I am aout to buy this horse i love him to bits but he bites how can i get him out of this horrible habbit?

Question

he hasn't been treated very well in the past and he is 14 he also hates his girth being tied up

please help me

xoxo

Answer 1

Everytime he bites yank down on th leadrope or tries to bite

Answer 2

I was always taught that when a horse bites or goes to bit you, slap it on the muzzle.

Its not being crule or "beating" your horse. just a deterrent.

Biting is not acceptible behavour and can seriously injur people.

My friend had to have stitches because of a horse bite - nasty.

Answer 3

Hello,

Well, biting and being cinchey are both vices and he is 14 years old.  It would be lots of work and time and then MAYBE he may quit.

You need to be careful, you can get bit pretty bad, and if he is that naughty while being cinched.

THERE are lots of good horses out there...  If you are looking to buy this horse, I would keep on looking.  If you are riding this one at a stable, I would ask to ride another.

YOU don't want to end up hurt!  Especially if he has been neglected in the past.  There is a reason no one has kept him around.

Answer 4

The two problems you mention are pretty serious in a 14 year old horse.  Even with years of experience working with problem horses, one may have a hard time completely breaking this horse of these habits, which may have been years in developing.  I think it's a bad idea to give you advice on how to attempt to deal with it, since I don't think you should buy this horse.  I hope you'll reconsider and keep looking.

Answer 5

Avoid playing with his face a lot, especially around his mouth.  Don't feed him snacks from your hands...if you want to give him a treat, put it in his feed tub.  If you're doing something normal, like brushing him, putting his halter on, etc, and he tries to bite you, immediately give him a slap on the nose.  So many people think this is mean, but think about it.......consider how much you weigh, and how hard a little slap to his nose would be, and compare that to how much a horse weighs, and how hard a kick from another horse would be?  If a horse bit a horse in the pasture, the other one would kick it to tell the horse it wasn't allowed, right?  So do the same thing.  Establish yourself as the boss.  If he bites you, give a smack to the nose, then forgive him immediately too, and go right back to what you were doing.  After a week or two, I don't think you'll need to worry about the biting much.

As for the girth, put the saddle on, then barely tighten the girth.  Walk him around a little bit, then tighten it a little bit more.  Walk him forward, then tighten it all the way.  Do the girth a little at a time like that, and walk him in between so that he relaxes.  I do this with all 2year olds I start so they don't develop that problem, and it helps horses that are nervous about it too.

Good luck!

Answer 6

All these answers are good but none of them will work unless you can find out WHY he bites. If you know that, you will know whether to hit him for it or ignore it. If it is due to ill treatment and you treat him well, he will soon stop it. If it is due to a habit from pain, present or previous, remove the pain and he will stop it, although not right away. If it is because he has been spoiled and allowed to nip for food, give him a slap. But be careful, if you get it wrong and slap him when he is trying to tell you something hurts or is wrong for him in some way, you will lose his trust. Find out more about his background and why he does it, and think how YOU would feel if someone had treated you the way they treated him and you weren't able to talk.

Answer 7

ignore the people who say you can't handle a nippy horse... just put him in cross ties and be careful around his mouth ( i almost got bit in the boob the other day [OW!!])

don't fuss with his face and never hand feed him (we have a school horse at my barn who nips because people would always try to get him to l**k them and he got tired of it and started biting instead) so leave his face alone

he may be hard to break of the habbit, but try giving a sharp NO!! when ever he attempts a bite

Answer 8

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Answer 9

well, either u need to gain his trust if hes been aboused, or every time he gotes to bite just kinda give a light slap on his nose, not right on his nose

Answer 10

There is a simple solution.  But, you must do it correctly, or else it will not work.  Hold your hand up near your shoulder.  Watch him out of the corner of your eye, and right when he opens his mouth to bite (timing is important), whack his nose with your hand.  Whack him hard enough to get his attention in a hurry, but not so hard that he flips over backwards. DO NOT change what you are doing with the other hand, do not make noise, and do not look into his eyes and act mad.  You want him to think "Ouch! I just bit myself!".  The more you can convince the horse that he did it to himself, the quicker he will stop.  Three is a magic number here.  The first time, he will think he was hallucinating, the second time, he will start to think that something funny is going on, and the third time, he will be convinced that he is magically biting himself.  

CAUTION! If you act all mad, and yell at him, or look at him and slap him, it will turn into a game.  He will just take a quick nip, then see how long he can dance around avoiding you while you get madder and madder.  This approach also works for horses who pin their ears and bite other horses on the trails.  

Rule out medical problems for his girthing problem.  My mare would bite when she got cinched up, and we tried all sorts of different approaches before we found out that she had developed little scabs in her armpits that were causing her pain when the girth was tightened.  If his problem is not pain related, then I suggest tightening the girth 3 seperate times.  The first time, get it snug.  Then do some groundwork, and get it tight, then do a little more groundwork and tighten it all the way.  Tightening the girst all the way as soon as you put the saddle on is the same as giving someone a wedgie as soon as they get out of bed in the morning (that was not my analogy, someone else made it up).

