk and he's never nasty I suppose i'm not doing too badly.
 
i used to have an ex racer that was vile! until he had his ulcers sorted and then it got a lot better. im not saying all horses that bite have ulcers but there could be a reason hes doing it! if its due to poor handling in the past then you should tie him up short so he cant bite you when ur handling him but personnally i wouldnt hit the horse-be sensible and make yourself safe around it or give it an elbow or something but dont hit!
 
Well this is timely as the GreyDonk took a chunk out of my right side when I was tacking him up today. I have to girth him up slowly - whether it's the lunge roller or the saddle - and we've had his saddle checked, his back done and tried every girth known to man. Usually, he just makes faces and I take it really slow . . . and I find he's better when I do it in his stable, but today I was tacking him up on the yard and had already gotten the girth done up and was just tightening it (slowly) and he whipped round and bit my right side - right under my bra. It wasn't a nip. It was a bite. It took me so by surprise I didn't have time to react/give him a growl, etc., so in essence he got away with it.

He is usually absolutely fine once the girth is actually done up . . . or he's warmed up . . . and he usually just makes faces when I'm tacking up rather than actually snapping . . . I take it slow . . . give him a break and a scratch/chance to relax between each stage of doing girth up/tightening up and it works well. Today, though, he just struck without warning. Totally caught me off guard . . . and b/c (due to my shock/pain) some time had already elapsed, I didn't feel I could reprimand him (although he did immediately pull his head away and look sheepish - like he knew).

Sorry - rambling, just reading this thread with interest.

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