What is the best way to deal with an occasional biter?

Find deals on ebay
shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Miniature Horse Talk Forums

Help Support Miniature Horse Talk Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
LuvMyBabies

LuvMyBabies

Active Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2016
Messages
35
Reaction score
21
One little gelding I have, he is about 8 per my vet, occasionally, for no apparent reason will try to bite. He is a hefty, muscular little guy. I have had him about 6 months. The girl I got him from said he had many homes before he got to me. I personally think that is part of the problem. Once he would take a couple shots at someone, out the door he goes. I am not giving up that easy. If I take one in, they are home. If there is an issue I deal with it. So far if he tries a sneak attack I back him up and yell NO! Sternly. I give him a few minutes to process that and then go back and pet him like nothing happened. He is a pushy, bossy little guy and quickly took over my little herd as the boss. Has anyone had any similar experience? I'm looking for suggestions because I have never had one that would try to bite. I am confident that in time we will overcome this little problem. I'm just trying to figure out the best possible method to try. Thanks for your suggestions.
 
Oh, dear. My avatar has been with me for 15 years. He was a bossy nipper when I got him and I tried everything everyone suggested over the years. He has never given up. After a nip, he throws up his head with the whites of his eyes showing because he knows he was bad. But he never gives up. When I'm cleaning hooves, squatting in a vulnerable position, I keep reminding him "don't even think of it" and he knows exactly what I'm saying. So, I have no answer. All the horses I've had have tried to nip at least once. Dealt with sternly, that seems to be the end of it. But with him, nothing has worked. I am only his second owner. He lived with other stallion bachelors before I got him. No one abused him. No one messed with him. He's just who he is. Perhaps if he had been handled and trained as a colt he would have been different; who can say? But he is an over all good boy so I've come to terms with it--though it still annoys and I don't stop correcting him. He has never been a biter, but a nipper. (I've been bitten so I know the difference.)

Interestingly, I take him to schools and nursing homes. He has hob nobbed with handicapped adults. He never nips in those situations. He is docile and up-eared. I believe he knows they are helpless people and he responds to that.

I hate to say it, but you may be doomed. But don't give up trying.
 
Luv, He's obviously a "tester".....The loud "NO", and making him back is a good method, IMO. I'd add a foot stomp on the ground and perhaps ignoring him after for a little longer.

Marsha, You guy sounds like a character. I love how he just knows the difference about how to behave.....like a kid who knows the difference between having manners in public, versus at home.
 
Probably will never be able to totally trust him...but if you are lightning fast, grabbing and pinching his lip HARD at the moment he strikes sometimes makes them think twice about it.
 
I have a brazen little biter,too. I bought him knowing of his vice and it has been a challenge but he has improved alot. When I first got him I would handle him with a long lead line and when he bit he got sent quickly into a trot circle around me. He learned quickly that bite=work. Making myself "big" and having him back away also worked. When he would mouth the lead rope trying to get my hand/wrist I would take the fun away from him by pestering his lips with the end of the lead. Sort of trying to get him to bite the lead, if that makes sense, it took the "fun" out of biting the leadline if it was my idea and not his, lol.

He will never be one that is completely trustworthy, and that makes me sad for him. But the more I worked with him, the better he became about respecting my space.

Now that I made him sound like a real stinker, I'll ad that I love him to pieces and he does have some endearing qualities (when I was under the weather last month he was the perfect gentleman!)
 
Ladies, Ladies, Ladies, you are not taking this seriously. Biting and kicking should never be allowed, once it is, you have to nip it like other horses in the pack do. It will only get worst as he or she get away with it. If your only saying No and backing him up, its not going to do any good. Have you ever seen a horse in the herd, shake their head & push the biter back? NO, they either run away or go after him.

You have to be strong and the dominant one in his herd until the habit stops

Its natural for a horse to bite to show everyone around him that he's the boss, the sooner he learns that it is extremely uncomfortable & you bite back, then he will stop. I usually take a riding crop with me in my back pocket and give them every chance to bite, when he does, smack him on the butt or where ever you can reach before he runs away (not on the face or head) Yelling at him like he's on fire along with a few hard whacks and he will think twice the next time. After about 5 min. then I become friends & show there is no hard feelings. You have to be consistant until the habit stops. It might seem cruel but a law suit from someone that got bit is more dangerous
 
BeeBopMini said:
Ladies, Ladies, Ladies, you are not taking this seriously. Biting and kicking should never be allowed, once it is, you have to nip it like other horses in the pack do. It will only get worst as he or she get away with it. If your only saying No and backing him up, its not going to do any good. Have you ever seen a horse in the herd, shake their head & push the biter back? NO, they either run away or go after him.

