I ride a pony named Roudy, and he bites like CRAZY! 
Does any one have an idea or method to train him out of it? PLEASE help!!!!!!!
Does any one have an idea or method to train him out of it? PLEASE help!!!!!!!
How can I train a pony not to bite???!!!
- Thread starter roudy_ma_man767
- Start date
im a firm believer in reward when hes good (no neccessarily food...maybe just a pat) and disapprove when bold. push his head away when he bites , or a tap on the nose (not a smack!). horses in the wild will be bitten or kicked at if they annoy other others so its merely a dommance thing. you just gotta show him your boss...maybe try some parelli games - i heard there good for bonding yet letting horses know they have to respect you
true.
many people focus too much on how to stop the behaviour, when taking away whatever caused it in the first place will do so without confrontation, confusment or days - even weeks - of frustration and training.
many people focus too much on how to stop the behaviour, when taking away whatever caused it in the first place will do so without confrontation, confusment or days - even weeks - of frustration and training.
S
showjumper-zoe
Guest
Maybe there is a reason why he bites and remove the cause.
Sometimes ignoring works.
Or if that dosn't pulling one of his whiskers if he tries as it gives him a little shock so he will know if he bites that happens. And it is nicer that smacking him. (but don't yank his whiskers out lol just so he learns it's unplesant feeling.) But I wouldn't do it if he's the kind of horse that will be really upset by it just when I did my BHS course this was one method as it's more humane than hitting and yelling.
Sometimes ignoring works.
Or if that dosn't pulling one of his whiskers if he tries as it gives him a little shock so he will know if he bites that happens. And it is nicer that smacking him. (but don't yank his whiskers out lol just so he learns it's unplesant feeling.) But I wouldn't do it if he's the kind of horse that will be really upset by it just when I did my BHS course this was one method as it's more humane than hitting and yelling.
S
showjumper-zoe
Guest
Also don't feed him treats from your hands feen him them from a bucket as some horses bite as they are looking for food.
Maybe there is a reason why he bites and remove the cause.
Sometimes ignoring works.
Also don't feed him treats from your hands feen him them from a bucket as some horses bite as they are looking for food.
QUOTE]
Ditto Zoe
It's funny (well, not really but you know what i mean
biting = reward (in this case, attention usually, etc)
... also, horses who do not get enough forage trend to chew and bite things.
what kind of bites are they? how does he do it - sly snaps when your back turns, nibbling, when you do the girth up/put the saddle on/after you given him a treat ... what do his eyes tell you? are they fearful? do they have a far-away expression? are they slightly narrowed in annoyance?
It does depend on why he is doing it but a couple of tactics I use when mine get nippy (mind you they know not to full on bite):
Over-react, if they nip shout "argh" and jump and flap, this actually works on my mini shetland as he has been abused in the past and i've needed to think of inventive ways to stop certain behaviours without using physical contact! They don't tend to like that...
Cassie is very gobby but you can shout until the cows come home (i've seen people try), the best thing to do with her is rub her muzzle until it's annoying...she gets gobby and in my face, she gets a rigorous muzzle rubbing. It's not painful, just not what she wants. She soon gives up.
My friend bites her pony's ear when he bites her, but that's not something I would do, personally.
With Phantom a simple "oi!" does the trick...the main thing is be consistent, react the same every time, eg don't allow nipping one minute and punish it the next, horses need to know that the boundaries are there and that you know the boundaries, a bit like children.
Over-react, if they nip shout "argh" and jump and flap, this actually works on my mini shetland as he has been abused in the past and i've needed to think of inventive ways to stop certain behaviours without using physical contact! They don't tend to like that...
Cassie is very gobby but you can shout until the cows come home (i've seen people try
), the best thing to do with her is rub her muzzle until it's annoying...she gets gobby and in my face, she gets a rigorous muzzle rubbing. It's not painful, just not what she wants. She soon gives up.My friend bites her pony's ear when he bites her, but that's not something I would do, personally.
