Horses need both mental and physical stimulation to be happy and content. If you don’t give your horse a job and keep his mind busy, he’ll find an outlet for his pent-up energy and a way to keep his mind busy. In a lot of cases, that results in the horse developing some sort of vice (weaving, cribbing, etc.) including being mouthy—constantly playing with your shirt sleeve or nibbling on the lead rope, for example. Very athletic horses and young horses tend to develop this habit.
The bad news is that mouthy behavior often turns into biting—a very dangerous vice. The good news is if you give your horse a job, as simple as making him move his feet forwards, backwards, left and right, his mouthiness will disappear.
In the training guide, “A Case of the Nibbles,” Clinton explains how to address your horse’s mouthiness and deter him from biting you.
Read the training article now on the Downunder Horsemanship website.
