Horse who bites?

Question

my old retired horse used to always just l**k my hands and i would let him but now he is bitting!!!1! i dunno whut to do, since he has always been really good, i'm afraid that it's maybe him just getting older (he's 30) and since he does it all the time now, even when i just go into his box to take off his rug, he tries to bite! i don't know how to train it out of him, and my dad told me to just elbow him when he does this, but i don't want to hit him or anything, is there a way to make this stop without being vilent to my horse?

Answer 1

Do you give him treats?? my horse started biting after some kids at the stable gave him treats... he doesn't do it anymore... but I did smack him a couple times for it.. he has to know that you mean business and that he needs to respect you!!

Answer 2

theres nothing you can do without hitting him sorry but thats the way you teach him not to bite is either pop him on the nose or the side and tell him no!

Answer 3

grab his nose, let go, and push his head away

Answer 4

If it is something he has just started I would be getting him checked out for soreness.

If he is not in pain and is just doing it to be a brat the elbow or another quick firm punishment (and then continue as if nothing had happened) will give him the message

Answer 5

When he comes towards you to bite, give him a loud "HEY" and take a swing at his nose. You don't have to to actually hit him, he will get the idea and move away.

But if he doesn't respond to just voice and a bit of threat, you can give him a smack on the neck. A smack, not a punch. Don't worry, it will probably hurt you more than it hurts him.

If you really can't stand the idea of hitting or even threatening him, I like the lemon juice idea A LOT.

Answer 6

Have you checked for ticks, fleas or any other sort of pest or bite? What about hives? Have you had him tested for allergies? My friend had a horse in the same situation and turned out it was because of painful hives from allergies. He was also getting older, no changes in his everyday life or anything. He just began biting alot and so we monitored him daily for a long time and discovered some sort of hives where his harness went on. A vet checked him out, put him on allergy medicine and then he was back to the same old horse!

Answer 7

everytime he comes at you smack him on his neck. Trust me...it wont hurt him... it will probably hurt your hand more than it hurts him but it will show him that you dont like him doing that and you will stand up to  him...... and thats how a horse in a herd will act too.... But NEVER smack a horse in the face......

Answer 8

I sort of feel bad whacking a senior citizen, but if you don't want him biting, an elbow or punch to the nose is about all that will fix it.  And no, it won't make him headshy.  You don't have to beat him, just a quick pop and that's it.  He'll get the idea!

ETA: Ok I'm guessing the people who gave me the thumbs down are sissy babies who say "waaahhh never hit da horsey!"

Sorry people but that horse is going to understand exactly why he's getting a pop in the nose.  IT WILL NOT HURT HIM AND WILL NOT MAKE HIM HEAD SHY.  Have you ever watched horses in the field? They will hold their teeth together and "punch" the other horse, yes, in the nose...gosh, sort of like a clenched fist or and elbow, no?

Answer 9

I disagree entirley on smacking him on the neck or muzzle, I would only smack them if they are being bratty, but at his age, this is habit, here is a tried and true method we use on out stallions, grab one of those little lemon juice things you can get at the grocery store, if he opens his mouth up to bite at you, squirt it right in his mouth, it his him disciplining himself, not you, so he wont feel that its a challenge, I have a 16.2 hand big Thoroughbred stallion who when I take his blankets on out off, turns and bites, and when being tacked he strikes and bites, if you slap at him he will bite your hand or go up at you, and needless to say the lemon juice turned him off from biting, and he is 18 yrs old so this was a long ingrained habit from track to show ring, good luck, don't forget, you can reprimand and "slap" your horse without hurting him just make sure its for the right reasons with the right timing and its the type of horse u can do that to, some become violent, some become scared, just depends on the horse. :)

Answer 10

When he bites at you just start jiggling back and forth what ever hes biting on and he'll soon learn that every time he bites at something that it moves and he cant get to it ,so their is no point in tryin to bite you if he cant. Horses cant put anything that moves in there mouth. If you keep hitting him every time  it then just becomes a game to the horse, and you cant hurt a horse unless you can hit as hard as another horse can kick.

Answer 11

you are going to have to hit/smack him or bite im back.

The bite maybe be strong enough to stop him out of the habit there and then.

You must do it dont worry it wont hurt he is a 1000 pound animal to him it wot hurt as much as if you just just slapped a human. It is more a startle is what gets them.

Answer 12

this is not violent what im about to say.

take a cork and a needle. push the end of the needle that you thread the thread through and push it into the cork.

now dont freak out!!!

take the other end of the needle, the pointy end, and rub it on a piece of wood. make it dull.

next time he does that poke him with it on the muzzle. notice that i said poke not prick.

it doesnt hurt him but it warns him not to bite.

if you dont like that idea, they make a special type of powder you can put in his feed. its called: grass mineral. its by the brand progressive nutrition.

another thing is, have his wolf teeth checked. such a pain could cause him to bite.

Answer 13

Just because he's old doesn't mean he gets to be a crotchety old man!  

This is a lack of respect/agression issue.  You can not get rid of agression with more agression (i.e., slapping, punching, hitting, etc.), you will run the risk of creating more agression and leading to a showdown where the horse has to prove he's bigger/stronger than you.

All you need to is let him know that you are the boss and you are not going to tolerate biting from him.  Number one, anticipate his bite and prevent him from doing it.  Put on a halter with a leadline -- when he crowds you and puts his face near you or tries to bite, pull his head away. Put on a drop noseband on so he can't bite.  If he invades your space face him and back him up, make him yeild to you.  Be frim and have the attitude of "Listen, mister, this has got to stop -- NOW."

You don't need to be overly rough and haul him around, just be firm and prepared to outsmart him.

Good luck!

Answer 14

Here is a great article on biting. It helped me a lot!!

http://www.infohorse.com/hilton.asp