major biting prob

majorhorselover

horse whisperer
Sep 13, 2003
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hi
im really new to this site, i only registered today. lol . i am currently owning my 1st horse. i have had her for about 6 moths and ever since i got her she has had a biting problem. when ever i am doing up he girth she bites me hard. my trainer told me he give her a slap on the neck every time she doees it, but i hate hurting her. any ideas to help me please???
 
Hello!
I've known horses who do this and the best way to avoid having half of your arm chomped off is to do your girth up slowly and keep eye contact with the horse (it sounds strange but it often works)
If this fails you could tie her up really short so she cannot reach you or if possible get someone to hold her for you.

Good luck:)
 
Hitting your horse when it bites is probably not a good idea because it may see it as you playing a game with it (like horses in the wild)rather than as a punishment.
A past owner may have been a bit rough doing up the girth so do it up gradually and give lots of praise when your horse doesn't go to bite. I usually do the girth up as little as I can and get all my other stuff ready before doing it up a bit more.
I've got Kelly Mark's new book Perfect Manners. It is excellent for showing how people bring about their horses bad behaviour and gives useful ideas on how to rectify them.
For biting, she suggests that you but a hand out as if to tempt the horse to bite you, if it moves as if to bite, use your other hand to hold the side of the headcollar (nearest to you) and push the horses head away from you for up to 5 secs. Release the pressure on the headcollar and give the horse praise. Keep doing this untill the horse ignores your hand and make sure you give loads more praise for this behaviour.
There's no quick fix just patience. You are right to look for another way to sort the problem out before it becomes ingrained with you, especially as your horse might find other ways to push you around.

Good Luck, let us know how it goes.
 
Different opinion here:

Biting you should not be acceptable AT ALL. I would give her a closed fist to the nose. The offending appendage is the one that should be punished, to quote a friend. She will learn very quickly it isn't acceptable.

Hitting isn't acceptable for everything, but if they are hurting you they must be stopped. Horses kick and bite eachother all the time, it is very unlikely you could hurt her more than they hurt eachother. She has to know you mean business on the ground or why would she respect you undersaddle either?

Just my opinion... Has taken me a year to reprimand my mare without feeling too bad. AND it has worked for me.

Good luck!
 
Keep your elbow on standby and give her a nudge with it if she steps into your personal space.

Grace
 
Hi Majorhorselover ... welcome to NR

I agree with Deerskin, definitely sounds like a pain issue ... have you had her saddle checked by a qualified saddle fitter and back checked by a vet and/or physio? It could be that she has changed shape since you've owned her and the saddle needs adjusting or changing. Also, ensure that when you tighten the girth you do it a hole at a time so that it doesn't pinch her.

Biting is not acceptable, but neither is hitting your horse, especially if she is trying to tell you that she is in pain. Try the Kelly Marks method or another trainer's, I think it was Richard Maxwell, suggested wrapping a short piece of coarse coir matting around the upper part of your forearm or hold a stiff brush and try to ensure the horse bites that instead of you ... which makes biting unpleasant for him.

Good luck and let us know how you get on! :)
 
I would first check the fit of the saddle to make sure it isn't uncomfortable. If you're sure it's not that, it's probably caused by people previously doing the girth up tight too quickly and hurting her.

Do the girth up on the first hole either side and praise her. Then do it up another hole on the right side and praise her again. Then the left side and more praise. Continue slowly and gradually like this until the girth is snug enough for you to mount. Once on board, you can do it up again if it's loosened up, but remember to praise instantly.
 
DISAGREE!

Assuming her saddle fits correctly, the only thing that will fix this is teaching her that girthing isnt a bad thing. Knocking her in the face/nose/neck/whatever is just giving her MORE negative experiences while her girth is being done up. DONT do that!

The only thing you can do is be patient with her. Sounds like she's been ruined (not permanently, you can fix this) by her previous owner. You have to TEACH her that the girth isnt a source of pain. That will take patience and persistance on your behalf.

Start her off by saddling her and doing up the girth VERY VERY loosely (not even touching her), leave it for a minute, then take it off. Put her away for the day. The next day, do it up ever so slightly. If she is still reluctant, use your judgement, either put her away or take her for a short walk. The next time, do it up more (but still too loose to ride) walk her around then put her away. Continue this until you can have it snug but not tight. She'll come to accept that you wont hurt her and the biting will stop. It takes patience...

You might have to give up riding for a few days but remember, small steps get you there faster than big ones.
 
Hi, welcome to NR.

I have to agree with Tootsie and would really encourage you to get all saddle and back etc checked out professionally.

I had a very very similar experience with my New Forest pony who not only would object to the girth being done up but would also rear when I was ignoring his cries for help (ie the biting!)

After getting a new saddle (the old one was way too small, in my ignorance, it had looked just fine to me!), he was still afraid of being girthed up - not really surprising.

So I bought a Humane girth (I know they're not available in Oz, but Alex on this site, also in Oz - I think! did buy one over the internet for her horse Milly and swears by it)

It took a few weeks of being oh so gentle when doing up the girth and praising him hugely when he stood calmly when I did the girth up just hole by hole over a course of 15 - 20 minutes and my patience was rewarded - he became a different pony.