With Phantom a simple "oi!" does the trick...the main thing is be consistent, react the same every time, eg don't allow nipping one minute and punish it the next, horses need to know that the boundaries are there and that you know the boundaries, a bit like children.
we have just bought a yearling colt that bites and not just colty biting tried the whisker thing-nothing he just bit harder i do know he has been smacked round face so that really hasnt helped!! a show friend said try having like a squirty bottle or water pistol and when he goes to bit just squirt his mouth bit, so far seems to work
i do know he has been smacked round face so that really hasnt helped!! a show friend said try having like a squirty bottle or water pistol and when he goes to bit just squirt his mouth bit, so far seems to workthe most effective 2 ways i have found (lol, if one doesn't work for a while wthen the other should!) is completely ignoring the horse (ONLY ONCE DECLARED PAIN-FREE) and then utterly surprising him by going silently bonkers on the spot: imagine a mega foot stamping, body jiggling tantrum, only without the shouting!
even if he is pain-free, horses jave excellent memories and fear of pain from a past experience (maybe even in aprevious home) often takes months and months of patient and gentle handling in that specific area before he can feel that he trusts you not to hurt him.
is the horse a riding school pony, or ridden at all by others? if another rider is rough with saddling/girthing up and is insensitive to the horse's sensitivity, then this only needs to happen once for the horse to develop a fear of it happeniong again. i dopn't know about anyone else, but in every single riding school i have ever been to/seen, this has been quite a common case, especially when novices are involved who may not be aware of what they are doing.
even if he is pain-free, horses jave excellent memories and fear of pain from a past experience (maybe even in aprevious home) often takes months and months of patient and gentle handling in that specific area before he can feel that he trusts you not to hurt him.
is the horse a riding school pony, or ridden at all by others? if another rider is rough with saddling/girthing up and is insensitive to the horse's sensitivity, then this only needs to happen once for the horse to develop a fear of it happeniong again. i dopn't know about anyone else, but in every single riding school i have ever been to/seen, this has been quite a common case, especially when novices are involved who may not be aware of what they are doing.
Siogfinsceal
nature abhors normality
someone suggested to me before to hold a dandy brush on your hand when you are in stable with him. If he goes to bite, simply mov ethe dandy brush to the area he is aiming for. He will shove his muzzle into the bristle this wont hurt but it wont feel nice either! if you do thi seach time he will learn its no fun.
But I also agree with the others about seeing why he bites and dealing with the cause - is he bored? is it to get treats? is it looking for attention?
But I also agree with the others about seeing why he bites and dealing with the cause - is he bored? is it to get treats? is it looking for attention?
Hi.. Im new the the board.. Thought I would give you a bit of background of my experiences with my biter.. Not much point to it but hey ho would be nice to let off some of my own Steam lol
I own a 13'3 Chesnut Cob called Dylan (Who I have owned since he was an 11 month old colt)
When I brought him he nipped and would bite all the time.. Now I would say that although majority of the time it was a constant nibble (I,e Anything in site would be sucked.. chewed etc) But there are occasions when he would ears pinned back lunge at you! I was told ( By pretty much every horse person I knew! ) that he would calm down once gelded... one would assume gradually the behaviour would improve as the hormones decrease...
2 Years on... I still have the same problem
I tried EVERYTHING... Water spray, Dandy Brush.. Pushing his head, Shouting.. But he enjoyed the battle ! I even had a NH trainer out who told me the only way to cure it would be to slap him firmly on the snout till he got the message.. He did for a short while (well the hour she was there!) but It left me feeling terribly guilty and just couldn't bring myself to be consistent with her method... Parrelli Games were impossible... He would constantly grab and bite and push you around etc...
I mean..not only did we have the the biting issue we had alot of groundwork issues aswell!
So In Feb this year he went away for 5 weeks to a Western Trainer as a last ditch attempt to try and sort this out! (Broke my heart when he went)
But Good news in he came back alot more handable (baring in mind it got to the point I could hardly lead him.. he was rearing up etc and was kicking out so badly I was prob inches away from getting brain damaged !
After much discussions we decided that we should back him.. So he could channel his energy into that.. Now I wanted to wait till he was four.. But I figured a year of light work wouldn't harm him to much.. I mean he must have been putting more pressure on his joints whilst he was rearing , bucking and throwing me around ! Than going on slow hacks…
Now that’s going well.. Hes improving daily… although still a bugger.. that’s cheeky ponys for you !
