Some horses are known for nipping or biting humans, posing serious human safety risk. Although horses are known to graze grass, their jaws still contain considerable strength with sharp incisors that can inflict serious human injuries if provoked in this way. This behavior differs greatly from windsucking, cribbing or fence chewing activities which don’t involve actual contact between horse and human beings.
Biting could also be a telltale sign of an underlying health condition or that too many human interactions have gone too far for your horse’s comfort level.1
Why Do Horses Bite? In the pasture, horses bite as part of play or to defend themselves or their food or offspring from potential threats; to discipline young or inferior horses; or simply because they’re annoyed or restless. Reasons why horses bite may also include:
Aggression
Horses who exhibit aggression or excess energy often express this through biting behavior. Stallions in particular can become dangerously aggressive biters; as such they should only be purchased by experienced owners due to the care required in handling. Beginner horse owners should therefore not buy stallions.
Allogrooming
Allogrooming between horses is another common way for one horse to bite another, particularly along the top of its neck or withers. Mirroring this behavior by scratching these areas as praise may also serve as a form of reward.
However, you must not give your horse the opportunity to initiate allogrooming between itself and its handler; that is, don’t allow your horse to initiate grooming you while brushing him; if it tries grooming you as you brush its coat then push its head away firmly as allogrooming is not intended to be a threatening behavior but simply inappropriate when engaging in with humans.
Uncomfortable Saddle or Tight Girth mes Many horses react negatively if their saddle girth is tightened too quickly or too much; similarly if it doesn’t fit properly they may lash out in anticipation of discomfort and bite to ensure relief as soon as possible.
Your horse must feel secure as you saddle up and ride. This may require making changes to saddle or girth length, using different saddle pads, or taking steps such as slowing down when tightening the girth too tightly.
Illness, Discomfort or Infection
Some horses bite because they’re sick or uncomfortable. Before punishing any biting behavior that seems out of character for your horse, make sure a physical examination by a veterinarian has been conducted to rule out possible health causes as a potential source of biting behavior.
How to Stop Biting
Re-training a horse that bites can be a difficult process, depending on its severity. If the biting becomes extreme, professional assistance from an equine behaviorist or trainer may be needed for safe training of horses.
Additional steps you can take to prevent biting behavior include:
Clicker Training: Another effective strategy for curbing biting in horses is teaching them to focus their attention on an object. Horses that frequently bite have very active minds that need stimulating. Clicker training provides an ideal way of engaging such minds.
Beginning Young: Horse biting habits often start early on in a young horse’s life. Colts in particular often explore their environment using their mouths; therefore it is essential that young horses understand it is unacceptable for their mouths to touch humans with them. Teach your young horse early that using its mouth to touch others with its lips is forbidden!
Teaching Respect: Young horses need to learn how to keep a respectful distance and avoid initiating contact, which could require not feeding it treats by hand until this behavior becomes habit.
Provide enrichment: Horses are natural grazers and should have enough roughage (grass or hay) available to it for maximum activity throughout its day. To provide maximum enrichment to your horse, ensure it receives enough feed (grazing or chewing).
Consistency: At all times, you should ask your horse to maintain an appropriate distance and never initiate contact or try to rub its head against you or explore pockets or bags. Professional Help: For horses that exhibit aggressive tendencies, professional trainers may be necessary.