With the aid of a the humane girth and being gentle I resolved his problems.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.
 
You SHOUlD get her saddle checked, but since it's the girthing up and not saddling that's a problem, I'd check the girth to see if there's any pinching, or something poking her in the girth.

If it's a behavioral problem, i'd suggest everytime she swings her head around, you could either put an elbow out and 'accidently' poke her hard, or you could nudge her ankle enough so that she's uncomfortable. If you keep up with it, she'll connect biting a human to discomfort for her, and she might stop.
 
I have to agree with Tootsie as well, when ever I have a problem with Mear, I have to take little tiny baby-steps. Right now I want her to do a turn on the forehand, on command, with out a halter or lead rope or saddle (long story) I have to take it in very small steps because its a big thing. Biting is a big thing too, but a negative one, it sounds like he's in pain to me as well, so check the tack just in case, and try to show him that it doesn't hurt to be cinched.

Good luck with your horse!
 
Ok, I agree completely with Tootsie, and your horse isn't the only one. My old horse would actually go crazy if I put his girth over the second hole. Never hit a horse, in fact what is your instructor thinking? Its cruel and doesn't teach a horse anything.

Work slowly, rushing only puts you back to step one. Don't ride until you're sure she is ok with that bad biting problem.
 
Biting you should not be acceptable AT ALL. I would give her a closed fist to the nose. The offending appendage is the one that should be punished, to quote a friend. She will learn very quickly it isn't acceptable.

I agree with most of the opinions expressed here, except the one above.
I own a biter. My experience in trying to rehabilitate my horse is exactly the opposite as stated above; hitting your horse is meeting aggression with aggression, ingraining more negative experiences into the animal than those that he already endured.
A biter developed his habit as a defense mechanism against any thing unpleasant, including US. Carrying on hitting will just perpetuate a full circle with no good results. He might refrain himself from biting, but just caused by fear, I can assure you that should the opportunity rise, he would bite, perhaps even harder.
My horse tries his best to intimidate with we fasten his girth. He has bit before in more than one occasion. Reason: simply he was bored of being ridden, hated his work, his saddling (synonim for work). My strategy has been:
- Check if she is girth sore, buy a girth protector like Prolite or Nummed.
- Show her the saddle before saddling, let her smell it;
- She might be girth ticklish; massage her girth area (TTouch) prior to saddling;
- Keep her lead line short, avoiding her teeth to get hold of you;
- Put the briddle on first, that way her mouth is full, not so free to bite;
- fast the girth gradually, hole by hole, with time elapsing in-between;
- Give her plenty of praise;
- Walk her a bit in circles before you fasten the last hole;
- Kelly Marks also suggested that as she tries to bite, you kick gently her hoof with the tip of your foot; she won't know what caused it and won't relate it to you, as you were busy doing her girth; next time she think twice whether biting was a good idea or not.
A biter is a very special horse. He needs plenty of patience and self-control on our behalf. It's far too easy just to lash out, isn't it?!

P.S. By the way, biters used to get wacked across their noses easily become haed-shy.
 
thanks for all your help !! i agree that probley hitting her all the time she does it shouldnt be done because it gives her a negitive attuide to being tacked up. thanks lots for your help again i'll be sure to tell you how it all goes in the furtre

bi bi :D
 
Well I seem to be outnumbered here.

You must do what feels best to you in the situation.

I would say a horse biting while getting tacked up is NOT biting out of fear. They are likely biting to assert their position that they want to be in charge, don't want to work. If they do this to another horse and the other horse backs down the biting one is the superior. I have tried to be nice about things with my mare, but when it comes down to biting/hurting me there is only one answer to that question that she will get. The answer is NO WAY can she do that to me no matter the situation.

You shouldn't have to hit your horse all the time over the same thing. If that is the case you are doing something wrong.

What is the point in the horse getting an "accidental" bump on the face, leg, whatever. They won't associate it with what they are doing to you. Horses aren't that stupid, they will know you mean business when you mean business. They are honest and cannot be "fake" about what they mean, you musn't be either.

Anyway, everyone has good advice, and we all have different experiences. Good luck to you.
 
i knowwhat you mean , some times i loose my temper with Misty somtimes, and i do give her a hit on the neck. but it never sems to do much difference. and if i dont hit her she just bits me any way. it is very frustrating.but i guess i just need time to show her that being taked up isnt a bad thig and there is no need of it.

thanks again for all your help:)
 
What is the point in the horse getting an "accidental" bump on the face, leg, whatever. They won't associate it with what they are doing to you.

Sure they will.:) It's better to have the horse think, "Hmmm . . . every time I try to bite her, I feel this irritating tap on my hoof," than to have the horse plotting sneakier ways to bite so that he avoids getting hit for it. ;)

My horse, Quanah, is young and was gelded late, so he's pretty mouthy. I don't hit him, but when he starts to nip I push him away and glare at him, which he dislikes. So he's become an expert at catching me off-guard: his newest trick is to stttrretcchh his neck out, very slowly, open his mouth in a big, creaky yawn, and then "accidentally" close it again on whatever part of me is nearest. :rolleyes:
 
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