You have to be strong and the dominant one in his herd until the habit stops

Its natural for a horse to bite to show everyone around him that he's the boss, the sooner he learns that it is extremely uncomfortable & you bite back, then he will stop. I usually take a riding crop with me in my back pocket and give them every chance to bite, when he does, smack him on the butt or where ever you can reach before he runs away (not on the face or head) Yelling at him like he's on fire along with a few hard whacks and he will think twice the next time. After about 5 min. then I become friends & show there is no hard feelings. You have to be consistant until the habit stops. It might seem cruel but a law suit from someone that got bit is more dangerous

Oh but I am taking it seriously, BeeBopMini. I realize the consequences of a horse bite, both legally and physically. The mini I posted about was a nasty biter. But if I smacked him he came right back at you twice as hard and the battle escalated. I learned quickly that he responded to work, and he saw work as a punishment. So he went to work. And he improved in leaps and bounds once I found the key that worked with him. They are all different. Yes I do yell at him and he does respond when I bark at him, but whacking him was futile. Just because my method is different does not mean I don't take his vice seriously.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I know my answer in the post above is in the quote box. Sorry if it looks confusing. I did my best to fix it but the interwebz is having none of it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Of course a nipping horse is unacceptable. But we are not all Cesar Milans of our horse herds. We must deal with our animals according to our temperaments. I am not a natural herd boss and my nipper must intuitively know it. I try to call his bluff, but it doesn't always work. We have to work within our natures and sometimes it isn't 100%. When he is socializing, I keep a close eye on him and do not leave him unattended.

So many horse owners who post here say they do not tolerate this or that behavior. They do not tolerate nippers or grass snatchers or pawers. I am in awe of them! Alas, I fall short.
 
I disagree with yelling and flapping and whacking and threatening death for a biting habit. I never resort to that and do you know how many biters I have--and have ever had--in my herd? None. I subtly present an elbow or a knuckle so the horse connects with that when he tries to bite--and usually they give it up. Some think it's a game but for one of those I watch and make sure the horse doesn't connect and they seem to lose interest and give it up. The most persistent one was a young Morgan gelding that kept it up for months. Once he got about 3 years old he gave it up too. I believe in teaching manners quietly, with none of the silliness of imitating a crabby boss mare.
 
I have always resorted to using one-word commands "no" or "quit" with much success. The thing is...you only have a few seconds to reprinand the behavior before the horse's mind is already on the next thing. I am personally not lightning- quick enough to react in an effective way that will not just make my horse spook or become head-shy. I have a few mares who are timid and sometimes have nipped at me while on crossties. A stern "No!" was all it took to get them to back away from me. If I had yelled or waved my arms at them, they definitely would have panicked or bolted, no doubt they wouldn't have bee easy to catch next time either. I had one colt who was a biter, he would lunge at people with his ears pinned back and he would bite hard. His owner used to chase him off, stomp the ground, even slap him to no avail. I started "lunging" him in a circle immediately after he bit, and it worked for a while as he didn't like work or people attention (maybe he always associated people with negative handling) once the work stopped working, we tried backing to no avail, as was the case with lip twitching and pinching and other commands. She was so fed up she was ready to euthanize the little buzzard. I got so mad at him one day...I put a grazing muzzle on him! I figured, he was not confident in trusting people and may never be able to be trusted but, he still needed groomed and trimmed and worked and I wasn't going to tolerate being bit so on the muzzle went. I did not care if he had to live in it, I was fed up! Once we took the option to bite off of the table it was like this colt's light bulb finally came on! He couldn't bite while tied or being groomed so as a result, there was no yelling or scary arm waving, we had no reason to make him back or circle and over time (about 3 mos) he learned to stop. I still do not turn my back on him, 5 years later, but he is tolerable, stands quiet and no longer lunges at people with his teeth out. Every horse is an individual case, but what works for one may not work for all. I agree, just accepting or tolerating bad behavior is not a good idea, but one must be sure not to create other problems in the process. Just my two cents. Good luck with your biter.
 
BeeBopMini said:
Ladies, Ladies, Ladies, you are not taking this seriously. Biting and kicking should never be allowed, once it is, you have to nip it like other horses in the pack do. It will only get worst as he or she get away with it. If your only saying No and backing him up, its not going to do any good. Have you ever seen a horse in the herd, shake their head & push the biter back? NO, they either run away or go after him.

You have to be strong and the dominant one in his herd until the habit stops

Its natural for a horse to bite to show everyone around him that he's the boss, the sooner he learns that it is extremely uncomfortable & you bite back, then he will stop. I usually take a riding crop with me in my back pocket and give them every chance to bite, when he does, smack him on the butt or where ever you can reach before he runs away (not on the face or head) Yelling at him like he's on fire along with a few hard whacks and he will think twice the next time. After about 5 min. then I become friends & show there is no hard feelings. You have to be consistant until the habit stops. It might seem cruel but a law suit from someone that got bit is more dangerous
Click to expand...
It may be "Natural" in a group of wild brumbys/mustangs that have never been handled and do this for pecking order. It may be "accepted" in a group of foals that are yet to be handled. It is however, Not acceptable or natural for a horse to bite when he/she has a headstall on. This is nothing other than "Bad manners".
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

1
I Need Help in Decision About Keeping My Mini
2
Replies
38
Views
4K
jakabasej7
J
Kelly
Bit/Training Suggestions
2
Replies
36
Views
3K
Kelly
Kelly
1
Suggestions For Giving My Mini Medication
2
Replies
21
Views
2K
1roadtoad
1
L
Weanling woes
Replies
8
Views
840
DB Minis
DB Minis
Standards Equine
I Did a Thing...
2 3 4
Replies
75
Views
4K
HersheyMint
HersheyMint

Latest posts

Back
Top