what can i do to stop my younster trying to grab leadrope/lead reign

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Starwind

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My Youngster is constantly trying to grab his lead rope of lead reign when i'm leading him. he just seems to want to hold it in his mouth all the time. its very annoying when i'm trying to lead him and he keeps grabbing it. He has a rubber bradoon bit on his in hand bridle and he's not fased by this at all, it just sems thathe wants to stuff as many other things in his mouth as he can. I'm going to get his teeth checked to make sure he's not (teething as such) and generally check all is ok. perhaps something he will grow out of, but wondered of anyone else has tried another bit or any other way to stop this. Today we tried side reigns and allthough they were fairly long he STILL manages to flick his head round and grab the leadrope or my jumper or whatever else he can. he doesn't bite as such its just a grab and hold thing.....
 
Simples. short sharp tap on his nosey nose!!!

My TB used to do it (teeth had been checked) out of habit. UNTIL he did it in the showring to my effin finger in front of the judge......and wouldnt let go........conversation with the judge consisted of "***** ***** *****, sorry sorry ***** oh sorry"
 
My filly did this, and although she still likes to hold it if she can, she no longer grabs at it. I used a combination or blocking her reach with my elbow (with a little jab if she took too long to turn her head back to the front, and also blocked her with the round stubby end of the cane/whip. All backed up with a firm 'Leave'.

After about a month she was much better, although she still loves to stuff things in her gob. I didnt have the problem with lunge reins but if you solve the in hand bit then voice aid alone should work with the lunge reins in time.

She did have very fast growing teeth (and also quite soft hence got sharp edges quite quickly, she still has to be rasped every 6 months not annually so def worth going OTT on making sure thats not an issue.
 
Not much really in my exp... :rolleyes: they love chewing stuff. They eventually grow out of it but all you can do is keep up the discipline, tap on the nose, firm "no!" or whatever but it's not a quick fix.

One thing I did do was just let a youngster I had chew, then when he thought he'd finished, I made him chew by keeping the rope in his mouth until he stepped backwards in disgust at which point I turned around and on we walked as normal and kept this up until it clicked. Don't ask me how long it takes, with some it's instantaneous. Same method I teach kittens/puppies to stop biting people.
 
Well, this is quite interesting as last night I had a lady come and give me some pointers when leading my youngster as he has a tendency to bite and grab hold of his leadrope too. She basically explained a lot of this behaviour is down to the horse not being balanced so the key is to improve the horse's balance and how he/she holds himself.

So, my tip would be to improve his balance and 'posture' by doing some groundwork. teach him to step away using his hind legs first as opposed to leading with the forehand, this will help with his balance as I have been told (by this lady) horse often exhibit this behaviour as they are unbalanced so we have to try and help them and encourage them to put their weight back on their hind quarters.

It'a hard to explain but my little one did quite well in his 'session' and was holding himself beter by the end and was not biting whilst doing this.

May be worth thinking about anyway.
 
My youngster always does this, not only when leading but also when tied up and even when I'm putting on/taking off a headcollar on another pony in the field, he will come over and chew on the leadrope while I'm doing this. He just constantly wants to chew. Not even a tap on the nose can stop him!
 
Have you tried using a lead rein with a long chain (i.e. 2'6 + chain and then either leather or usual lead rein material making up the rest of length) like a stallion chain, not as comfy for them to chew on and they soon stop of their own accord.
 
To be honest I can't understand why it is so much of a problem. Christ there are so many other more important issues with horses regarding health and behaviour and here we are having a discussion about horses ( young ones at that) chewing lead ropes!
As for puppies and kittens.
Right well dogs, ie puppies should be taught to chew on toys rather than fingers.
Have had cats for let me see now ooh quite a few years now..... 31 years! Have never had a problem with kittens chewing people. Kittens do not have to be nip trained, unless of course you are talking about feral cats and kittens which is a different ball game.
 
