BLITZING BAD BEHAVIOUR l NIPPING
Say goodbye to mouthiness and nibbling. Mel Beale finds out how to address these nuisance behaviours
YOU GO TO put on your horse’s headcollar and he is fascinated by pulling at the sleeve of your jacket, or perhaps today it’s your hood. You tie him up, and as you bend to pick up his hoof to clean out his feet, you feel him reaching around to try and nip your back. These little nips and nibbles might start out as endearing quirks, but they can quickly become annoying and potentially painful if he nibbles a mouthful of skin.
There are plenty of reasons why a horse may be mouthy, and not all are negative, assures equine behaviourist Melanie Watson, but it is important to look at the context of the behaviour to understand that rather than assume one way or the other.
“In young horses nibbling or nipping can stem from curiosity and experimentation. They might be trying or tasting new things or textures — they are using their mouth, lips and teeth to figure out what something is,” explains Melanie. “Nipping can be a play behaviour, but it is also done if the horse is bored or even losing teeth.”
This behaviour can continue into adulthood when the reasons for nipping can become harder to discern.
“Nibbling can also be the start of a horse saying, ‘I don’t like that. Please stop’. Most owners will innately be able to tell the difference between positive and negative nibbling,” says Melanie. “For example, a horse might nibble us when we groom him because he wants to groom us back. That’s not a bad type of nibbling, but it can hurt us.”
How does the behaviour progress?
Horses may be mouthy or nibble during which they explore with their teeth and lips, and this can range from gentle to more intense. Nipping is a small, sharp bite, compared to biting which is stronger and usually rooted in aggression. It isn’t necessarily a scale on which horses will move up or down, but it is worth keeping track to see if the behaviour escalates over time.
“If you think nibbling isn’t being sourced from something positive that can be the start of an escalating behaviour that can lead to nipping, and then biting,” says Melanie. “Every behaviour serves a purpose, and the majority of the time nipping or biting people is done in self defence to stop something happening.”
When, where and why?
Before an owner does anything they need to identify the triggers that prompt the horse to nibble or nip, particularly if it is behaviour that is aimed at the handler.
“What are you doing when he nips? Is he trying to stop you from doing something?” asks Melanie. “Is he preventing you from putting on his headcollar because he’s putting it in his mouth? Or is he preventing you from picking out his feet because he nips you once you’ve turned around?”
Dealing with nipping
