A little more in dealing with nipping, biting and general mouthiness.
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- čas přidán 28. 10. 2020
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Another great video on building a healthy relationship with one’s horse. In human psychology what you are illustrating is called attunement. When the horse reaches for you, you meet him with positive contact , both emotionally and physically. This is the basis of secure attachment. Many blessings to you Warwick for your evolved, kind, and sensitive approach. I would love to work with you!
I always have an agreement with my horses, they can use their lips, but never their teeth. I've found myself working with a lot of geldings especially, and you really deprive them of something when you forbid them from exploring you with their nose and mouth. I've had some very heart warming interactions because both the horse and I knows our boundaries, which leaves a space for trust and affection that's just incredible...
My old ottb would sit his nose in the crook of my neck when I was sitting in front of his stable, and have fun blowing the small hair there, which was incredibly ticklish xD but never failed to warm my heart, it was plain as day he had a genuine need to engage and touch people with his nose, it's really lovely to see someone explain and point that out
I have the same boundaries with the horses I engage with. One guy loved exploring my ear and sometimes my hair. Kept my ear warm in the winter at least, but my hair was always a bigger mess than normally when I was dealing with him.
Hi, i am interested in what your approach was with learning this ? :)
@callysto
@@lorenzodalba6962 oh dear hahaha just years and years and years around horses heh
I've been around horses since I was 3 and started riding at 6, I'm now nearly 26..
It's just trials and errors, learning from other people what to do and what not to do, observing horses and listening to what they're trying to communicate, mainly just never think you know something. There's *always* more to learn, more to see, more to realise, more to dig.
Always be humble around horses, never forget that they're living, breathing, feeling and thinking creatures, who don't just react but also make decisions and take action, respect their agency and intelligence.
There's really nothing more humbling and powerful than sitting next to a horse and watching it make the active decision to come interract with you, when it could be with other horses, or grazing, or literally anywhere else but standing next to you and quietly sharing your space, without expecting anything from you but your presence.
There's really no purest form of affection than the one offered just for the sake and warmth of it, be it a horse who comes to nuzzle your cheek, or plays with your hair, or nibble at your hands, or just stands next to you, relaxed and content.
If it's done softly and tenderly there's no reason to see it as any form of disrespect.
I hope this helped somewhat, it's hard to sum up a lifetime of reflection in a simple paragraph ^^
@@callysto_ii Thank you for your response, i might not have been very clear although i am grateful for you answer, what i intended to ask is practically how you would teach a horse not to use its teeth but use its lips only?
Would you create tension it when you feel teeth and release with lips ?
Thank you
I have to say, after watching your previous video on this subject, I did have doubts. My (now) gelding had been a cryptorchid stallion for nearly 14 years and was just notoriously pushy, mouthy and bitey. Making matters worse was that he was often smacked in the face when he did get mouthy so he would overreact to anything going on around his face or head. But, I figured I had nothing to lose (who needs fingers anyway, right?). After a few times of him trying to nip or mouth and him assuming I was going to smack him in the face and shying, he started allowing me to GENTLY touch his nose and chin. While we've only been at this for about a week now, it's pretty clear that the engagement is what he was looking for. He still loves to play with and pick things up in his mouth, and probably always will, but his response to having his nose or chin rubbed when he tries to nip, well you can pretty well see the penny drop like "oh finally, someone figured this out."
This is one of 2 WS concepts that has certainly helped my connection with my horse! She seems to relax. I have also learned that she may want to touch my hands with her muzzle, but she doesn't want me touching her muzzle or face back. I just hold my hand or hands still and let her touch them herself.
I haven't had my horse in over a year. I miss him so much. Warwick taught me alot with just a few videos. I see he has alot of wisdom beyond the physical aspect 🖤🖤
This has been such a great lesson for me. My horse has never bitten me, but lately he's been nibbling my back when I've been grooming him and even reaching over and meeting my hand when I'm standing still sort of planning my next step. He's never been aggressive or pushy with it so I've always just sort of touched him back as a little game we play. But today I really paid attention and did some version of this as a response and he started yawning and dropped his head all the way down and that's the first time in a long time I've seen him *that* relaxed. Just super amazing to witness and be a part of!
💛💛💛💛💛
Reciprocating grooming.
