Horse with a Nibbling Problem?

Question

Ok well I have a gelding who is 3 years old we got just like 2 weeks ago. He likes to bite, well more like Nibble ALOT. I know most people just smack there horses hard enough to let them know thats not ok. But he is VERY head shy and jumpy. Ive had head shy and jumpy horses before but he is awfull. Is there a effective way without hitting him that will teach him that its not ok to bite?

I dont want any rude comments i dont want your opinion if your going to be rude. I just want a answer to my question.

Answer 1

A horse that bites is difficult to correct but with time and repetition it can be corrected.  You are lucky for he is just nibbling and not biting.  Nibbling is easier to fix since you will not need as much force and can do it in a friendlier manner.

A lot of it has to do with his age most likely he is bored and likes to play with things to keep him occupied.  As long as he is just nibbling I would rub his muzzle when he starts and keep it up even after he has stopped and be a pest about it do not stop until he relaxes his head.  It will take time at first but he will eventually stop this due to the fact that you are bothering him and if you do this when he nibbles he will figure out that you can be worse and an added benefit is it will also help him with his head shyness.  It is very important not to hand feed him treats for he will nibble at everything to try and find the treat and eventually grow to biting.  If this fails to work I would bite him back by pinching his top lip like a twitch immediately. and hold for 3-4 sec.

Good Luck and keep up the good work!

Answer 2

I've never dealt with a horse that likes to nibble and is headshy at the same time but this might help.  Whenever he starts nibbling at you lift up your hand[no higher than his nose] and point at his mouth and say "NO".  Kind of like you would a dog.  I know training horses out of bad habits is nothing like training a dog out of one but there's still that possibility of this working.  I worked at a barn that had a 3 year old that was a nibbler and within a few weeks of pointing at his mouth and saying "NO" in a stern voice he stopped completely.

Sorry this wasn't too helpful but you never know :D

Good Luck!!!

Answer 3

When he starts to nibble, quickly avoid him and then immediatly play with his lips. Just rub and play with his nose/muzzle until it gets so obnoxious for him that he pulls away. Eventually, he will learn that when he does that, he's going to be messed with and he'll get the message after a while.

Also, avoid giving him treats from the hand as that will encourage nibbling/nipping.  

Answer 4

weellll i know it sounds mean, but find a sound he jumps at like a clap and after he jumps tell him "its ok" and do it a few more times untill he gets used to it thats what we did with a young jumpy gelding... about the nibbiling maybe you could just try the think i was telling you about before and i think since he is still young he probably still nibbles so give it time and if he gets less jumpy maybe you could try what you tried before with the firm NO

Good luck and have fun with your horsey friend

Answer 5

Maybe he was hit in the face for no re seaon before u got him.My horse was the same way he came from the kill pen and he would bite and was VERY hand shy.So i took a spray bottle of water and every time he would try to bite me i would spray him and he hated it so he stopped pretty fast!!