Was he going to bite?

i wouldnt like to say, but maybe.
some horses just dont like their noses being touched, if its a horse i dont really know very well i usually start at the neck and see how they react to that then if theyre being friendly then gently work to other areas:)
 
Not necessarily - were you feeding him anything? Casper lifts his head and shows his teeth when he's eaten something he doesn't like the taste of (I let him lick the salt and vinegar crumbs off my hands once and this was the reacton I got)

Doesn't always signal biting.
 
Could be flehmen response - so basically scenting you.

I've had a horse do this to me, he is a nibbler, but not aggressive at all. More playful and friendly if anything.
 
Next time, watch the horse's ears. Its a much better indicators of what sort of mood he's in. If his ears are pricked forward and alert, he probably isnt going to take a lump out of you, he might be scenting you, or just playing. If his ears are flat back along his head, though, and he's showing you his teeth, then beware, he IS telling you to clear off!

He might just have got fed up with you patting his nose, though. A horse's nose is really sensitive, and patting it continually would eventualy become quite uncomfortable for him. Next time, try rubbing him between the eyes, or by his ears (be careful, though, some horses are ear-shy and don't like people touching their ears). My mare absolutely loves having her forehead scratched, her lower lip goes all floppy and she goes off into a little trance of pleasure.
 
Thanks guys, no i dont feed other peoples horses, i go my walks and pat them, i was patting him on his nose, then moved up a bit near to in between his eyes, i was watching his ears and they were up not back or forward just up the way, when i went across to his field, i stood there and he came over to me, but it got me all hot and bothered that i will never gain enough confidence to own my own horse, if i am going to walk away from a horse if i think he is going to bite.
I tried to pat side of his face but then i get worried incase he is going to head butt me lol.
 
Did he curl his top lir up over his nostrils? If so, he was only trying to get a better smell of you/something strange. Horses aren't like dogs, they don't bare their teeth before biting. Watch the ears - much bigger clue of mood
 
Generally if a horse you don't know is going to bite you he'll get a bite in before you know he's thinking about it.

Sounds like he was just turning up his nose becasue he smelled something different on you. Raising his head and showing his teeth sounds more like that that an attempted bite.

As mentioned, watch his ears, if those go back watch out.
 
MagicSix said:
Did he curl his top lir up over his nostrils? If so, he was only trying to get a better smell of you/something strange. Horses aren't like dogs, they don't bare their teeth before biting. Watch the ears - much bigger clue of mood
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Oh i have no idea, yesmaybe he did as he just showed ihs teeth and i am 97% he did something funny with his top lip, cant mind, ohh i hope so, then i feel better lol, so thats how horses sniff you???
 
I think its most likely he was just trying to sniff you out but its hard to know from a verbal description. But also bear in mind it might have been a sign of affection. My pony sucks and nibbles on my arm a lot, sometimes he nips a bit hard but I know he doesn't mean to hurt me. I usually just step back from him so he knows it was too hard. I'm sure his behaviour is a sign of affection as he usually does it after I've been playing with him or we've had a particularly enjoyable ride (for him as well as me). You said the horse seemed to be enjoying being petted so maybe he just wanted to show you he liked you. However, I think you did the right thing to walk away. You don't know this horse and its better to be safe than sorry, especially as you seem a little nervous (sorry if i've misread that) and a bite would probably put you off a lot.
 
SarahandCharlie said:
I think its most likely he was just trying to sniff you out but its hard to know from a verbal description. But also bear in mind it might have been a sign of affection. My pony sucks and nibbles on my arm a lot, sometimes he nips a bit hard but I know he doesn't mean to hurt me. I usually just step back from him so he knows it was too hard. I'm sure his behaviour is a sign of affection as he usually does it after I've been playing with him or we've had a particularly enjoyable ride (for him as well as me). You said the horse seemed to be enjoying being petted so maybe he just wanted to show you he liked you. However, I think you did the right thing to walk away. You don't know this horse and its better to be safe than sorry, especially as you seem a little nervous (sorry if i've misread that) and a bite would probably put you off a lot.
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Thank you, hope so, as he did love getting patted on the nose, hope he was liking it. As you say yes i am nervous of getting bit from a horse, if he had bit me then i would have got scared of horses and lost the confidence i have gained, so if in doubt i always walk away.
 
Walking away was the safe thing to do if you weren't sure, sounds sensible to me :)

If a horse is going to bite it usually warns you by pinning it's ears back and if you don't take any notice then it bites, quickly. They don't usually show you their full set of dentures as a warning :D However, some horses are very 'mouthy' and want to explore everything with their mouths - this can lead to nipping if you don't remove yourself from range and/or politely discourage them. If you're not familiar with horses then removing yourself is the best option IMHO so well done.

Stroking is much more acceptable in 'horse language' than patting by the way, you're unlikely to see a horse giving another horse a jolly good pat, but you will see them licking, rubbing, grooming or swishing each other with their tails. The neck is a fairly safe place to start stroking, they tend to be quite defensive about their noses, which are very sensitive and somewhere they feel they need to protect.
 
isnt infront of the nose a blind spot?

thats why they jump back (sometimes especially if a little wary on people) when you touch their nose because they werent expecting it.

agree with the other posts :)
 
Thank you, yes stroking is what i meant not patting, i use patting as a stroke lol, sorry, so he may have been warning me off then or just being curiuos with his nose, his ears were not back. I must ask the guy when i see him on his horse and ask him what it meant, he will know.
It wont put me off going back to him, there was 2 in the field, one comes over after a bit, but this one came right over, i shall go back tomorroe and stroke his neck, but kind of scared if i stroke his neck, he may put his head down and then butt me if you knwo what i mean? lol.
 
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