I love how powerful this short video is, just meeting him where he is at. Watching all the processing and releasing just because you were there and present allowing him to learn. So cool and great releasing for people to actually see. Thank you
Thank you
Cricket Keeper - you just lost us all hahahaha! In all seriousness, the idea of engaging at the muzzle when and only when the horse presents him/herself has been very effective with our Red-head. It has been fun to watch how your perceptions and decisions have evolved over time as well! Learning is a journey not a destination :-)
This is how I engage foster kittens that are focused on sucking on my neck, hair, or any body part. The more I pushed them away the harder they try to suck, so I learned to have stop resisting and give extra cuddles and attention. Even at 2 AM. After a few focused attention cuddles they relax and fall asleep and the need to suck is greatly reduced. And I get better sleep. These are typically kittens that were separated from the mother to early. Kittens should not leave their mother and siblings until 12 weeks , but in rescue work kittens come at all ages and stages.
This was fascinating to see it is the same with horses.
Ha! I wonder if this works with biting puppies 😂
I just posted on the other video about cats and lingering baby behaviors. I have had adult cats who have licked my earlobe or bit at a shirt button while being petted. Those baby drives are so important when little, it's no wonder that they may linger.
Watched the first video this morning, one session with my new bitey horse and I could already see a change in him. I watched the cogs turning! For both of us. I know this will be a lifelong practice. Just searched for the video again and found this one. So grateful. I have a new mindset and my horse knows it. Onwards!
Great work Beck.
This is so cool. I did this accidentally and without understanding what I was doing, or what the mare I was with was asking for, but it was essentially this. She hated being brushed, hated being girthed up, was always reaching back with her ears flattened and mouth half open- so for quite a while I did everything at quarter speed and with lots of pauses for positive reinforcement (soft words, slow strokes on the neck and face) and acknowledgement of her resistance. The last couple of years I rode her, brushing (with the softest brush) was no problem and neither was the girth tightening process. She would stand still as a rock for me to get on and seemed to genuinely enjoy our time together. She put her head into my hands a couple of times, which to me was a huge honor, so I just stood there with her and cupped her muzzle, letting her breathe into me. When Covid happened I was so disappointed because I don't feel comfortable driving long distances or being around many people so riding was off the table. I had been watching a lot of the videos here and was eager to implement some of the ground work stuff in particular but... she broke a hind leg, possibly from a kick by one of her pasture mates, and had to be put down. She was one lucky horse, though- 20 years of life with the same wonderful, kind and responsible owner.
Anyway. Someday I'll get to ride again and all this stuff will be in my mind waiting to see what the horse needs. Thank you, Warwick!
Thank you War! They welcome you as a leader. And not a threat! Thank you for showing , in real life, these animals, are just looking for a good trustworthy, Shepherd! Thank you, for bringing this truthfulness to the surface!
I love how soft his eyes are🥰
Reminds me of a person trying to explain/describe unconditional love by holding a golf ball in their hand tightly versus opening and flattening the palm of their hand and letting the golf ball sit naturally in their hand without restricting it/confining it or trying to control it.
Hopefully that makes sense, if you really love something or someone , you don’t need to control it....
Set it free!! If it comes back to you (willingly) it was meant to be😊
There's that saying, "If you love something, set it free. If it returns, you know it loves you." I never heard the golf ball thing. Here's a truism: there's no such thing as unconditional love no matter how much you may desire it.
@@virginiamoss7045 yes, classic saying
I am about to just play your videos to sleep too... for real you help me so much to calm down because you talk to horses and teach folks how to as well so they are happier which honestly makes me so relaxed and happy... I think the one thing I have never gotten over is horses being mistreated... so thank you and here is to my super weirdness... I really dont care that anyone thinks I am weird your information makes me peaceful so thank you.
I am so happy to have found this video!! I have had my draft horse since he was a yearling and he has always been mouthy and nippy. I have tried many things to stop it and over the years he has gotten better, but not 100%. He usually tries to nip when I am grooming him. I tried this method and it works just like Warwick demonstrates! My horse started licking and chewing and the other day he began to yawn several times. I was so excited to see that!! Thanks so much for sharing this method! I also used the herd bound method that Warwick has a video on and that is proving to work too!
Was hoping for a new video! Thanks! ☺️
Lovely interaction with horse. Has a good eye. Very relaxed, and looking for head rubs
Love those releases....
Thank you so much for your vidéo, this really changed our life, 3 months of practice and the horse finally found peace and instead of biting gives gentle nose rubs.
Fascinating!!! Thank you!!!