Cazee34 said:
To be honest I can't understand why it is so much of a problem. Christ there are so many other more important issues with horses regarding health and behaviour and here we are having a discussion about horses ( young ones at that) chewing lead ropes!
As for puppies and kittens.
Right well dogs, ie puppies should be taught to chew on toys rather than fingers.
Have had cats for let me see now ooh quite a few years now..... 31 years! Have never had a problem with kittens chewing people. Kittens do not have to be nip trained, unless of course you are talking about feral cats and kittens which is a different ball game.
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Because some owners could find the issue irratating which is why they are discussing it!

Yes there may well be other more important things to talk about but I do believe this forum is free for everyone to discuss every equine matter no matter how trivial it may seem to some.

And how can you compare a puppy or a kitten to a horse chewing a leadrope?
 
Both my foal and my yearling do this - I think its a lack of security. I've got an old bit of headcollar which I now give to my foal to hold in mouth when I'm leading it and seems to do the trick! My great dane was exactly the same till he grew up
 
ginadrummond said:
Both my foal and my yearling do this - I think its a lack of security. I've got an old bit of headcollar which I now give to my foal to hold in mouth when I'm leading it and seems to do the trick! My great dane was exactly the same till he grew up
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My point exactly! They are babies. Why do we keep imposing our human dislikes on them and assuming that all horses should conform to how we think they should act.
Personally I find a lot of human habits irritating too but we have to live with them!

As for the comparison about kittens/puppies and horses and leadropes ( not aimed at you btw but another poster earlier). It was in fact another poster who had mentioned it when training their puppies and kittens not to bite people in the very same discussion about horse training and chewing leadropes.

FWIW chewing leadropes is very trivial indeed compared to other habits such as chewing wood or eating soil and stones which is has far more serious consequences.
As someone clearly mentioned earlier. Just change the cotton leadrope for one that has a long metal chain on it if it is so irritating.
Simples ;)
 
My foal quite liked the noise chewing the chain made. Just a natural behaviour which, I agree they will grow out of. Sometimes you just have to smile and think of a different solution. I ended up allowing the great dane to carry a teddy to stop him doing it - what a sight it was though!
 
ginadrummond said:
My foal quite liked the noise chewing the chain made. Just a natural behaviour which, I agree they will grow out of. Sometimes you just have to smile and think of a different solution. I ended up allowing the great dane to carry a teddy to stop him doing it - what a sight it was though!
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Lol you sound like my kind of person :)
 
He does have an in hand lead rein with a chain and its hooked up shorter one side to try to stop him doing it and he still manages to get it the whle chain in his mouth..

Appreciate this may not be an issue for some people out there in which case why did you bother to read the thread if you have bigger and better things to do!

Its an issue for me and i find it very annoying as sometimes i have to ask other people to turn him out for me and i like a well manered horse.
 
Sorry, what's wrong with making a reference to cats and dogs on this forum please? Or for sharing experiences for that matter.

Sorry Cazee, we should all come to you for advice in future.
 
My little one did this for about a week, I think its bad manners so made her stop by flicking her on the nose. Like I said she only did it for a week but I think that was more because she grew out of it quickly than I managed the situation properly!

You could always try spraying some crib stop on the bit that he always reaches to bite?

You could try giving him an old rope to carry, but I'm not sure its easy to explain to a horse that that bit of rope is ok, but this bit of rope isn't...so not sure how well it would work.
 
The 2 I'm helping with now do this, and the aren't babies - both about 8. As you try to put the head collar on they try to get it in there mouth if they dont suceed they suck the lead rope. Not a huge thing but it does make the lead ropes extremely tatty quickly. Hoping that teaching them so manners when lead will improve things across the board.
 
Nothing wrong with making references to cats and dogs on here, was just stating that it wasn't me who brought the subject up, someone else did. I merely pointed that out and also said that you don't have to nip train cats ( unless they are feral, which are different). Dogs on the other hand yes, and toys should be offered to teething puppies than offering human hands as they could develop vices such as biting hands when older.
With regard the lead rope, each to their own.
I personally don't see it as being a case of bad manners in a youngster, but we all have our own opinions on what is acceptable and non acceptable behaviour. Biting hands and nipping is a different matter though but chewing on ropes is mainly a comfort soother or for teething purposes.
 
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