Youngster - teaching not to bite?

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amanda1788

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I have a youngster he's 5 this year, he has a lovely gentle nature and would never do anything on purpose to hurt you. But he does sometimes start licking your hands and then tries to nip with his teeth, he doesn't do it to be nasty, he just thinks theres food or something there, and he has a couple of managed to nip me on my hand or arm. What i wanted to ask was how to I stop this? As it doesn't deserve a smack as he doesnt mean it to hurt and is not doing it to be naughty, as he doesnt know that he's not meant to do it. but he also needs to know that he mustn't do that. Any help is much appreciated.
 
bite him back on the squishy bit of the nostril, done it a couple of times they have never bitten again, you have to do it there and then watch out for the hairs!!
 
I'd love to see an answer on this as Hovis (who's 4.5) is always eating me. I'm covered in bruises!
Hovis however seems to want to have things in his mouth and walking him on a leadrope or with his reins you always have to watch your hands and arms as he edges towards them!
 
Obvious answer is to keep your hands away from his mouth! Im afraid a nip gets the wallop response from me. Dont feed treats by hand either.
 
A youngster that uses his teeth needs to be stopped as it will usually develop! My horses have been with me from babies and have total respect for me as I did not allow anything that might materialise into a vice later, one of my geldings was very mouthy in the same way you described and for this he used to get chased to the back of the stable every time he used his teeth on either my clothing or skin! it lasted about 2 wks, he has never tried it again and he is now 14!!! Its all about short sharp shock treatment without smacking them but you must catch him immediately or he will not understand why you have just punished him 5 mins later! You have to become the Alpha horse after all if he where in a field and tried that to the Alpha horse he would get a good sorting and certainly wouldn't try it again.
 
Don't ever feed him anything from your hands, don't carry treats in your pocket and don't let him lick your hands and ensure no one else does any of these.

I have a horse here on livery which was a nipper, it would nip anyone anywhere, The owner always gave it treats and thought it really cute when it poked his pockets and pulled his coat. He would then reward it by giving it a treat, it became a real issue when I had to handle it> I stopped the owner treating the horse by hand. If he wanted to treat he had to put it in a bucket. It took a month or so - of pushing it away every single time it tried to nip and no treats but we have got there - it has stopped nipping and nuzzling. Now it can be given the occasional carrot or polo. But only on very rare occasions.
 
My favourite trick, particularly for babies, is to squeeze there top lip, working on the basis of, if you cause me discomfort ill cause you discomfort, literally, if the horse nips, grab, squeeze, release, walk away, ignore. Another tip would be a little slap on the nose, and again, walk away immediatly. Also I would never feed from the hand.
 
That sounds like Ronnie - he walks along like a dog holding his leadrope! He just has to have his teeth around things, be that the stable door, anything new in his environment or me/other people. I've tried growling at him, a smack on the nose, taking an agressive body stance, but nothing seems to work. He just looks miffed and then tries again.
 
If Archie puts his teeth on me or my clothing I push him away with a finger to his nose or immediately make him take steps back and hold him there for a few seconds, then when he's 'nice' again he can come back for a head rub. My friend used to go totally ott and let out the most blood curdling scream when her youngster bit her and it used to catch him by such suprise she only had to do it a few times and he never did it again!
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Grabbing legs can be a 'play' sign as this is what foals and youngsters do in the field, you still need to let him know it is totally out of order, when he goes low with his head get ready to stamp your foot really hard as soon as he attempts to use his mouth, if he keeps his head low after the stamp then you should again chase him to the back of the stable. To ask or make a horse reverse is a very vunerable task to the horse as it means they are being forced to submissive, everytime he is out of order with something you don't like just put your hand on his lower neck/chest and push him back into the corner of the stable if he tries to step forward raise your hand up to his eye with a large opened hand & fingers, once he drops his head or turns his head to one side praise him, this is a way of diciplining them without anger, it really works so give it a go. Some people think your a bit odd at first but you will see them trying it!
 
I was quite interested to read the replies on this one, as this is something that I have never had a real problem with a horse before. The 3yo that i have just taken on is very mouthy and managed to catch me on the side of my face with his teeth last night - which shook me a bit, but I did force him to the back of his stable and then walk away and leave him. I am sure that him catching me was as much my fault as his - and I am trying at the moment not to get to grasp too much with his lack of manners as he is still settling in - but something like this I do think needs quick correcting. I wouldn't like him to catch me or anyone else again - it could be serious next time - not just a bump.

i do like the idea of screaming at him - but I'm not sure my other horses would appreciate it so much!