Came looking for this after seeing Molly Sanders' interview with you where you talked about it. I saw your earlier video a year or so ago and it changed my perception & approach with my very playful and mouthy young gelding. Thank you for this update!
Excellent - Thank you!
Love love love!
My Fresian/quarter horse stud was 3 when I took him in.... he is 5.5 and a gelding now.
He bit me on the arm, while I was grooming him one morning, about two months afyer I brought him home, and a month into training...
I just stood there it was SOOO painful... After about 3 seconds, (it felt like much longer), he turned to me and bumped me with his muzzle, he looked very contrite...
I believe he was sore on his neck from training, and I must have hit a sore muscle with the brush..
He also had a habit early on with trying to grab a hand when petting him over the fence... it was like a territorial thing I think...
Over the last two years I have turned that need to bite. into licking... he loves to lick, hands, clothing, anything that comes into range...
The thing he LOVES more than anything is having his mane and tail brushed... he will fall asleep if I plait him.
The other thing I have noticed, is that if I do the 'slow blink', like to a cat - he responds in the same way, a slow blink, and his face softens.
He is so much more relaxed now. I am sitting in front of him right now, and he's asleep 😃
Interesting observation about that slow blink, because I know that works with nervous cats at the practice. I'll give it a try at the barn, too! Thanks! 😄
Thanks for the live demo. I use a long nose fly mask on my horses with white noses. I like your idea, easy to visualize. My last one would bite/open mouth my hands when I went to unclip the cross ties. They wanted out of the crossties so they could go have dinner.
This is So good ! Our new 6 month old Colt has started doing the nipping . I remember your other video about what to do . I saw it the day before I was with a woman tip training a young Mustang. Thank Goodness your teaching was fresh in my mind . He kept mouthing at me with His lips . I started to rub his nose . Cupped my hands and kept softly rubbing His Nose . It worked . That is what he wanted . So now I have my own Baby doing this . It is great to know how to engage positively with my Horse . Just awesome advice Warwick ! Laura and Bear 💜🐴
Realllllly good advice!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for your videos in this subject. I have a gelding which I've struggled with in regards of this, I puzzled out that it's becuase of anxiety but I've been very unsure of how to handle it. I'm looking forward to try this with him and see how he responds, thank you!
Thanks very much, I will give it try as this 3yr old gelding is very mouthy.
Voluntary engagement, good stuff.
I really appreciate that your approach in this situation isn't focused on what a horse HAS to do (compared to groundwork or under-saddle work), but rather what it WANTS to do based on OUR desires to engage with him. Humans are selfish creatures and when we demand attention in some way, we EXPECT other animals to just blindly allow us to smother them with affection; that's not always the case. With household companion animals, there's the idea that we should remove attention after a few seconds and see if the animal attempts to re-engage as a way of gauging if they are enjoying the interaction, especially if someone is not trained or aware to watch for subtle stress signs. By using calm, species-appropriate communicative techniques to allow engagement based on a two-way street (am *I* in an emotionally-appropriate place to ask for engagement from this animal and is that animal in a place to accept/reciprocate), it's amazing the avenues that can be opened up. Unfortunately people don't want to do that because we are a mentally-pathological species and expect animals to fill our mental/emotional voids in ways that they were never prepared, so it's no wonder that many of them have behavior problems as a result of our neediness.
Oh, I really like this
Again, just like human kids. As human kids,, let’s be honest. We all need attention! Thank you again, War! For being real about the whole thing! Thank you again War ! For studying and bringing us the clear facts 🤔💕😎✝️😁
this works super well. When I started my colt he wasn't aware of his big head haha, but now he is super gentle and I am okay with him nuzzling babies because he is very careful and loving but backs off when asked
My Pony Sunblock is what I used on my horse. 👍
Makes me think of a couple horses. One I knew that would bite anything and loved a good mouth massage... if you were paying attention you could touch all around the month and he would not bite.
The other is my own. He always held a sleeve when I came out initially he still will from time to time but usually I'm auto petting him at this point. Or giving him a good rub along his body.
The other thing he does is hold the toe of my boot when mounted at times. Though not if I ride without a saddle and pad.
Good to have it pointed out that mouthy is not necessarily horrible and can be positive in that the horse wants a connection.
That stallion has the dopiest (in a good way!) face, it's like a cartoon characters!
cute and helpful video
Rey? Gonna interact with Rey?
Cool, I like him.
Keep-up the good work!!
