Hi all I am Jennifer,

I have had horses my whole life and I am 43 LOL.. I adopted recently a Quarterhorse gelding who's history was sad and abusive .. he's actually a nice horse .. I joined here to sorta share this horses progress with you all..

Thanks
Jen

Welcome,

Glad to have you and would be happy to hear his story and progress.

Welp I have had this horse long enough to see what problems he has...one is nipping.. he is adopted so I guess these quircks are normal to see.. what I want to know is how do I stop him from biting without making him hate me...

This is what I have done with mine and had success. First I don't hand feed any of my horses at all. I believe that creates nippers, seen it happen with my inlaws horse. He was not the type of horse that was in your space when they got him, but after a year of hand feeding treats everytime they were around him. He now walks right up on top of you and searches for his treat. They think it is cute and I find it extremely dangerous. I do give mine treats but always in their buckets. Second you have to make sure that they know that they are not allowed in your space unless asked. As for what I do. I always make sure that they run into my hand or elbow so to speak. I do it in a way that makes them think that they ran into me and not me bopping them. You have to be quick on knowing what their tells are, and getting them before they make contact. None of mine hate me they still follow me everywhere when I am out there with them, and know to keep there space. You have to be consistant and it should work. good luck.

Hello P8ntCrazy,

My New boy is doing very well he is settling in and the nipping seems to be non existant.. Have never hand fed horses so it was not something I was doing he just came with some bad habits.. I had to work around them... he is gaining some good weight and I actually rode him for a while day before yesterday... as yesterday I had to finish with putting up his shelter..thank god I am done with that. when I rode him I found out how well he has been trained he was brilliant he new every leg command I gave him to a T.. he had been used as a barrel racer up till 2 years before I adopted him... anyway thats about all I have tonight for ya ;D

Glad he is doing good for you. It is hard when they come with bad habits. But once you get it fixed its normally worth it.

Hello. Glad to see you're making progress with your adopted horse. I love hearing happy stories like that. Can't wait to hear more about him.

hi, like most of the post I've read, I've got a horse that nipping. He just spent 2 weeks at the trainers. And while he was there he never once nipped at me. When I went to pick him up, he was in a round pen and had been there for 2 days, so she could make sure he was getting water. Because he wouldn't go too the pond. He didn't know what a pond was, he had never seen one. Its like while he was gone, so was the bad habits, now that he's home THEIR BACK, and its not like he only acted this way when the trainer was around. because he acted good when she was no wear in site for hours.
He started nipping before I even got him in the trailer. And now that he's home he is nipping more. Is it just the field he was in over there had more grass in it. Than the one at home. Like most post I've read I saved him. The people who had him let just wasn't feeding. 4 months later he's back up to his weight. Any help or suggestion would be great. thanks Oh I don't hand feed or give treats. If he gets treat their in with his feed.

Wookie,

It is how you carry and present yourself to them. He is challenging you and dosn't feel that you are the more dominant figure. You have to be on your game so to speak, teach the horse that you have a bubble so to speak around you and he is not welcome in that bubble unless invited. Use your arms like turn signals (on your call) Warning him that he is to close and if he comes into your space you bump him but in a way that he thinks he has ran into you. It is hard to explain, wish you were here could show you. But you need to catch him before he is in the process of nipping. Let's say that you are standing in front of him at his pen, as soon as he just slightly tips his nose at you, you bump him back. He needs to learn respect and working on his ground work (round pen) and manners (keeping space, etc.)will benefit him. It is long hard consistant work.

Good luck

If it something he is doing to YOU. He does not respect you. Since you had him @ a trainer who got along with him well, ask them. It might be something as simple as your body posture. If you stand up straight keep your head up and look him in the eye, he is more inclined to think you are dominate. If you look down, slump your shoulders, talk softly try to be his " Oh, Its ok, nothing bad is going to happen" friend he will walk all over you. If he's fed in a stall- Go in put the feed in his bucket and leave, BUT
If you go in and do just that-You think here you go buddy. He thinks- I've run her off again.
With mine I teach the word "round" When I go in the stall I tell them round they turn and face the back of the stall, I dump feed, exit shut door and aproach the next stall then use their name and ok, they can then approach the feed. If I change my mind and re-approach and use the word round they will leave the feed and face backwards.
If you can get that kind of control, you really shouldn't have other bad behaviors-Just time and patience and consistant repitition.
It doesn't have to be over food, just an example.