{"id":490,"date":"2020-11-10T11:51:01","date_gmt":"2020-11-10T11:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/horseycounsel.com\/?p=490"},"modified":"2021-01-14T13:34:47","modified_gmt":"2021-01-14T13:34:47","slug":"handle-a-horse-that-bites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/horseycounsel.com\/handle-a-horse-that-bites\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Handle a Horse That Bites People"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Horses bite people sometimes, and they even bite other animals, but fortunately, this behavior can be corrected in a few easy steps. However, before taking any action to prevent your horse from biting, it’s important to understand why horses bite in the first place.<\/p>\n
Today, we’ll take a deeper dive into a horse’s behavioral patterns in order to figure out why they might bite their handlers and what can be done to prevent it. Do horses bite people out of fear, or maybe as a coping mechanism? Or is it all just playful fun for them?<\/p>\n
In truth, the no.1 cause of horse biting is hand feeding. While it might seem like a good opportunity for bonding, it’s never a good idea to allow a horse to see you and your body as a food source.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Horses are much larger than us. Our hands are not very big when compared to a small tasty treat. Horses have powerful bites, but we’ll get to that in a second. First, let’s touch on another important subject: how do horses get their food in the wild.<\/p>\n
How do horses get their food?<\/h3>\n
It seems like a straightforward question, right? A horse eats grass and shrubbery. It’s easy for it to do so, as no blade of grass has ever run away from a horse. A horse doesn’t have to work for its food in the same way a predatory animal has to. It doesn’t need to stalk its food, follow it, and run after it.<\/p>\n
When you feed a horse from your hand and allow the horse to see all food as a reward, you form a habit. The equine will not start demanding food, and it might even bite its owners’ pockets or hands in order to get some. Do you see the pattern that emerges? While they might seem cute and kind at a glance, horses can be very pushy and demanding if they’re not trained properly.<\/p>\n
Spoiling your horse will do more damage in the long run. You might think that you’re providing it with a comfortable life, but there is such a thing as being too<\/em> comfortable. When it comes to food, just put the carrots, apples, and whatever else you might want to feed it in a bucket or a separate tray. Just don’t feed it from your hand, simple as that.<\/p>\n
There are two ways you can go about stopping your horse from biting<\/h2>\n
Method #1<\/h3>\n
Maybe you didn’t create the biting habit. Maybe the horse was already biting when you got it. So what can be done now? Definitely don’t hit it, and don’t try to fight it off. You’ll only scare the equine and trigger its fight or flight response. You might even traumatize it somewhat, a subject that I explored in detail right here<\/a>.<\/p>\n