STOCKYARD
HORSE  DISCUSSION FORUMS

Sherri69

Nitro will not attempt to bite me if I have a dressage whip they bite back harder and many more times than he get's me. But give him the chance and he will sneak one in

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sil

I generally just avoid any 'mouth play' including patting the face, playing with the lips, feeding treats.

Instead I pat the neck and he gets his treats in his dinner. I leave the whole mouth area alone.

If he goes near my hands he gets growled at, even before the lips touch my skin. By doing the above, he has no reason to come to my hands like that, so the only reason is that he wants to be mouthy or nippy. This is more a prevention than a punishment but it works well for me.

If he persists he gets his ass handed to him on a plate, then we continue on as normal. Don't go with light reprimands like smacking on the nose, I guarantee he will make it into a game, and you will find he will learn quickly he can nip, move his face and get out of being smacked.

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saltriver

catch it before it happens and change his thought pattern to something else.

smacking your horse after the nip is not going to acheive anything .

a horse will tell you before he is going to bite or nip - you just have to read their expression - so i guess you head it of before it happens.

we use a flag if the horse is renown for really biting, which we have had been sent some humdingers.............all human created.

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wildsteel

my sisters colt is getting a bit nippy

but im not sure if its nippy or the submissive thing

whenever he is around older horses he moves his mouth like a fish and i was told that that was a sign of submission?

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smash

i know this will sound nuts to some, but it works treat.
you are standing there, with a head collar on.
when they go to nip, RUN to the end of the lead, and then wiggle the lead rope (quiet firmly), as soon as he sort of goes, "what the"
STOP, walk quietly back to his side and stand there (say nothing, and dont touch him)
you will need to repeat this about 4 to 5 times.
you will then notice he will stand next to you, and not EVEN TRY TO NIP YOU.
why???
because, he is nipping you to tell you to get out of his space, and you go "yep no worries, but aint it damn uncomfortable when i do", he will go "yes it is, it is much nicer when you are standing close to me"
nipping stops, too easy really.
cheers

banjo

i to have a 8 month old colt and he nipps like there is no tomorrow. you can smack, pinch,swing a rope and he stands there as if to say "ouch!!!! but i'm not moving"

friends of mine use a spray bottle with vinegar in it, they keep it by there side and when they go to bite they spray them and the horse does'nt think that it comes from the human and stops....i'm trying it soon....

cheers

Arnie

There's a few things wrong with that.
When a horse bites you need to disaplin (sp) it right away. By the time you reach for the spray bottle your horse would of forgotten about it and wonder why its being sprayed at. This can also be turned into a game.
Or it could make the horse scared of spray bottles and if you ever need to spray the horse with something (fly spray / wound management etc) then they may be too frightened to allow you.

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megz86

i slapped my Shettie colt for nipping and now even tho hes been gelded he still bites me... Hes on lease with a 4 and 5 yr old girl and they have never had a problem and neither has my o/h or anyone else that handles him... Little turd thinks its a great game! Now i just stuff his mouth with the leadrope and hope he eventually gets over it...

When he gets back from being on lease we will be doing some serious
"Im the leader, not you" exercises

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Kintara

With a colt that's not gotten really bad, thus my own when they come into that nippy stage. I tend to just pinch their nostrils if they are trying to lip my hands. If they are coming in my space I tend to put my hands up, if they don't respect that they will try and nip a little. In a halter you ask them to move just with my hand and they will try and nip at my hand, I just pinch them where ever I can reach. No energy, still handling them quietly etc.. but if their muzzle comes in contact with my hand I pinch! I do it with baby foals too, just not very hard and it makes them realise it's not acceptable behaviour.

With a colt that's gotten a bit more dangerous I'd have a lot more out of my space lessons!

I really don't have any real problems with nippy colts, it's more others that come to me a bit older.
Cheers

Danni

Megzee

I just started grabbing my colts nose and giving it a little twist and he soon learnt i am not the person he should be biting or nipping or anything! and that way im not tempted to slap his face so hes not head shy. But with my boy it's just his age not him being nasty. Maybe yours will grow out of it like my bloke hopefully will!