Biting And Very Stubborn Horse!

[TBLover]

My 12 year old tennessee walker have major issues. He was rescued from an auction and has been a living hell since. He bites and he is always being stubborn. The only problem he dosent have is that he doesnt kick....thank god. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to stop biting, and just house kick the stubborness out of him. (i don't mean lieraly kick lol)

[Lil]

Hi TBlover,

Sounds like you have a handfull there with your horse. When does your horse bite and act stubborn, when you brush him, lead him? There can be many reasons as to why your horse feels the urge to bite and not obey you and they usually come down to two things
1. He doesnt respect you
2. He feels scared in your presence

Once you figure out why he is doing it, then you can act accordingly. I find playing Parelli 7 games with horses very useful.

[Saddle Bag]

Just because a horse is 12 doesn't mean he knows what's going on. I'm suggesting you get a knotted halter and start his ground training all over again with the at***ude he knows nothing. If he misbehaves a steady pull back on the halter will gain his respect, probably not the first time, but by the third. There is much ado about the correct position for leading a horse. I prefer them where I'm by the jaw so I can see what's going on with his ears. Many trainers will say that the horse should be behind as it would with an alpha mare. Whichever way you chose make him stay arms length away. Hold your lead about 4' down the rope so his head isn't carrying the weight of your arm. You have a sharp elbow so if he swings his head to bite, use that sharp elbow to clip him on the jaw, then quickly turn to face a point well behind him and make him back up 4 or 5 paces. Let him settle then proceed to walk with him again. Always allow him three or four chances to figure out what you are asking of him. I wouldn't try progressing to anything else until he leads like a gent and is respectful of you. Be sure to always turn him away from you as that asserts dominance. If toward you, he becomes dominant as you relinquish your position of alpha.

[Garden Creek Farm]

You need to regain conrtoll of the situation. As a horse trainer I prefer a close contact yet dominate way of training horses. All humans working with horses have to be the dominate one. If you are doing an activity with him (ground work) and he trys to bite pop him on the nose. You need to start back again with the basics of training and take it slow. Make sure he understands what you are trying to get him to do before you move onto something else. When he kicks ammediantly move along his side. Gently swing your rope to his hindquarters and make him turn his body face bending towards you in a 360 do this until he stops kicking at you or the air. Because if you are treating him right then there is no excuse for him to be acting that way. Try Try Again!