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Expert
Posts: 1695
   
Location: Willows, CA | Bad habits are so hard to break. If you are ready for the bite you are in a position for him to run into a hard elbow when he brings his head around. That will work if you are consistent and pay attention. This is making the wrong thing difficult and the right thing easy. They do get ready to do a bad habit. I understand that they can do that fast, but they still give their intent away if you are looking for it. And you should be looking for it if it has happened in the past. What is hard to see coming is fear. Much more dangerous than bad habits, and much harder to see coming. Also much harder to get out of a horses system.
Edited by winwillows 2014-05-08 4:00 PM
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| He has bit me once before about a year and a half ago, but I will give it to him, i was pestering him  But this time, he was sound asleep (or so I thought) and i was just lovin on him, then all of a sudden he bit me! Since he bit me that first time and I showed him who was boss that day, he has never tried to bite me since.. but this time was too sudden for me to be on alert... He has always been a nibbler... always wants to be in your pocket and mess with you | |
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 Lady Di
Posts: 21556
Location: Oklahoma | Just Bring It - 2014-05-08 3:11 PM
My gelding is such a pain to hold for the farrier and vet!! Whenever he needs to stand still he becomes such a dink to hold! He is like a bored ADHD kid! He nips at me, bobs his head up and down, if I have a jacket on he plays with my zipper, plays with his rope, etc. He is just a pain. I have a love/hate relationship with him because of these stupid little quirks. Of course I can't put the fear of God in him when I'm holding him for the farrier or for xrays, chiro, etc. So he KNOWS when I am vulnerable and he can get away with that crap. Stupid boys. lol
A lip chain works wonders for this kind....just sayin'. | |
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Lady Di
Posts: 21556
Location: Oklahoma | achildres - 2014-05-08 6:28 PM
He has bit me once before about a year and a half ago, but I will give it to him, i was pestering him But this time, he was sound asleep (or so I thought ) and i was just lovin on him, then all of a sudden he bit me! Since he bit me that first time and I showed him who was boss that day, he has never tried to bite me since.. but this time was too sudden for me to be on alert... He has always been a nibbler... always wants to be in your pocket and mess with you
You obviously haven't shown him who the boss mare is. He should NEVER bite, even if you're pestering him. Don't even let him nibble. Don't let him get close to you if he opens his mouth. Teach him to respect your circle and not to come in it. He obviously does not have the respect he should for you. It's just like a kid. If you let him do kinda bad things (nibble), he will continue on to worse things (bite). This kind of horse would NEVER get a treat from me, and he would always be facing me and not allowed in my circle of space. If he did, he would think he was going to die. The horse in my avatar was a biter and a kicker when I got him because he'd been allowed to do it....he only bit me ONCE while I owned him....he never did it again, but I never put myself in a position to allow him to do it, either. He had to be on stall rest for 90 days once and he was one that got bored out of his gourd in a stall. I hung up a milk jug with rocks in it, got him a jolly ball, got one of the treat/sticky balls (which he devoured in one day), but he never bit me. In fact, he was never even allowed to pin his ears or even look ugly at me. You need an aggressive attitude from a winner, but it needs to be channeled in the right direction and that's toward anything but you. If he bit you, it was because you allowed it, and it's up to you to let him know that is NOT allowed or it will happen again. I always tell the people at my clinics, "If your horse doesn't respect you on the ground, how do you expect him to respect you when you're on his back?" Easy answer....he won't. Get his respect and keep it. JMO
Edited by dianeguinn 2014-05-09 12:24 AM
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Industrial Srength Barrel Racer
Posts: 7268
| Just an FYI, there is a guy who works at the local locker here and a horse bit him in the ear when he was little - his ear is VERY deformed now and the locals call him "Noodle" - Don't be a "Noodle," because believe me it is NOT attractive. | |
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 Husband Spoiler
Posts: 4151
Location: North Dakota | dianeguinn - 2014-05-09 12:14 AM Just Bring It - 2014-05-08 3:11 PM My gelding is such a pain to hold for the farrier and vet!! Whenever he needs to stand still he becomes such a dink to hold! He is like a bored ADHD kid! He nips at me, bobs his head up and down, if I have a jacket on he plays with my zipper, plays with his rope, etc. He is just a pain. I have a love/hate relationship with him because of these stupid little quirks. Of course I can't put the fear of God in him when I'm holding him for the farrier or for xrays, chiro, etc. So he KNOWS when I am vulnerable and he can get away with that crap. Stupid boys. lol A lip chain works wonders for this kind....just sayin'.
Yes! Trust me if I had one that last time the farrier was here it would have gone on! I usually end up just using my hand as a twitch. | |
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Hungarian Midget Woman
Location: Midwest | Just Plain Lucky - 2014-05-08 3:41 PM barrelracr131 - 2014-05-08 4:03 PM hoofs_in_motion - 2014-05-08 12:50 PM barrelracr131 - 2014-05-08 9:33 AM punch him in the face O.o
it's what I would have done honestly LOL
When we got my (now retired) gelding, he had some personal space and nipping issues. He would nip/bite if he wanted something whether it was out of his stall, a treat, or attention. He never did it aggressively that I could tell. No pinned ears, ugly face, or "grabbing and holding", but bad and painful none the less. He always got smacked by me right when it happened. The message wasn't sinking in though. Then he started biting other people. One night he reached over and bit my friend's grandpa right infront of me during a visit, and that was it. RIGHT HOOK! I've broken him of biting me completely, but he will bite other people still-thankfully very very rarely.
He also tried almost constantly to itch his head/ears on ME, or other people. He always got reprimanded by me, but it didn't sink in until he got that fist in his face. He still tries to do it, but a firm NO puts it to a stop at least with me. No one wants to stand up to him. He's just so nice in every other aspect. LOL.