Answer 11

my sister is a horse expert and she had a horse that did that and she would pet it then if it bit her she wouldn't give it a treat and if it didn't try to it got a treat and worked so may be you can try that. Best of luck to ya.:)

Answer 12

every time he tries to bite you, say in a firm voice "Quit". "no" sounds too much like "whoa", which might confuse him. If your vocal reprimand is not enough, use your thumbnail to poke him in the corner of his mouth(away from the teeth, be careful about this. if you're not comfortable with this, then just give him a light slap on the shoulder). He will begin to associate biting you with discomfort, and will hopefully stop. The same goes for when you are tightening the girth, a firm "quit", with a light(but firm) slap on the shoulder if he persists. Though you might want to make sure there is no medical reason behind his behavior while tightening the girth.You can also try rubbing the girth area while working with him on the ground, and see is he reacts to it the same way as he does to the girth. If he does, then try desensitizing the area by rubbing it with your hand everyday until he no longer reacts to it. good luck. and don't give up on him just because he has a few bad habits, no horse is perfect.

Answer 13

Well i have to totally agree with Jeff on here i think there's your best answer.

I dont tolerate biting, i have had older ones reach out and try for my breast, why the breast i will never know...In fact my vet and I where having this conversation a couple of hours ago while she was gelding my Paint.  Its dangerous she said she know several people who had to have reconstructive surgery because of being bitten there.

I give a quick pop, enough so they know.  If they are in their corral let say and they show teeth i back them off quickly.  I have never had to do this more than twice on a horse, it doesn't kill them or hurt them.

For the cinching problem, i would not cinch up all the way at first, do this gradually.  This problem comes up with some because prior owners cinched up to tight at first and this created a monster.  Just take your time, remember you are boss and stay safe.

Answer 14

I am dealing with a biting horse at the minute. When he goes to bite you , squirt lemon juice into the horses mouth, (they dont like the taste) and that way they will learn not to do it again, it doesnt hurt them, and they did it to themselves - so they dont become affraid of you. Hope this helps

Answer 15

For a horse this old biting has become a habit that will be hard to break.  I seriously doubt the bump method will have an effect that lasts more than a ride or two at most.  The little flick will do absolutely nothing, except perhaps to get your finger bitten if the horse can get to it.  Instead take a horseshoe nail and stick the pointed end out between your fingers about a quarter of an inch.  When he tries to bite, 'bite him back' with it.  Jab it in the end of his nose and do it hard.  If you draw a drop of blood fine.  He will probably never try and bite you again.

BTW I agree with the posters that say this is a poor choice of a horse for you.  You are not skilled enough to handle it.  If you are not firm enough from the get go you could be seriously hurt by this horse.  Nipping can and usually does turn into full fledged biting at some point if not dealt with.  

The nonsense about not hurting the horse is just that....NONSENSE!  This horse can easily turn into something mean and nasty enough that no one can handle it.  The way to prevent it is to be firm enough now to take care of the problem once and for all.  Since the horse is 14 the solution is not going to be light.  It is going to be severe.  If you are not willing to do a "WHAT EVER IT TAKES TO GET THE JOB DONE" done approach then leave this horse completely alone!

Answer 16

Biting is dangerous behavior.  If you are not somewhat advanced in horse handling, this is not a good choice for you.  Pass him by.  Loving a horse will not keep you safe.  If you just "have to have him", you should be able to hire professional help to assist you in not only helping the horse but offering you training also.  Just because a trainer is able to successfully resolve a situation with a horse, that doesn't mean the owner will be able to maintain it.  It takes experience, time and consistency to manage long-term behavioral problems.  Whatever you do remember, NEVER hit, slap, whack, jerk, snatch, tie your horse's head in some short position, or stab your horse with any sharp objects.  These things are ineffective but mostly they are WRONG and CRUEL.  Just the suggestion of such things is beyond ridiculous and indicates a serious lack of knowledge.   You need to be safe so again, without some reasonable professional help, just keep looking.  It is always better to have a horse that is  more nearly "matched" to the owner's level of experience.  Make the best decision for BOTH of you.  Good luck.

Answer 17

this isn't a cure but put a grazing muzzle on his haler so he cant bite you and when he goes to bite you can yel a sharp, strong NO....older horses tend to know by the sound of your voice...

yoy can give him a tap on the nose when he does too and say NO as well

Answer 18

Boy this one is hard to hear. I know you love this horse, but if you are not experienced, and it sounds like you aren't that much, in my opinion it would be a b ad purchase.

If he is 14, and nobody has been able to break him of this, chances are neither will you. Also, if he doesn't like to be cinched, I don't think he will ever become accustomed to it. Some horse just have bad habits, and the older they are, the harder they are to break. Before you make a definate decision, I would give this one some thought. Trust me, there are horses out there that do not have bad habits.

Answer 19

well nexttime take and apple with you and let him bite that and sometimes when horses bite you they dont mean it in a bad way,they are happy that your there or they want to play and sometimes to get you to notice them.

Answer 20

If u have dish or direct watch RFDTV it is a cannel that teaches people how to teach your horse to stop the bad habbits.

Answer 21

If you tack him up in cross ties, shorten the one most that is away from you. It worked with my guy, when he would turn to nip the cross tie was short enough that he could'nt get his head far enough around to nip! good luck

Answer 22

Simple. When he starts to show signs that he's about to bite, walk away with NO eye contact. Go back when he calms down, and pet him. (It is MUCH harder for new pets that are older, FYI)

Answer 23

There is a horse at my barn that does it also. He never bites his mommy because he knows he will be treated well!! To start buy your horse either a "chew" toy or a thing for him to l**k while he is in his stall. You need to be able to trust him and he NEEDS to be able to trust you so be nice 2 him but when he trys to bite giive him a little flick on the mouth and say no bite!!~Hope I Helped~ Good Luck!!!