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Horses
& Bites - A
Trick To Know With Biting
Most
people know most of the reasons a horse bites, but there is one that is
not well known but very common...
My
colt (that will be 2 in April) has a
really bad habit of biting now,and even if I tell him no in a
gentle/firm manner or tap his mouth he still goes back for more. What
should I do to keep this under control?
Biting
seems to be one of those vices that crops up with monotonous regularity
- or more simply - all the time. Biting is such a normal way
for
a
horse to check things out and interact with other horses. The
trouble
is that we humans tend to bruise a lot easier than a fence post or a
field companion. And unless a horse is taught that biting
humans
is
forbidden, the horse simply won't know any better.
A
horse
will
bite out of fear or fright to protect himself. Also it is a
way
of
testing or enforcing the herd hierarchy. These are common
sense
and
most people know about these ideas already. So I would like
to
introduce you to a lesser known third reason that horses bite, which is
....
...playfulness,
especially in young ones.
Yep,
young horses like to nip and bite for the fun of it, to get a
reaction. Just like children in the back seat of the car who
will
poke
and slap each other the whole journey, it's childish fun.
Horseplay,
in fact!
So
what
can you do? As you know, joining in
will only encourage them. A slap for a bite is all part of
the
game -
thinks the foal. It can be a tough one to sort out.
Avoiding
the possibility of a game is the best strategy. Always tie
him up
short and hold him firmly out of reach on the lead. Then it's
time for
creativity. What can you do that will not encourage a
tit-for-tat
game
but will get the message across that biting is not allowed?
Some
good ideas here:
http://www.horsekeeping.com/horse_behavior/biting.htm
http://www.kbrhorse.net/qt/nip.html
http://www.parelli.com/info_page.php?page=article&lit_num=15&title=My%20Horse%20Bites&t=lit
