my horse is a biter.?

Question

I have a 20 year old gelding. He does not bite people, just the other horses. He bites for no reason. The other horses will be standing in the pasture well away from him and he will run at them for no reason and try to get as much flesh as he can. I have had him for 10 years and love him, but not when he hurts the other horses. He is a great horse in all other aspects. He can barrel race, does poles, works cattle and is wonderful with small children or other people who don't have any riding experience. Other than biting the other horses he is gentle. I understand the previous owner had the same problem. Aside from seperating him from the herd, is there anything else I can do???

Answer 1

All horses have different tempements just like every other species on this planet. He has decided that he wants to be the dominate or alpha of the herd. No matter what you do in any number of horses from 2-100 there will always be an order of dominance. I have been able to "fix" or tone down this problem before in horses by finding another horse that is more aggressive than the "problem" horse. You let them together with good supervision on hand in case of need to intervene and let him get the sh*t kicked or bit out of him. There was always a bitchy mare kept around the farm growing up that filled this job very well cuz after she went round with another horse she would be nice as could be back to the other horses as long as they weren't too agressive with her ever. We always had a few studs, 40-60 broodmares and 20+/- geldings around when I grew up so I have learned through experiance what works and what doesn't.

Keep in mind that if he's been doing gaming events such as barrels and has been working cattle that he has the appropriate attitude for being such an athlete. I have never met a horse that isn't at the top of the herd that does these types of things well. They too are usually very good horses in all other aspects of life.

You may want to double check him to be sure he was gelded properly cuz I know some horse people sometimes cut them proud, meaning they only take one or most and not both. They do this to keep a certain temperment about a horse that they want to be more agressive at herding /cutting cattle. It will take a vet to really get a good search done to know for sure. Could be he wasn't gelding soon enough either.

If he hasn't been in the same pasture with these other horses before you could try putting him out in the new pasture first then adding the others in or try the opposite. You just never know. We have a stud that will run a new mare almost to death. We fixed this by taking the stud out and introducing the mare to the other mares first. Being she had a day to make friends with the other mares and get to know the fence she would be secure enough to stand up for herself when the stud was put back out. We have never had a problem since doing this.

He is much too old for anything else I could suggest to work for his behavior other than putting him seperate from the others. Sometimes like everything else in life time may be the only answer. If not I guess live and let live.

Good Luck to you and the horses! (may the best one win! LOL)

Answer 2

Your horse appears to be your typical dominant horse, and biting is a natural thing that keeps the herd in order. It shouldn't really be a thing to worry about, if he's calm otherwise, unless he's seriously injuring the other horses. This doesn't seem likely to me since biting is simply a sign of dominance, and it doesn't get serious unless two horses single out and fight. You said he 'runs at them for no reason and tries to get as much flesh as he can'. Yes, charging seems a bit vicious to us, but all alpha horses do this.

Older horses, though, tend to become more submissive. This is because in nature they become virtually useless at this age, and can't keep up their position. Your horse may quiet down with time, but other than that there really isn't anything you can do other than separating him from the herd, but this may cause stress if he's herd-dependent.

Answer 3

This display is deffinatly a show of dominance. Herd animals like horses have a pecking order. There is a boss mare and stud. He's at his age that he's going to be loosing ground in the pecking order soon. So he maybe fighting a little harder to stay as boss for a while longer. Really if the other horses didn't want to be bitten they can move away from him and give him space. I had an arab mare that was like this. She was quite a bully to everyone. If they tried to eat from the same pile as her she'd push them away. If they got close to her when she didn't want to be bugged, she'd chase them to teach them a lesson. I had a guelding like this and he's now older and starting to get slower. He's not the boss anymore but they do respect him. Give your guy time. I'm sure he'll be ok. You should only be worried if he's leaving bruses or breaking the skin.

Answer 4

You can put a grazing muzzle on him to keep him from biting the other horses. It doesn't really fix the problem but it will keep the other horses from getting bit. I have a gelding that if pastured with other herd members that are real close in his pecking order he is more aggressive than if I put him with a really bossy mare or a very very docile pasture mate that will not challenge him ever. He won't challenge the bossy mare and because the docile pasture mate doesn't challenge him he doesn't feel threatened nor does he feel like he has to fight to keep his position in the herd. He clearly knows where he stands and life is good for him ~ and everyone else.....Good Luck!

Answer 5

Every time he goes after another horse find a way to make him "uncomfortable." Be sure that you cant be seen when he feels this way. The best thing I have found to work is a shock collar. YES I KNOW THIS SOUNDS CRUEL BUT ITS NOT!!! Horses have such thick hide and fur that its like someone poking you in the sides and you jumping. They realize that when they go after another horse in an agressive way that they start to feel uncomfortable. After a while he will quit. There was a stud horse that would kick and paw at his stall every time another horse would walk by and this method was used and he quit. (Mr. Clinton Anderson)

Answer 6

I would suggest putting him in a field with horses he gets on well with and doesn't usually bite. Is it not maybe also a jealousy problem coz i ride a horse Grace who's also an angel except for when i give attention to other horses then she gets angry and trys biting them.

Answer 7

It's just horsie communication. He's holding his place in the hierarchy. He's establishing his place in the pecking order.

Remember, they are BIG animals. What looks vicious to us may be like a slap to us. Is he drawing blood? If not, I don't know what all the fuss is about. Is he protecting something when he is warning off the other horses by biting?

I doubt he is biting for the fun of it so see if you can figure out what is causing him to do this.

Answer 8

Is he going out with mares??? If he is going out with both mares and other geldings he could be trying to say that he's the one in charge and the mares are his. Also something that could be adding to the problem is that if he as gelded late. We have a horse at our barn that was gelded @ 7 and he isn't able to go out with any other horses because he get nippy.

Answer 9

well it seems to me that he just doesn't like the horses what i would do would be to find some horses or maybe just another one that he gets along with to put out with. if hes 20 years old then theres really nothing you can do. if he doesn't get along with ANY other horses than put him in a pasture beside them that way he is still with them. its no reason to get rid of him and it sounds like you have a great bond and whatever you or him does do not break that bond!!!!!!!

Answer 10

This sounds harsh but, let the other horses kick him and stand up for themselves. Once he gets kicked hard enough a few times he'll learn. Make sure none of the horses are getting seriously hurt.