My horse is starting to get very grumpy and had started biting people a bit, would anyone know why??

Answer 1

As everyone mentioned give your horse a thorough looking over. Check inside the mouth, around genitals, legs, hoofs, eyes, ears & body. Be sure there are no visible signs of injury.

I'd also call the vet out to ask them to pull bloodwork, check for urinary infection, listen to heart and gut. Share your concerns with your vet. They should ask you good questions and be able to give you some advise or at least put your mind at ease.

If your horse has gas or hasn't pooped you might have the beginning of a colic. Do you find your horse looking at it's belly often?

If this is a boredom problem get your horse busy. Be sure your horse gets out daily. Do things that will challenge your horse mentally both under saddle and on the ground. Cavelleti's if you normally don't use them, start teaching tricks, begin a stretching routine whatever it is your horse shows signs is interesting & challenging.

My horse gets out a couple hours a day to run & play and then late at night I'm sure to get him out again to graze, walk around, be groomed and loved on. He's too old to ride, 32 and is still the happiest little camper. Oh, I don't live on the property either.

If your horse is acting out because he doesn't like something happening to him or around him during the day I would recommend trying to identify it.

Watch what happens when other horses walk by? When people walk by? Is it kids running? People standing near the stall and not paying attention to your horse? Is it primarily feeding time?

You can put a stall gate up so your horse can't hurt anyone. This won't change the behavior but it will protect you, your horse and anyone who doesn't know you're going through this problem.

If you are able to pinpoint what is causing the behavior you can work your horse, like you do under saddle, to begin to realize this is not acceptable.

I'd put a halter with short lead on. Stand in the stall and ask someone to replicate what is causing the bad behavior. When your horse acts out be sure to snap on the lead and say one word whether it be no, quit, etc. Point a finger if you have to be more threatening, give a little tap on the shoulder and say the word again. After your horses behavior is good give a treat and a pat and now praise good. Try the temptation again. Do this only a couple times until your horse doesn't do anything wrong. And then stop immediately. Try this daily until things are good again.

After a while some horses will act good because you are in the stall and the halter is on. If this is the case you can hide outside the back of the stall. Ask someone to help you replicate the action that brings out the problem and when your horse starts the biting, surprise him by telling him with a loud voice no, quit, etc. You may have to use a long whip to tap him on his butt or a spray bottle of water for surprise. The whole point of this is that every time your horse acts out he gets a not so nice surprise and doesn't associate it with you.

I have stallions so sometimes getting their attention on me can be difficult so I'll get their face down to my level and start talking to them first with their name. I'm on either side of their face looking into one of their eyes and wait until they look back at me & I've got their attention. I'll reprimand them and tell them I'm not happy and then be sure to reassure them everything is okay, I'm not mad.

Instead of allowing the horses mind to focus on the situation turn your horses attention to you, give your horse a treat or something to change it's attitude from biting to pleasure.

Hope this helps

Answer 2

Get your horse evaluated by a vet and make sure nothing's bothering him.

If nothing's wrong, the most likely thing I can think of that happened is that you or someone else let him get away with disrespect. This could be from something as simple as leading to riding. Biting is a sign of dominance - basically your horse is totally disrespecting your personal space and saying he's in charge. In fact, biting is actually "worse" than kicking in horse language. It suggests more dominance, even though a kick seems more threatening to us humans. You need to get in control before this gets out of hand.

How is his leading? Usually if a horse considers himself dominant over you, he will walk all over you while you're leading him. This includes walking ahead, stepping on you, and walking into you with his shoulder. If he ever does any of this, back him out of your space. Be firm, but gentle. Show him that he's not the boss. Also, if you ask him to stand and he continues to walk, or walks into you, he needs discipline. Make sure you ask him clearly to stand, and if he doesn't, get him moving! Lunge him right there and then with the lead rope at the trot. Maybe carry a crop with you so you can get him going. (don't ever whip him with it, the most you shoulder ever do is tap his hind quarters to get him started.) Keep him going till you notice he's lowering his head, licking and chewing his lips, and has his focus totally on you. Have him begging to stop (not out of exhaustion). Ask him to WHOA by putting a hand out in front of him, and he should halt immediately and look at you. If he doesn't, trot him around a few more times.

