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The Biting Horse
Biting is an
annoying (and often painful!) habit. It can range from a nip,
during grooming or girthing-up, to the rare animal that will actually
'attack' with its teeth. The former is usually due to careless
or inexpert handling - the latter may be due to aggressive fear or a
vicious nature (the latter is rare.)
The two commonest causes
are:
1. Feeding 'titbits'
- horses tend to be greedy and many will quickly learn that owner =
treats. If treats are not forthcoming quickly enough, a nip may
result. The treatment is obvious - restrict treats - or cut them
out altogether.
2. Discomfort - in
thin-skinned horses this can be due to ticklishness while being
groomed, or it may result from carelessness or roughness in
girthing-up.
Prevention is better than
cure and horses should be discouraged from nipping from the earliest
age. Foals do nip through curiosity (what does this strange
animal taste like?) and a foal in never too young to be gently but
firmly corrected with a push away and a firm 'NO'.
Ill fitting or carelessly
applied tack will encourage biting and it can become a habit that
persists even after the cause is removed. Punishment may
aggravate the situation, so:
1. Keep yourself out
of reach and ensure horse is tied up short when grooming or saddling.
2. Be as careful as
you can when girthing up, in particular, ensuring skin is not wrinkled
or pinched, and that the girth is smoothly tightened in several
stages.
3. If the horse
attempts to bite, push it away and say 'NO' - firmly! After
doing anything that would normally involve nipping, pat and give
verbal praise is he hasn't attempted to nip.
Patience and firmness will
effect a cure, but it may take several months.
The rare horse will
actually attack with its teeth. This is more common in
stallions, but is also seen in geldings and mares. Sometimes it
is due to a nasty temperament (the result of either breeding or bad
handling in the past) or it may be due to a highly developed aggressive
fear (the horse expects to be hurt and he's defending himself from
perceived danger.) Dealing with a horse that behaves in
this way is NOT for the novice - nor can it be 'taught' from a web
page. The correct method depends very much on an accurate
diagnosis of cause and the advice of your vet and an expert trainer
should be sought - sooner rather than later.
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