Methinks some previous owner thought it was cute or was too much of a pushover to put a stop to it.
I'm not saying I've never punched one, but that's not the way I try to handle it... at least intially hahahaha | |
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 Expert
Posts: 2276
Location: ohio-in my own little world with pretty ponies :) | Just Bring It - 2014-05-09 11:57 AM dianeguinn - 2014-05-09 12:14 AM Just Bring It - 2014-05-08 3:11 PM My gelding is such a pain to hold for the farrier and vet!! Whenever he needs to stand still he becomes such a dink to hold! He is like a bored ADHD kid! He nips at me, bobs his head up and down, if I have a jacket on he plays with my zipper, plays with his rope, etc. He is just a pain. I have a love/hate relationship with him because of these stupid little quirks. Of course I can't put the fear of God in him when I'm holding him for the farrier or for xrays, chiro, etc. So he KNOWS when I am vulnerable and he can get away with that crap. Stupid boys. lol A lip chain works wonders for this kind....just sayin'.
I always seem to forget my chain. My hand works great at pinching that lip. | |
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Fire Ant Peddler
Posts: 2881
| Just Bring It - 2014-05-09 10:57 AM
dianeguinn - 2014-05-09 12:14 AM Just Bring It - 2014-05-08 3:11 PM My gelding is such a pain to hold for the farrier and vet!! Whenever he needs to stand still he becomes such a dink to hold! He is like a bored ADHD kid! He nips at me, bobs his head up and down, if I have a jacket on he plays with my zipper, plays with his rope, etc. He is just a pain. I have a love/hate relationship with him because of these stupid little quirks. Of course I can't put the fear of God in him when I'm holding him for the farrier or for xrays, chiro, etc. So he KNOWS when I am vulnerable and he can get away with that crap. Stupid boys. lol A lip chain works wonders for this kind....just sayin'.
BIG difference in a lip chain and a twitch!!! | |
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Husband Spoiler
Posts: 4151
Location: North Dakota | Honeymoney - 2014-05-09 9:37 PM Just Bring It - 2014-05-09 10:57 AM dianeguinn - 2014-05-09 12:14 AM Just Bring It - 2014-05-08 3:11 PM My gelding is such a pain to hold for the farrier and vet!! Whenever he needs to stand still he becomes such a dink to hold! He is like a bored ADHD kid! He nips at me, bobs his head up and down, if I have a jacket on he plays with my zipper, plays with his rope, etc. He is just a pain. I have a love/hate relationship with him because of these stupid little quirks. Of course I can't put the fear of God in him when I'm holding him for the farrier or for xrays, chiro, etc. So he KNOWS when I am vulnerable and he can get away with that crap. Stupid boys. lol A lip chain works wonders for this kind....just sayin'. BIG difference in a lip chain and a twitch!!!
I understand that but when you don't have a lip chain around and a hand is all you have then you make do with what you have at the time. Not sure how to lip chain one with just my hand...lol. So yes I said twitch. | |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 683
Location: Ohio | Just Bring It - 2014-05-08 10:48 PM
Honeymoney - 2014-05-09 9:37 PM Just Bring It - 2014-05-09 10:57 AM dianeguinn - 2014-05-09 12:14 AM Just Bring It - 2014-05-08 3:11 PM My gelding is such a pain to hold for the farrier and vet!! Whenever he needs to stand still he becomes such a dink to hold! He is like a bored ADHD kid! He nips at me, bobs his head up and down, if I have a jacket on he plays with my zipper, plays with his rope, etc. He is just a pain. I have a love/hate relationship with him because of these stupid little quirks. Of course I can't put the fear of God in him when I'm holding him for the farrier or for xrays, chiro, etc. So he KNOWS when I am vulnerable and he can get away with that crap. Stupid boys. lol A lip chain works wonders for this kind....just sayin'. BIG difference in a lip chain and a twitch!!!
If that's what it takes to keep my farrier safe... you betcha! I've got a nasty little mare in the barn who knows there are certain times when she can take advantage of a situation (farrier, strangers walking up to her stall when I'm not around) and I either can't correct her firmly enough or am not right there to babysit her. She has come along way but twitching her with the farrier a few times has made her think twice about acting up... | |
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Nut Case Expert
Posts: 9305
Location: Tulsa, Ok | There is NEVER an acceptable reason (excuse) for aggressive behavior. The first attempt should trigger a response to memorable that it is also the last attempt. | |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 683
Location: Ohio | SC Wrangler - 2014-05-09 12:17 AM
There is NEVER an acceptable reason (excuse) for aggressive behavior. The first attempt should trigger a response to memorable that it is also the last attempt.
 I really wish people would understand this. The mare I was talking about before was babied, spoiled and the owners let her get away with so much that she is now a dangerous little heathen. My barn is her last chance, if she doesn't keep improving then she will have to be put down. Its really sad but my in laws call her the widow maker! While she is fine with me, she charges strangers that get too close to her stall and shakes the whole barn trying to get to them, has bitten my clueless father in law over the pasture gate and opened his arm up (while he was holding a small child!) and has been known to strike out. The previous owners laughed about how when she was a foal she would rear up and lunge at them (like it was some sort of game and she was just playing)!!! People need to wake up and realize that you can't make a good horse by blowing sunshine and rainbows up their rears... | |
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| ^^ This reminds me how my gelding was raised. He was definitely spoiled but he is not that aggressive! He is playful and has character, but sometimes he gets a little attitude. I probably should stop bothering him, BUT i do agree there is no excuse for his behavior. He got a stern talking to after he bit me lol. | |
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