BUT
HE STILL BITES… !!!!
Now im at a loss.. People have now suggested (Because of his other behaviour) hes a rig (constanly mounting mares too! )
So im at a loss of what to do… I do like the ignoring techniquie.. Hes such a grabber… I can almost here him saying in his mind "mum im here!!! Im bored" when hes doing it.. Esp when you come to the stable for example after hers been in over night!
But the looks you get off people when you ignore it… Its as if " OMG YOUR LETTING HIM GET AWAY WITH THAT!!) I rememeber when I used to pick his feet out.. As he enjoys the battle, if he tried to kick out id hold on and stay silent. Releasing pressure when he fought against me rather than tighening.. This worked.. If I screamed and shouted I wouldn't get anything done as it would become a full blown flight! But again the looks on some peoples faces!!
I know its an attention thing (This is the pony that gets his leg trapped in his leadrope when hes tied up to gain attention!! He will stand there and do it constant the whole time hes tied up because he knows I come and Detangle for safety purposes!)
Now anyone else had this trouble… I mean Despite all of the above ! I Love him to bits and would never part with him.. (not that anyone would be crazy enough to want him !)
But would make our lives soooo much easier if we could rectify this..
Now well done for reaching the end (if you did!) and would anyone be kind enough to give me some ideas on how I could possibly Sort this… ???
Thanking you
I own a 13'3 Chesnut Cob called Dylan (Who I have owned since he was an 11 month old colt)
When I brought him he nipped and would bite all the time.. Now I would say that although majority of the time it was a constant nibble (I,e Anything in site would be sucked.. chewed etc) But there are occasions when he would ears pinned back lunge at you! I was told ( By pretty much every horse person I knew! ) that he would calm down once gelded... one would assume gradually the behaviour would improve as the hormones decrease...
2 Years on... I still have the same problem
I tried EVERYTHING... Water spray, Dandy Brush.. Pushing his head, Shouting.. But he enjoyed the battle ! I even had a NH trainer out who told me the only way to cure it would be to slap him firmly on the snout till he got the message.. He did for a short while (well the hour she was there!) but It left me feeling terribly guilty and just couldn't bring myself to be consistent with her method... Parrelli Games were impossible... He would constantly grab and bite and push you around etc...
I mean..not only did we have the the biting issue we had alot of groundwork issues aswell!
So In Feb this year he went away for 5 weeks to a Western Trainer as a last ditch attempt to try and sort this out! (Broke my heart when he went
)But Good news in he came back alot more handable (baring in mind it got to the point I could hardly lead him.. he was rearing up etc and was kicking out so badly I was prob inches away from getting brain damaged !
After much discussions we decided that we should back him.. So he could channel his energy into that.. Now I wanted to wait till he was four.. But I figured a year of light work wouldn't harm him to much.. I mean he must have been putting more pressure on his joints whilst he was rearing , bucking and throwing me around ! Than going on slow hacks…
Now that’s going well.. Hes improving daily… although still a bugger.. that’s cheeky ponys for you !
BUT
HE STILL BITES… !!!!
Now im at a loss.. People have now suggested (Because of his other behaviour) hes a rig (constanly mounting mares too! )
So im at a loss of what to do… I do like the ignoring techniquie.. Hes such a grabber… I can almost here him saying in his mind "mum im here!!! Im bored" when hes doing it.. Esp when you come to the stable for example after hers been in over night!
But the looks you get off people when you ignore it
… Its as if " OMG YOUR LETTING HIM GET AWAY WITH THAT!!) I rememeber when I used to pick his feet out.. As he enjoys the battle, if he tried to kick out id hold on and stay silent. Releasing pressure when he fought against me rather than tighening.. This worked.. If I screamed and shouted I wouldn't get anything done as it would become a full blown flight! But again the looks on some peoples faces!!I know its an attention thing (This is the pony that gets his leg trapped in his leadrope when hes tied up to gain attention!! He will stand there and do it constant the whole time hes tied up because he knows I come and Detangle for safety purposes!)
Now anyone else had this trouble… I mean Despite all of the above
! I Love him to bits and would never part with him.. (not that anyone would be crazy enough to want him !) But would make our lives soooo much easier if we could rectify this..
