Mouthy/ Clingy Horse?

Question

My horse is the type that's always in your face, always wanting to see what your doing. He takes it a little to far sometimes when you don't pay attention to him he mouthes you, not usually a bite.

If he does make contact with teeth i get mad at him. But never ever hit him.. how do i get him to stop putting his mouth all over me

He is a 10 year old Thoroughbred..

Another thing, i had been gone for 4 days, I spend about an hour a day with my horse, but while i was gone nobody is around. I got back and he was soo antsy about everything .. and wouldnt stand still in the cross ties. SO not like him.. so i took him out on a lunge line and he started bucking and causing alot of trouble. Usually hes a very lazy horse that is quite content on walking and standing still all the time. what could have caused him to act this way ..

Answer 1

yo i dont get no **** from my horse i just tell that horse DONT GET IN MY FACE but usually he is okay.  he doesnt do much besides move his mouth next to my face so i dont think it is a big problem so you can never be too sure.

Answer 2

Your horse is showing you no respect. You should never let a horse invade your space unless invited. When he does this push him away and say a firm no. You don't have to hit him. If pushing him away doesn't work, act like you want to kill him for 3 seconds. Throw up your arms and yell or growl at him. Look menacing and aggressive. For just about 3 seconds. As soon as he backs off go back to normal.

It sound like your horse had a lot of pent up energy,

Answer 3

A 10 year old Thoroughbred is way too big and strong for you to be letting him do 'cute things' like that. Keep him off you. He has no respect for you now. Like the others said, push him off when he gets too close. When my horse needs a brush-up in manners I take her into the roundpen and start Tindelling her. The round pen doesn't have corners for her to get 'stuck' in or swing her butt toward me in.  She has to eventually pay attention to me. It's also safe for you to push your horse with body language (keep a lunge whip or leadrope hanging for enforcement). Horses push with body language way before they drive with force. "pin your ears' (think fierce, determine thoughts and let your body and face reflect them) when you push him away. Ad a growl or low, firm 'Get off me!" as you drive him off you.

Don't ever let the horse bring his face up to yours without you guiding it - that's a good way to get a bloody nose or your face chomped off. Horses can't see where their noses are, so he could hit you with his head by accident. If he's 'chewing' at the same time, he could even nip you. Horses putting their heads over their handler/companion are exhibiting dominant behavior. YOU are the boss. stand as tall as you can and let him run into your hand as he swings his face over you. Say "Get off me!" in a low firm voice and push him off you.

You seem to spend a lot of time with him when you can. Try laying your arm over his neck and back while you're relaxing. It's the same as a horse putting their head over another's back. "I'm dominant to you." in a quiet way. Don't push this bit, just let it happen. You might even add a little rub or scratching with your fingers, but don't let him groom on you or step into you. If he steps into you, stop scratching/rubbing and push him away. If he doesn't move away, it's okay to thump him in the side with either your knee or your fist. Don't beat the snot out of him, just be an alpha horse showing a subordinate that their behavior is wrong.  He may squeal or shy away. Don't follow him. He'll come back, probably in the attitude of "I'm sorry boss, I didn't mean it. It just felt so good!" .Horses need to know where they are in the herd. You are herd boss. Once he learns this, he'll be a MUCH happier horse, and more confident in himself. If he gets pushy with his attention-wanting, 'pin your ears' and push him off, then go back to whatever you were doing. Don't ever step away from him when he pushes, because that's a retreat, and he'll take that as saying he's higher on the ranking ladder than you.

You say the personal space thing isn't dangerous... I have to disagree - horses are unpredictable because they don't think like us. He could be quietly standing in your space one day, mouthing and leaning on you, and something spooks him that you can't see because he's standing between you and it... his instinct will be to go forward, or worse spin away from it. And you will be in his flight path. Horses are prey animals. He's going to protect Number 1 in case of emergencies.

Answer 4

I agree with the others on the issue of personal space.  You can't have it both ways.  I know you like the cuddly intimacy of his "kisses", but he isn't the kind of animal that you should allow to do that.  He has to either respect you and your space entirely, all of the time, or be allowed to walk all over you....there is no in between.  His behavior is already annoying you, and it could get worse.  And he may also be a danger to others besides you.

It is never a good idea to allow a horse to act this way.

Answer 5

Your horse isn't respecting your space. That could get you hurt, even if he's doing it to be friendly. When he comes up on you like that, if you don't want to pop him, push him away. If he keeps it up, back him up a few steps, then back off of him to where you're comfortable. Every time he comes into you, back him off. Every time. Stomp your foot at him when he starts toward you.

Sounds like he may have been getting back at you for abandoning him, or could be he got a little time on his own and decided to try to keep more of it for himself. Don't let him bully you. Back him when he misbehaves, correct him immediately when he invades your space. If he doesn't get the message, it may be time to do some groundwork with him and establish dominance.

Is he on his own or are there other horses with him? He might need some company to ease him up a bit when you can't be there. I had a friend with a TB that went nuts if he got left in a stall when the other horses went out of the barn. I took him out and a little firm handling got him settled. He also was bad about moving up into your space. I worked with him about 30 minutes and had him following me around with no lead, starting & stopping when I did. Try some of that kind of groundwork. I believe firmly that more and better groundwork makes for a better behaved horse.

Edit:

The personal space thing IS dangerous. Even when you feel the horse is not doing it maliciously. They are very large, very powerful animals, and very often hurt people that don't respect that. Again, your horse is displaying dominant behavior toward you, several of us agree that is the case. There's no reason to take a chance of being hurt, and this type of behavior can and usually does escalate. Horses are not people, and they don't think the same way. Behavior that could be viewed as cute is very often the start of dominant / aggressive behavior and is easier stopped early.

Answer 6

he is way too old to be doing that you must smack him in the mouth the second he mouths it may be painful for you but you are makeing it more painful for him by letting him get away with bad habits!