How do you stop a biting horse??

Question

i am training a mustang that was once wild and now i am damastacatin her.......and she bites...and it hurts if she gets you...she is the dominant one if that helps at all............

Answer 1

bite it back

Answer 2

since she is the dominant 1 she thinks she is the boss and personally I'm pretty rough on my horses so what i do is just hit their nose a little hard if they do it again i do it harder and if he does it again i slap him on his neck hard and if he does it again i will get something and poke them with it or i use a lunging whip most so i hit them with it

Answer 3

Here are some suggestions-

*tap her gently on the nose (not hard but let her know what she is doing wrong)

*spray apple juice in her mouth to keep her distracted and reward her when she doesnt bite.

* The simplest way would be just to spend some time with her and let her get to know you. Work on ground manners and groom her alot. Let her know that their is nothing for her to bite about.

Answer 4

She is probably pushy as well. She doesnt respect your space (she still considers it hers). If she tries to bite, I would smack her chest or neck and tell her very firmly 'No!'. If she tries to get a finger or something while leading (I had one do it today) I would give her a little smack on the nose and tell her 'No!' The smacks should be loud to get their attention. Not hard. If she tried to bite the head mare in the wild she would get her a** beat soundly. By the way YOU need to be dominant at all times not her.

Answer 5

This is a dominance issue, its not any different than a horse that invades your space or blows past you when you're leading. The horse is doing to you what she would do to another horse in the herd, seeing what she can get away with to see who is "alpha"

But I don't think you need to walk with a chain or open a "can of whoopass". Instead, I would focus on leading. Put a halter and lead rope around and simply lead her around with the goal of establishing leadership, as described here:

http://www.train-horses.com/leadingyourh...

http://www.train-horses.com/horseharmony...

Besides leading, another good place to start is the hook-on exercise (also called "join up"). That is a good round pen exercise that helps establish you as the leader.  You can also help establish leadership by moving the forehand and hindquarter of the horse around in a specific way designed to get the horse to focus her attention on you. This video illustrates these exercises a little bit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmu0pu4I-...

Cheers,

David

http://gentlenaturalhorseman.blogspot.co...

Answer 6

the elbow trick is a good one, i had a horse that would try and bite when i put the saddle on her, and all i did was stick my elbow right in her path and the next time she swung her around, she got a bit of a nasty shock., although when you're leading it's hard to elbow block, so you could try flicking her nose when she goes to bite, or something that worked for me as well, is to yank down on your lead rope when she moves her head like she's going to bite.  yank it hard and say "No!" or if you have a noise you prefer, that's fine too.

don't loop the lead rope around your hand (you prob. already know this but...) and be prepared for her to pull her head up, let her do it and back a way a little, but when she goes to bite, yank that lead rope hard and bring the nose band of her halter down on that nose.

just a couple things that work for me, good luck!

Answer 7

If I do not have a nail I double up my fist and punch them in the nose HARD.  Do not listen to the nonsense about do it gently so it won't hurt.  It should hurt a little.  

If I have a nail (I really like horseshoe nails for this) I stick the point out between my fingers a quarter inch, let them try and bite and then jab them hard.  If I draw a drop of blood fine, but they won't try biting me again.

Answer 8

i slap mine on the nose lightly but you may have to get forceful of use a chain when you walk her. show her you are dominant.

Answer 9

Mustangs don't hand their trust or their obedience over easily.

It really depends on your relationship with her.  It also depends why she is biting.  Some do it out of dominance other just being ornery.

The more you take command and challenge her mind and body -- the less nipping and biting she will do.  You must be confident and firm in your boundaries you set for her.

Try when you are around her head and shoulder to be touching her in some way.  It helps.  If your hand is on her face or neck you can better feel when she is going to try and bite.  Then you can talk to her about it before she actually does the action.  If she chooses to stop -- praise her do something she likes for a moment or two.

It will take time.  The firmer you are with your boundaries and the more you challenge her --  she will learn to respect you.  Respect is the key to a successful relationship.

EDIT:  I agree with David M.

Answer 10

Make sure you never hand feed her. Always give treats in her bucket.

Answer 11

A lot of these things work, but i would start with the smallest and turn up the volume if she doesn't respond. Start with a sharp sound as soon as she starts to reach, and be prepared to go as far as cleaning her clock.  No need to hit a finishing nail with a sledgehammer, use what will work.

Answer 12

There are some very tried and true methods of stopping this behavior without a nail or hitting or any such techniques.   One is an elbow block that the horse runs into.  Your timing teaches the horse that any movement in your direction results in the horses head or jaw running into your elbow.  Most horses respond to this quickly.   I have two BLM mustangs.  One did not improve the annoying nipping behavior after the elbow block.  The next step is disengagemet.  Move the hip over, move the shoulder over, move the animal around, back the animal up.   This is done with a 12' lead rope and halter. Soon everytime the horse even c***s its head or thinks about biting, it has to move its feet away.  This is what momma mare would do to any pushy underling.   It works because you are giving the horse the opportunity to think things over.  If I nip, I have to move my feet.  Soon the energy spent is not worth it.  Instead of punishment and pain, the horse learns the correct behavior without a war.  This should be the essence of all horse training anyway.

There are very good online resources free for you to research for working with mustangs.  One is a weekly newsletter with lots of questions like yours with answers from serious mustang people and the other an entire website with a mustang training guide online.  If you are interested in really learning how to handle this horse, contact me via email and I will direct you to the sites.

Answer 13

Shoot it with an elephant tranquilizer.

Answer 14

OPEN UP A CAN OF WHOOPASS

Answer 15

A sound punch and a yelled No works. Go for the neck so she doesn't end up head shy but if the neck isn't working, hit her in the nose. Yes I mean as hard as you can! It should hurt! And if you yell that will tell her she is out of line as well. If you don't do this stuff now she will only get worse!

Good Luck and be firm!

PS, Quick punishment and quick praise has always worked for me when dealing with the wild ones. :)