Halter breaking an older stud and dealing with nipping

misspaperwait · Jul 3, 2017

Hi there! This is my first post on the form since joining

My family adopted two beautiful mini horses a few weeks ago from a local farmer, the older of the two (Coco) is 3 years old and the younger (Puffs) is a yearling. Neither of them had ever been handled before we got them.

My mom has always worked with horses but these are our first minis so we're a little unsure about how to handle them.

We'd like to halter break the older one and teach him to lead, he doesn't seem to have much of issue with allowing us to halter him as he loves to please but we don't know how to go about teaching him to lead.

Any tips for teaching him to lead?

The younger one actually got out on us today but he was very eager to please and didn't hesitate or cause a ruckus when he was haltered, he lead well for a few feet until he realized he was being led and decided to get momentarily stubborn but after a moment he grabbed the sleeve of my moms sweater and was happy to follow her the rest of the way.

This leads us to next question, how to stop a mini from nipping? He doesn't full on bite but if you're petting his head (or the older horse) he likes to reach over and nip/pull at your clothes or whatever else he can get his mouth on at the time. He absolutely loves attention but we'd like him to stop nipping and we're not sure how to correct his behaviour.

Any advice would be great,y appreciated

Minimor · Jul 3, 2017

Teaching to lead -- I would do it just the same as I do with a foal: Use a rump rope until he gets the idea. once he learns he is supposed to walk with you I would trade the rump rope for a stock whip. (unless he completely gets the idea and doesn't have any balky moments. ) Use the whip to tap his hip if he lags

Miniv · Jul 3, 2017

I believe in leading off their shoulder. Teach the forward pressure by lightly tugging them forward, but still stay at their shoulder...."Pressure and release".... When they step forward, release the pressure and walk WITH them..... If they charge too far ahead, apply the pressure to hold them back to stay WITH you. Then, begin the process again.

Use a riding crop, if you have one. to have in your opposite hand, holding it horizontally between your hip and the horse, so if the horse gets too close to you he will feel the poke of the crop and instinctively step away. (It helps with nippy ones). If you don't have a crop, you can use a stick that's about 18 inches long. I never use it for smacking, just to "poke", ie, pressure.

I tell them to "Walk" as I'm doing it and give lots of praise when they respond. "Whoa" is to tell them they've gotten too far ahead of you while you apply the pull back.

As for your fellow nipping at your shirt......He's testing. You have 5 seconds to respond. (We never smack the face.) But, you can take the palm of your hand and rub his nose round and round and tell him "Quit!"......It won't make him head-shy, but it will annoy him.

Marsha Cassada · Jul 5, 2017

When leading, do teach them work on either side. They need to feel comfortable with a handler on either side of them.

Nippers: my 20 year old driving horse was a nipping stallion when I got him at age 5. He had never been handled in his life. I gelded him right away and tried every advice people gave me to break him of nipping. After 15 years, he is still a nipper. However, when he is out and about, with children or handicapped folk, he never nips. I'm sure there is some horse psychology here, but I've never figured it out.

Cayuse · Jul 6, 2017

I have often wondered about chronic nippers. I have one,too. He also was gelded late. I think around age 8. He has improved over the years but has reached a plateau. After reaching a certain point in his retraining, continuing to reprimand him made things worse. Now we have reached an uneasy truce, but it works for us. He is never NOT going to be mouthy at times. I have learned that when he is feeling annoyed or bratty and nips, he will listen to a sharp "NO!" and having him move away. But if he nips from anxiety, it is best to just "let it go" and just take a deep breath and deal with the CAUSE of his anxiety.

I know ignoring bad behavior is not good, but in his case sometimes ignoring the bad and reinforcing the positive works. He is a puzzle.

Cayuse · Jul 6, 2017

Misspaperwait, when your mini nips, try making him move away from you. Make yourself "big" and step into his space making him move and get OUT of yours. I usually add a "grrr no!" to get their attention.

Once they are halter broke, work on having them stay a certain distance away from you. They can't nip if they are not close.

Pretend you have a "bubble" around you and they cannot enter that space without being invited to do so.

This was taught to me when I had a mini that was crowding me and just getting to close for comfort.

Jean_B · Jul 21, 2017

He nips because that is how stallions assert dominance over their herd. Right now he sees you as part of his herd and you must establish yourself as the alpha. Distance is helpful - leading from the shoulder will help. But he must be made to understand that it is not acceptable under ANY circumstances because there will be times you are working close to his head. Make him immediately (don't delay!!) think you have become the devil himself.....blow up, spread your arms, use a LOUD deep voice. Make him back up. Give him reason to think about it. You can become friends later but if he is allowed to constantly nip - you will never be friends as you will always be on guard.