Horse behavior help?

Question

My horse is 5 and we've been working on getting him not so mouthy but he insists on chewing the reins when ever he gets the chance and Im getting sick of constantly taking them out of his mouth tell me if you've got any tricks up your sleeve

Answer 1

Try putting Bitter Apple on them. Get specifically the BIRD bitter apple as it is the strongest formula of the bitter apples and with such a big animal, you'll need it! The spray is safe for all animals and will not damage the leather. Don't be surprised if he shakes his head or foams at the mouth a bit after he tries it. They often drool a bit but it WILL stop the behavior and only costs a couple of bucks. You might have to reapply it every day until he stops trying it but I really think it will work.

I'd hate for my horse to chew the reins and I hope this works for you!

Answer 2

Get his teeth checked, and try bitter apple. Be patient.

Answer 3

Make sure you don't play with your horse's face a lot, like petting his nose, or feeding him treats by hand.  Always put treats in his feed tub.  This will help him not be so mouthy all the time.  Also, you can buy "bitter apple" at a petstore like Petco (used for dogs that chew stuff), our buy "wraplast" or "nochew/quitchew" for horses, and spray it heavily on the reins.  It tastes horrible, and will help him stop chewing.  If it tastes nasty enough, he will only try it once or twice, then he'll stop wanting to even think about putting those reins in his mouth.

Good luck!