Lunging in a round pen will help also. When you're riding, practice flexing and other exercises to ensure you have total control.

Another reason why your horse may be biting is because he is growing bored or tired of being handled. If you work him every time you get him out of the pasture, your horse may be growing tired of work and wants a change. You mentioned he was "grumpy", this sounds like he might just need a break. Every time you bring him from the pasture, don't make it hard work or training. Every once in a while, do something fun. Groom him, give him a bath, go on a trail ride. Take a break from work if you believe this is the problem.

Next time he goes to bite you or another person, make sure you let him know this is a big no-no. You probably know all the signs that he's going to bite by now. Ears laid back, narrowing of the eyes, lip pulled back. When you see these signs, use a firm voice and push his nose away. Back him up, get his attention. When he stands quietly and isn't thinking about biting, reward him.

Good luck with your horse...if the problem persists, a professional trainer may be able to help you.

Answer 3

You need to firstly ascertain when this started, what factors where involved (blacksmith/vet visiting, strange horse in the yard?
Could anyone have been aggressive towards her whilst you were not around? Has someone been giving her tit bits and now she expects them from all humans and gets grumpy when nothing is given? When you have convinced yourself No to all the above, get her teeth checked and if she is a mare, keep a note of her cycle in case its related. All the best

Answer 4

Has anyone been feeding your horse treats on a regular basis? We had a pony in our yard that started biting people and it turned out that some kids had been coming down to his field every day to feed him mints! They meant no harm by it but as a result the pony expected mints everytime someone came to see him and would bite them when he wasn't given any!

I agree with several of the other answers, check the horse over for any injuries of anything that may be causing discomfort. You don't say how old your horse is. If he is quite old it may just be that he is getting grouchy in his old age and doesn't want to be fussed over.

If you can rule these things out it may be that he is trying to assert his authority over people and that you may need to retrain his stable manners.

Answer 5

Maybe someone has hurt your horse by accident/on purpose and your horse is taking it out on everyone, or your horse may be in pain, get back and teeth checked, or your horse could just be in a bad mood because the weathers sh!t and it's gone cold and the days are shorter and the list goes on and on.....
another thought, are you bringing your horse in at night? If you are are you bringing them in earlier because it's dark earlier? If so it is probably boredom, try stable toys and licks they help

Answer 6

without knowing more it's difficult to answer. sometimes they do have grumpy days. mine does and i leave him alone. he also started biting but i was at the time giving him the odd carrot or polo when i went in the field. he was biting because he was looking for treats. when i stopped the treats, he stopped biting. just a thought.

Answer 7

something is obviously bothering it, check it over for any swellings of cuts if none get its teeth and back checked?
is it biting you when you do anything in particular of just anytime?
if its biting when you are grooming it might be in pain?
boredom is another reason horses bite get a lick-it or some other type of boredom breaker and see if it helps?

Answer 8

There are various reaons. A few could be:
If it's a mare she could be in season
She could be getting bored or frustrated being in her stall so get something to entertain her like even hanging a ball in her stable will help.
Could be a change in diet
etc
Good luck

Answer 9

boredom,maybe you dont spend time with him as you cant.im not blaming you chick.just maybe hes bored and feels threatened by humans,sounds like hes need of more handling.a tap on the nose sorts it out usually.if hes having a lot of attention.otherwise give him attention.he seems bored and in need of exercise.is he a gelding?stallion?or a mare? is he stabled?or loose with other horses?as this will tell the story in its self x

Answer 10

have you had the teeth checked that is the first place I would start and go from there sometimes a bad tooth can make them grumpy. good luck and god bless and happy holidays.