2yo that bites

[oscar p]

All due respect! Around here (Alabama) you can buy all the mini studs, you can haul for $50 to $75 bucks apiece.It dont cost a penny more to feed a good one than it does a bad one. I buy them,and casterate them and break them to a 2 wheel cart, and a wagon.In my spare time. I have 2 young kids that love it. They have 2 mini mules, 1 mini gelding,That will die here,So the kids say. I also have 4 studs here. Studs only because the signs are'nt right to cut them.They are this winters project. There's nothing wrong with keeping a stud.But keep a good one. Not a biter or kicker. Time is better spent on training them what to do, instead of breaking them from what not to do. Every one deserves a chance, but some more than others.Not looking to get an argument started. Opinions are like buttholes,everybody has one. So here's mine.

 

[Suzie Q]

Yes the wall analogy works. Or turn it into an electric fence.

Think about it like this.

Foals play together. They bite and kick each other for fun. If you hit him after he has bitten you, they thing, "Ooooh she got me that time, I will have to be a bit quicker next time."

So instead you are always ready before they bite. You can use whatever your elbow, your whip, your hand, some people have a nail in a piece of wood as said earlier.

But you do not hit the horse. Instead you have to be quick and when they go to bite they hit your elbow or whip or nail in the piece of wood. Let it hurt. Just like an electric fence hurts without injuring. They will stop in four or five tries.

But you must be vigilant for when they go to test you out again.

With this method they do not end up head shy.

 

[Angus Cowman]

I think the OP has probably fixed the problem one way or another seeing how the last post was 3yrs ago before someone brought it back to life

 

[oscar p]

Well,I did'nt pay any attention, to the date. What do you know.

 

[tripleBfarms]

me neither..oops

 

[turn&burn92]

I work with mini's quite a bit. But as with any horse, treat him like the dominant horse in the herd would. If he bit the dominant horse, it would bite back. You do the same. Bite back. As was said earlier, a good backhand ususally does the trick. But you HAVE to do it instantly! From my experience, when a horse does something like that, you have about 5 seconds to react or they don't know why they're getting punished. Be quick, but as was also mentioned earlier, go on with what you were doing as if nothing happened. Let him know who the boss is.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Old thread or not there is a lot of good information here.

 

[wbvs58]

A trick I used to use years ago with young thoroughbreds, especially when cleaning out the stables, was I made up a Knuckleduster. It was a piece of leather looped around to go over my knuckle. It had numerous large sharp staples in (U nails) driven through it so it was smooth on inside, very sharp and prickly on outside. When being pestered by a young horse my left hand would just be placed in the way of their muzzle to feel the effects of the sharp spikes. It was very effective, they soon got the idea, but best of all I did not have to make any aggressive move towards the horse, they inflicted the pain on themselves, the only movement was passively putting the hand in their way, they did not get punch drunk.
I have not read all the replies to this thread, I apologise if it has been suggested before.
Ken