Now well done for reaching the end (if you did!) and would anyone be kind enough to give me some ideas on how I could possibly Sort this… ???
Thanking you
My pony bit from when I first got him, he had been abused before I bought him and was nervous at certain things. He was not happy spending time with humans and was scared of men (he never tried to bite men though!)
The first time he bit me I was walking past him to get scissors which were kept next to the whips and he picked me up by the arm taking me off my feet! I always think it was because he thought that I was going for a whip.
After that the biting started to get really bad, if you walked past his stable he would lunge at you and bite you, if you were leaning on the gate in the field he would run up and bite you he once went through a polo neck, shirt, and jumper and took a chunk out of my throat! I have many scars fron this biting and people kept telling me to sell him or get him put down!
This continued for 4 years until we moved yards and for a while he was in a field on his own he was really unhappy and for the first time ever he seemed to enjoy having human company I would sit with him in the stable for hours grooming and playing with him, (prior to this he would kick out or bite you if you spent much time with him) It was the first time that he really allowed people to get close to him and to play with him. Ever since then he has never returned to the really bad biting occasionally he has snaked his head like a stallion threatening to bite but has never bitten again.
I don't know for sure why Dan stopped biting if it was due to being apart from the other horses gave him a chance to get close to humans without being scared, when Dan was biting there was no warning so you couldn't react in time there was no point in hitting him because it just made him more scared. However those few months when he was on his own allowed me to see what he was like behind the teeth and feet and how vunerable he really was, they have to be some of the best days of my life sitting in a stable holding a feed bucket.
Sorry a bit long winded way of saying don't write them off too quickly sometimes it can take take a long time and lots of patience.
The first time he bit me I was walking past him to get scissors which were kept next to the whips and he picked me up by the arm taking me off my feet! I always think it was because he thought that I was going for a whip.
After that the biting started to get really bad, if you walked past his stable he would lunge at you and bite you, if you were leaning on the gate in the field he would run up and bite you he once went through a polo neck, shirt, and jumper and took a chunk out of my throat! I have many scars fron this biting and people kept telling me to sell him or get him put down!
This continued for 4 years until we moved yards and for a while he was in a field on his own he was really unhappy and for the first time ever he seemed to enjoy having human company I would sit with him in the stable for hours grooming and playing with him, (prior to this he would kick out or bite you if you spent much time with him) It was the first time that he really allowed people to get close to him and to play with him. Ever since then he has never returned to the really bad biting occasionally he has snaked his head like a stallion threatening to bite but has never bitten again.
I don't know for sure why Dan stopped biting if it was due to being apart from the other horses gave him a chance to get close to humans without being scared, when Dan was biting there was no warning so you couldn't react in time there was no point in hitting him because it just made him more scared. However those few months when he was on his own allowed me to see what he was like behind the teeth and feet and how vunerable he really was, they have to be some of the best days of my life sitting in a stable holding a feed bucket.
Sorry a bit long winded way of saying don't write them off too quickly sometimes it can take take a long time and lots of patience.
There is a little tip and I think it's in one of Kelly Marks' books, and that is, as soon as your horse goes to bite you, make a loud pssst noise. I used this whilst working with a horse recently and he stopped in mid action and just put his head up instead. It sort of takes their mind off of biting you.
Or, another tip is to have a can or beaker with a lid, and put some gravel in it so it like a rattle - this has also been know to work if shaken at the offender.
Or, if you are wearing thick clothing, just slap your own arm or leg quickly and make a noise. You need the thick clothing or you end up black and blue from hitting yourself.
Or, another tip is to have a can or beaker with a lid, and put some gravel in it so it like a rattle - this has also been know to work if shaken at the offender.
Or, if you are wearing thick clothing, just slap your own arm or leg quickly and make a noise. You need the thick clothing or you end up black and blue from hitting yourself.
yup, ditto Doris!!!
Apparently someone (i think Michael Peace said this) tapped their horse's hoof with their foot when he went to bite, but in the end the horse started to lunge violently for his foot so he had actually made the horse worse!
Apparently someone (i think Michael Peace said this) tapped their horse's hoof with their foot when he went to bite, but in the end the horse started to lunge violently for his foot so he had actually made the horse worse!
newrider.com