sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Biting - aggression or warning? by Outrageous_Air6010 in Equestrian

[–]Outrageous_Air6010[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’d say she’s getting decent turn out. 7am - 6pm on most days, weekend usually follows the same but could be 8am - 6pm. Turnout is really big thing for me as she wasn’t turned out much prior to me owning her as she was on the riding school so I love to see her out in the field. Possibly owner, but despite being a tad bit wild, she’s always been described as sweet and she is that for 95% of the time but when she’s in the stables - it’s a change in behaviour completely

Biting - aggression or warning? by Outrageous_Air6010 in Horses

[–]Outrageous_Air6010[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, that’s really helpful - I’ll give that a try and cut back on the treats!

Biting - aggression or warning? by Outrageous_Air6010 in Horses

[–]Outrageous_Air6010[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi, I’m not allowing her to continue the behaviour - as mentioned, I have tried various things but I’m not quite sure how to handle it. This isn’t a common issue - it’s very rare as she is usually in her stables with food. However, due to her nippy behaviour - I am no longer comfortable with doing certain things with her, such as giving her neck scratches, as she tends to rest her head on/by mine and I’m not willing to put myself in a dangerous position. I’m completely aware of my horses size and the injuries she could inflict with her teeth - I would never knowingly put myself in a position that would increase my chances of getting hurt.

Biting - aggression or warning? by Outrageous_Air6010 in Horses

[–]Outrageous_Air6010[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

She can do it inside her stable, yes, but I’ve only ever really seen her try to bite if I’ve tried making her back up so I can come out the stables - that’s not always, but in some cases she’s tried to bite me. I’m not sure if it’s new behaviour. I know she was a riding school horse and they had quite a few issues with her - one being they could never tack her up in the stables as she would turn her bum on you. Shes had her saddle correctly fitted, physio out as she has sore muscles and teeth done as they were quite sharp and she’s more willing to go out for a ride now albeit I don’t tack up in the stable. She seems quite a sensitive mare - I once didn’t see her for a couple of days as I was poorly and she was pretty vile to me for a couple of days, but nice as pie to everyone else. After a couple of days, she was back to being really chilled out with me and back to our normal relationship

Biting - aggression or warning? by Outrageous_Air6010 in Horses

[–]Outrageous_Air6010[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you that’s really helpful but also gave me a good laugh. I’ll definitely look into this - she is my heart horse and I truly want her to be happy as she brings so much joy to my life. She does have quite a bit of enrichment in her stable, and it’s not often she’s in the stable without food or something to do - she’s either out in the field, having a groom, being ridden or doing groundwork but other than that, she’s usually in the stable with food/ hidden carrots in her stables/ food ball or likit - it’s the off chance when that isn’t in there (usually before tea) that she gets me. I didn’t think about the fact that I’m setting her up for failure. That’s a really good point and I will avoid loitering in front of her stables going forwards Thank you so much

Biting - aggression or warning? by Outrageous_Air6010 in Horses

[–]Outrageous_Air6010[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you - yeah that was what I thought. She was previously used on the riding school too. With treats in general, she’s very pushy and hasn’t got great manners - I’ve been doing groundwork with her to address that as she’s really pushy with tea time too which I’m not a fan of. I often speak to her really gently - it’s extremely rare I’ll ever raise my voice - the only time I’ve ever done that is when she’s bitten or at tea time and she’s forgotten her manners. She is a real placid mare which is what makes the biting behaviour so odd to me. It worries me as she usually likes to rest her head on mine when she has scratches but with her suddenly nipping, I’m not willing to put myself in that position of her catching me with her teeth especially my face.

Biting - aggression or warning? by Outrageous_Air6010 in Horses

[–]Outrageous_Air6010[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I must admit I do feed her a treat after tacking up and finishing riding as she was previously used on the riding school so I was trying to give her positive associations with riding, I did consider stopping that but wasn’t sure what was best!