Horse Behavior - Biting

Horses & Bites - A Trick To Know With Biting

Most people know most of the reasons a horse bites, but there is one that is not well known but very common...

My colt (that will be 2 in April) has a really bad habit of biting now,and even if I tell him no in a gentle/firm manner or tap his mouth he still goes back for more. What should I do to keep this under control?

Biting seems to be one of those vices that crops up with monotonous regularity - or more simply - all the time. Biting is such a normal way for a horse to check things out and interact with other horses. The trouble is that we humans tend to bruise a lot easier than a fence post or a field companion. And unless a horse is taught that biting humans is forbidden, the horse simply won't know any better.

A horse will bite out of fear or fright to protect himself. Also it is a way of testing or enforcing the herd hierarchy. These are common sense and most people know about these ideas already. So I would like to introduce you to a lesser known third reason that horses bite, which is ....

...playfulness, especially in young ones.

Yep, young horses like to nip and bite for the fun of it, to get a reaction. Just like children in the back seat of the car who will poke and slap each other the whole journey, it's childish fun. Horseplay, in fact!

So what can you do? As you know, joining in will only encourage them. A slap for a bite is all part of the game - thinks the foal. It can be a tough one to sort out.

Avoiding the possibility of a game is the best strategy. Always tie him up short and hold him firmly out of reach on the lead. Then it's time for creativity. What can you do that will not encourage a tit-for-tat game but will get the message across that biting is not allowed?

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Horse Behavior - Innate vs Learned

So what horse behavior is a foal born knowing? What do other horses teach a foal? What does the foal learn from humans?

...From an unusual and rather interesting email recently, asking for information on the innate vs learned behavior of a young horse. A great topic to investigate!

After a dig around, this is what I have compiled for you:

Innate behaviors are the things an animal can do or has the urge to do without being taught. Behavior that is hardwired in from birth. But you knew that bit. In horses that means; suckling, standing, running, neighing and possibly 'mouth clapping' (a strategy for appeasing older horses) are all innate. Please note that although the drive to do these is innate, the actual behavior is perfected with practice. A foal cannot stand perfectly first try!

The fact that a foal has to learn how to do many innate behaviors well seems to cause a lot of confusion as to what is innate and what is learned.

Beyond these it is all learning. Learning basically covers communication, discipline and safety. Horses learn to communicate with each other, to interact as a member of the herd, to play to be social, to play dominance games, to read horse body language, to avoid predators, what is acceptable horse behavior, what is safe to eat, what to be afraid of and mutual grooming. Biting seems to be a learned behavior. It is an extension of the suckling reflex.

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Foals need other horses to teach them these behaviors, and there appears to be much anecdotal evidence that foals weaned too abruptly or too young result in mal-adjusted adults. Or in plain English, if a foal is traumatized by being weaned to young it may be more likely to have bad habits. And if a foal is not taught by other horses how it can be behave, it may grow up to be a thug!

And so foals also need to be taught (in baby sized, regular lessons) how they may behave around humans. A foal's reaction to people is ALL learned. Whether mother taught the foal or we did. They are a blank canvas for people at birth.

The best strategy for teaching a foal is to behave as it's mother would. Guide good behavior and discipline antisocial and dangerous behavior. And as a bonus tip, where you can, mimic the way horses communicate and interact with each other. That's the real secret of the 'horse whisperers'.

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