goatgirl132
Chillin' with the herd
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horse bit my mom???
- Thread starter goatgirl132
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Bunnylady
Herd Master
If the horse is misbehaving with your mother, you really can't stop it, it has to be your mother. She needs to work on ground manners with this horse - walk, whoa, back. She needs to pick up and pick out her feet, brush her, do all the stuff that one does with a horse. If the horse gets out of line, your mother needs to be the one to correct her. The horse needs to learn to stay out of your mother's space until your mother tells her it's ok. We aren't just talking about the horse putting her mouth on your mother, we are talking about any act of disrespect.
You see, the problem is that this horse doesn't respect your mother. It starts with little things, a little space invasion, whatever, and if the horse gets away with it, it then pushes a little more. Bites usually don't come "out of nowhere," the horse has usually been working up to it for some time in subtle ways, and the horse owner wasn't paying attention enough to see what was happening. I feed horses at a stable, and sometimes a horse may think they can do the attitude thing with me, because all I do is feed, I don't "train" them. Guess again, buddy! Being safe around horses means that the horses have to understand that you, the human, are in charge, all the time.
You see, the problem is that this horse doesn't respect your mother. It starts with little things, a little space invasion, whatever, and if the horse gets away with it, it then pushes a little more. Bites usually don't come "out of nowhere," the horse has usually been working up to it for some time in subtle ways, and the horse owner wasn't paying attention enough to see what was happening. I feed horses at a stable, and sometimes a horse may think they can do the attitude thing with me, because all I do is feed, I don't "train" them. Guess again, buddy! Being safe around horses means that the horses have to understand that you, the human, are in charge, all the time.
yankee'n'moxie
Ridin' The Range
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I agree with BunnyLady. This is a disrespect issue where your mom has to discipline her. Do as stated above, but I am going to add that when you are going to discipline them don't be afraid to pop them on the end of the nose. Not hard, just enough to get your point across... Or, if you don't agree with a pop, then you can just use the end of you finger to poke their nose. It is not painful, but they definitely don't like it. I taught a stallion that had never been made to listen how to pick up his feet and not bite using the poking method. When he just put his mouth near or on me, he got poked. Not fun for the horse, and you might get some attitude, but be consistent, and she will get it!!
Bunnylady
Herd Master
What you've described to me doesn't really sound like a "habit", it just sounds like the mare hasn't got it straight in her head who is in charge. She thinks she is, so she is telling your mother what she thinks of her. As with most herd animals, horse social behavior involves a pecking order. I'm guessing that your horse bosses the goats around; if you had other horses, one would boss the others around, too. Your horse is trying to boss your mother around, and it sounds like to some extent she's been getting away with it. The way to stop this undesirable behavior is to not let her get away with it, ever. Once she learns that nipping is always going to get her something that she doesn't like, she'll stop. She may try it on once in a while to see if the rules are still the rules, but it won't be an "all of the time" kind of behavior any more.
Horses are very "oral", one of the ways they express/relieve stress is to lick and chew (sometimes when there isn't anything in their mouths at all). One of the horses I used to look after did have a habit of putting his mouth on things. He was a Thoroughbred, fairly high-strung, and just being around a person made him slightly nervous. He acted on this nervousness by putting his mouth on things - the top of the door, the edge of his feeder, whatever. When I'd go to put his halter on him, he often would try to take the halter in his mouth. Being made to stand still makes a lot of horses nervous, and when you asked this guy to stand still, he'd often make grabs at the lead rope. Yes, he often tried to put his mouth on me, too - but that was against the rules, and he knew that. I had to keep one eye on this horse all the time (not a bad idea with any horse, actually) and if he looked like he was turning his head toward me, I had to head him off with a verbal reprimand. I didn't usually have to get physical with him, because he wasn't really being mean, he just had this urge to put his mouth on things. Rather than get nipped and get after him (which really only added to his stress), my job was to help him be good by watching closely and heading him off before he got out of line. Blanketing, for example. I'd start to put his blanket on him, he'd turn his head to look at me, and I'd growl, "don't even think about it." When he relaxed and turned his head away, I'd say, "gooood boy!" and get on with the job, but I had to stay aware of where his head was while I was pulling the blanket into place and buckling the straps. After a while, you get so you can read the body language and know when the horse is just watching, and when they are "up to something".
Horses are very "oral", one of the ways they express/relieve stress is to lick and chew (sometimes when there isn't anything in their mouths at all). One of the horses I used to look after did have a habit of putting his mouth on things. He was a Thoroughbred, fairly high-strung, and just being around a person made him slightly nervous. He acted on this nervousness by putting his mouth on things - the top of the door, the edge of his feeder, whatever. When I'd go to put his halter on him, he often would try to take the halter in his mouth. Being made to stand still makes a lot of horses nervous, and when you asked this guy to stand still, he'd often make grabs at the lead rope. Yes, he often tried to put his mouth on me, too - but that was against the rules, and he knew that. I had to keep one eye on this horse all the time (not a bad idea with any horse, actually) and if he looked like he was turning his head toward me, I had to head him off with a verbal reprimand. I didn't usually have to get physical with him, because he wasn't really being mean, he just had this urge to put his mouth on things. Rather than get nipped and get after him (which really only added to his stress), my job was to help him be good by watching closely and heading him off before he got out of line. Blanketing, for example. I'd start to put his blanket on him, he'd turn his head to look at me, and I'd growl, "don't even think about it." When he relaxed and turned his head away, I'd say, "gooood boy!" and get on with the job, but I had to stay aware of where his head was while I was pulling the blanket into place and buckling the straps. After a while, you get so you can read the body language and know when the horse is just watching, and when they are "up to something".
taylorm17
Loving the herd life
I would suggest your mom working with her on the ground and having the horse and her have a better bond and start again. Also when she nipps smack her on the nose and show her dominance and that she can't do that because she could potentially hurt your mom. You have to give her what she is giving to you. She bites, you bite back. That make sense? Hope it gets better. At least she isn't like that with every one!