He is also very bad at knowing about "personal space" - something that I like all my horses to know about. So i wonder whether anyone else if there horse is a bit of a nipper also has "personal space", or lack of it, issues?

Be interested to know if there is a link between the two.
 
My youngster also doesn't understand personal space, and he nips, but the most annoying thing is the headbuts. People are suggesting Parelli to me but I'm ever so slightly sceptical.
 
I not so keen on Parelli but Kelly Marks has some good groundwork foundation exercises to work through to teach personal space etc and they are actually really useful, worth a read if your interested
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Yeah she has three but I think her Perfect Manners book is really handy to have! I'm working through little bits from it with my youngster and he does understand what I'm teaching him! There's a set of groundwork exercises to work through to establish personal space and respect and then lots of other good advice about other bad manners and how to resolve them, definately worth a read
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Thanks Dressage Babe, I rarely feed him treats if they have carrots/polos they are usually shoved in with their dinner, its funny because my 10 month old colt never tries to nip me!

Sophie x
 
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As it doesn't deserve a smack as he doesnt mean it to hurt and is not doing it to be naughty, as he doesnt know that he's not meant to do it. but he also needs to know that he mustn't do that. Any help is much appreciated.

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Thats exactly why you should smack - he needs to learn that it is unacceptable. afterall if he did this to another herd member he'd get a bite back... it's no different. A sharp slap on the nose and walk away is all it takes... if you don't want to smack you nee to use your body language to tell him off - take on an agressive stance, stamp your feet and send him to the back of his box, but given his age and size and established relationship with you, he might not take any notice of you...
 
A friend of mine had a biter, when she pulled her hand away he still had hold and she dislocated her wrist .. ouch!
She had an NH person type out who recommended getting a tin of sweets (like type you get from garage) and putting small stones in it. When he went to bite, she was to shake it at him.

Not sure how successfull it was as soon after he charged her in the field and broke her leg, so she had other things to worry about. He had some issues ;-)
 
Chancer nipped once - it was a colt thing but caught me by suprise and in shock I gave the most almighty yell and he got a bitch slap on the cheek - felt a bit guilty as it was harder than I would normally do - he disappeared into corner and looks very shame faced.

Has never nipped again and is fed treats but there is an understanding that anything other than waiting politely and gently taking treat means nothing is given. His treat is normally given as I leave or if he has done very well in his training so is part of our routine.

There was a horrible biting shetland that was being a danger to people. Pushing away etc had no effect and I had enough of being lunged at and bitten when going past him. I came armed with a thin wooden fish slice - it worked wonders. He bit me and I immediately gave me a tap on the nose with the slice - it made him think twice. Next day he did it once more and this time I tapped harder - he got the message and never bit me or anyone again as far as I am aware.

If a push away and yell does not stop them after a few attempts - try a fish slice - makes a good noise, gives a sting but does not do harm provided you are sensible. You have to be very quick - on the one time I did use it the little git was still attached. Start with a gentle tap and build up until the message is clear - biting anyone is unpleasant.
 
Hi, I used a trick a friend told me, on my 2 colts, when they nip, kick (not hard) the top of their hoof with your foot, they dont realise its you, they just think that when they bite it makes their foot hurt ,
it stopped mine, and dont make they head shy, or frighten of you
 
I echo the not feedin treats from the hand as that really does cause problems.

I would NOT smack them or whollop them especially if your horse is young. What I do with the horses that nip (including my own when I go to see him as he tends to forget that he can't try my out every time) is send them away, either to the back of the stable, to the end of the leadrope when leading or around the yard, all completely silently whereas normally I talk to him and praise him a lot. He stops nipping me as soon as he's had this treatment a few times and he isn't headshy or anything else. The only time I have told him off by smacking (lightly) him is when he tried to kick me when I was picking up his leg but then I smacked him on the leg as he picked it up so he knew exactly what it was for. The only other time was when He nipped me when I was picking up his foot (we see a theme, he doen't really behave with picking up his feet with me) and he ended up nipping just above an elbow that happend to know him under his mouth when he did, he hasn't really tried actually making contact again.

Hope this helps.
 
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