Why does he do it?!?!

[Identityincrisis]

Bl**dy horse is 6 1/2 now and STILL nips!

I'm really getting fed up now, I rarely let it go 'un-reprimanded', I growl, point my finger and make myself big. I even give him a smack on the chest with the rope if he makes contact, he KNOWS it's wrong as he reacts as soon as he does it.

Things I've tried (over the 3 1/2 years I've had him)

Ignoring bad behaviour, he sees this as allowing

Backing up

Reprimanding

Don't get me wrong, he has improved massively as he was VERY aggressive and regularly bit. I take him for in-hand walks every morning and he ALWAYS tries to mouth at the very least and occasionally, like this morning, actually nips.

I'm soooo frustrated as he has come so far in EVERY aspect of his behaviour but he still seems to find it acceptable to push this boundary. Please be kind, I have worked so hard on this horse and he is 97% there. I have a friend who is a real pro (ex jock, race horse trainer etc) and the horse wouldn't dream of biting him so why me?!?!

 

[WandaMare]

I would concentrate on the progress you have made with him and wouldn't worry too much about the nipping. I know others might not agree but it wouldn't worry me. I would probably bop mine over the mouth with the lead rope and say no and then take no more notice.

Is there a reason it is upsetting you, are others making comments or something. It might be a sign of affection for you, a bit of playfulness and just part of his character. Maybe if you stay calm and relaxed about it he might stop doing it anyway. If you are 97% there with him that is a very high standard, I would be over the moon with that!

 

[DappleDown]

Sounds like one of ours. He has calmed down a lot in the years since we bought him, but we have accepted that he will never totally stop.

We have been through all avenues of attempting to stop this habit, nothing worked.

We have learnt to read his mood and know what to expect, and how to deal with it. This does vary from ignore, to firmly saying no, and of course our body language. He knows he shouldn't do it, and isn't aggressive - more moody, or just downright cheeky. Sometimes he just thinks he is interacting or playing with us, like he does with the rest of his equine buddies. It's almost a game to him. But, whatever he does, we are the top of the herd.

Nice try Dapple (see my signature, it's what he likes to think).

 

[be positive]

Why are you taking him for in hand walks? unless there is a good reason to do so as this seems to be when he nips I would stop doing it, he is probably either bored with them and ridden exercise would be more beneficial or would prefer to be out in his field, does he have company when out as they tend to be less inclined to bite people if they can play with others.

I think they do know when a pro is handling them and just read the body language however subtle it is, don't take it personally.

 

[XxCoriexX]

I'm sorry youre feeling frustrated....I am sure we all know what that is like!
Are you giving him treats by hand? Maybe that is why he nips you and not your friend. if he knows you are a constant source of treats he will start t demand them!

 

[Identityincrisis]

Thank you for all the gentle replies!

Yes I guess I should focus on how far we've come and generally I do. I do think it's his personality as much as anything as he's quite a dominant horse in the field. When leading he has gone from ultra tight, high neck to a really relaxed frame and when I see this it makes me so proud.

I rarely feed treats from hand as I had a horse years ago who had been bribed to behave with treats so I got out of the habit with her.

I take him for daily walks (as well as ride in PM) as he is barefoot and this has really helped with his foot balance/quality etc and unfortunately my trimmer can always tell when I have slacked on the in hand walks :/

 

[Merrymoles]

Mine was a proper biter when I bought him and it has taken us five years so don't despair. I have resigned myself to the fact the he will always be mouthy - it is impossible to get a headcollar on without him trying to eat it, he grabs anything in reach on the yard and his defence mechanism with other horses is to bite, although fortunately (fingers crossed) he is not a rug ripper.

However, he has also improved no end and his worse habit now is licking my elbows or the back of my jacket when I'm leading. I wouldn't accept that from every horse but it's a huge step forward from bruises and torn clothes which was where we started. Despite being 14, he displays "coltish" behaviour, particularly in the field and often snakes his head at me and my friend and makes horrible faces. I suspect he was gelded late and had very little human interaction for the first eight or nine years of his life and it took quite a while for him to learn to trust anyone new.

But I take the positives - he's a good lad in his stable, the easiest horse to bit ever and he now understands that biting people is not acceptable. A sharp "oi" is now enough to deter any threat of nipping. He is allowed to chew his lead rope when first led out of his box or tied up as that seems to be a "comfort" behaviour but I have to ensure his reins are nowhere near his mouth when tacking up. It has been a case of constant repetition and consistency but I don't now feel the need to take it any further but just focus on being consistent with what is and is not acceptable.

 

[DabDab]

Depends why he's doing it. My big lad 'nips', but he doesn't really - he knows he's not allowed to bite people, but occasionally when he's feeling playful or insecure he will grab your clothes (my hat silk is regularly removed and thrown across the yard while I'm doing overreach boots). But he absolutely knows the boundaries so I don't mind it. My mare on the other hand will nip out of an attempt to order around all other beings in her world. She's not nasty or aggressive, just very clever with bags of initiative. Her I am very strict with, and she wouldn't dream of nipping me, but I am always nervous when someone new goes up to her. I never pet her at all, she gets groomed daily while tied (albeit fairly loosely) on the yard, and when I'm doing anything with her in the stable I put a headcollar on her if she's in a silly mood and likely to start being buzzy and doing laps, just so I have something to grab hold of to make her stand and stop being a plum.

If he was nipping while walking in hand mainly I would make him walk faster, and have one hand holding his headcollar, just putting it back facing forwards until he gets the idea that swinging his head round to nip you just results in him having to work harder.

But as above, remember how far you've come with him and congratulate yourself that this is the only real issue you're having with him.

 

[Farcical1]

Probably not what you want to hear, but my 32 year old still nips! She is generally a bit grumpy and always has been; no reason why, just likes to be left alone.
I give her a smack and a growl and then ignore it.
I think some horses are just prone to this. If it's the worst thing he does then overall, that's not so bad.

 

[FfionWinnie]

None of those things are how I would teach a horse not to nip. I would bop him with whatever part of my body he was nipping, immediately but preferably before he even gets that far. Wear a hat. Don't feed treats from the hand and don't allow him to put his mouth on you in any way.

You say he knows he's wrong but I'm afraid what you are doing is not fast enough for him to know he's wrong (and if that was the case he would have stopped).

It's never too late tho. I got a 23 yr old crabby shetland on loan and was told never to trust him as he nipped. He stopped nipping in a day and never nipped any of us again.

 

[ihatework]

He would have a nice bristly brush in his gob the minute he tried to nip and if that/other strategies didn't work he would be muzzled in situations where he gets nippy, e.g. Walk leading.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

The RDA group I volunteer with used to have a pony who was terrible for nipping the leader when there was a disabled rider on top, because he knew you couldn't really do much about it. He didn't do it without a rider!

I think this might be the key to your problem "I rarely let it go 'un-reprimanded',. TIf he is going to stop, every incident MUST be reprimanded, or better still stopped before it happens. Stay alert, watch his body language and be ready to growl a pre-emptive "No!"