Wow lovely video - my horse has got pushy due to clicker training and rewarding - i think I’ve been treating too much
Sounds like my beagle. If she sees your hands in you pockets she howls for food will will jump and push on my legs
It really works I had a grown man teasing me over this but that's what I do and it works fast
What about the horses that nip when you walk with them, ahead of them and they come and nip on the shoulder?
Yep I have a great bruise from this happening yesterday!
they are saying hey, pay attention
My pony does that really often, it's complicated to work on ground with him.
God Lord, he is adorable!
Love your videos. So interesting. Would this method pertain to a horse who seems to aggressively bite?
Watching horses with each other I see them approach and put their muzzles together, side to side, as if engaging in "conversation" or smelling one another, then breaking apart, sometimes with a squeal. Also, a playful one will try to get another to play with him/her by nipping, even on boney parts. It all really seems like a desire to simply engage on some level or other. So this all makes a lot of sense.
That’s a good looking horse.
Follow the head of the herd animal 😎 Thanks! It also works with young, billy goats! Thank so much!
What a handsome boy! I'd just about bet money that he knows how fortunate he is to be in your hands ( I know... stupid human thoughts).
Thank you for the great example on "how" we should approach this.
Makes me want to reach out and touch that soft, beautiful face.
❤️🌵☀️⛈️🌈☮️🐎
Would it be a good idea to position yourself between you and the horse on the next pass (after you have turned around with this method and are headed back again) as to give the horse a bit of extra assurance that you care about her concerns? (Or would that be a bad idea, or really not make a difference either way?) Thank you for all you share and do...I just love the way you are so compassionate and open to new thinking, new ways, and to applying things you have learned in other areas of life to horses. You are very interesting, informative and forward thinking.
Horse yawns are the best yawns.
Omygod Rey is so cute😫😫😫❤️❤️❤️
Grettings from Germany
Hello! From the U.S.🤗
Regards from Spain
@@meetandcode Hola! I don’t actually know Spanish, forgive me please. My little sister lived with a “host” family in/near Seville Spain, During her foreign exchange program. She loved it there!
@@KingsMom831 Glad to hear that; BTW, great horses in Seville! Saludos
What’s the powdered sunscreen you use please?
Imho most biting behavior is from pain (aka ULCERS) or the fear of pain (memory of ulcers).
In some situations im sure. In some situations horses are simply very curious with their mouths, very puppy like. Other times they bite out of pain or anger, biting being equivalent to shouting when all other signs are repeatedly ignored. A way of communicating. Some horses use biting to get your attention. By gently engaging their muzzle, you show them you are willing to communicate in a language they understand.
I have a 6 yr old OTTB who has the mind of a yearling, intense play drive and incredibly mouthy, favorite activity is rearing in play! He will just hop up and down by himself in the paddock if the other ottb won't play with him! He is not just mouthy, but constantly (and aggressively) grabbing lead rope as a passifier. Some trainers say don't worry with that but any ask and he is grabbing the rope if he can't get me. Curious how to work around the super high play drive (hot? anxious?) horse?
Well, I have a haffie. I believe the breed is part goat. If one didn't know her, they'd possibly mistake her mouthiness for intent to bite. She will grab things out of my hand on a consistent basis, and lick me otherwise. When she grabs stuff, I rub her nose like I am giving it a good polishing, and she will drop it. Works every time.
At 3:52, 4:05, and 5:04 he does a barely perceptible, little head shake. When I’m dog training, the shaking of the head is the signaling of a tradeoff and the arrival of the brain. At the moment of change, when “the physical dog” is in charge but it gets replaced by the arrival of “the non-physical brain” taking over, the head often get shaken.[1] I can show you exactly when it happens in puppies, too. I wonder if there's an equivalent behavior for horses.
It would be interesting to compare notes. Warm regards. Doug Parker, The DOuGTrainer
[1] In every dog, there's 1) the physical dog, 2) the non-physical brain, and 3) the non-physical mind. The dog and the brain are mutually exclusive, constantly trading off who's in charge-wild and reflexive, lightning fast dog, or relaxed, pattern-based, thoughtful, and slow brain.
Hello warwick, can you tell me, do you think it is unwise to ride a green three year old warmblood in muddy conditions? I'm in the uk and unfortunately during winter the fields are wet and muddy, would it knock his confidence? Thank you, love your videos
I dont think you can quantify it with " a green 3 year old warmblood". Its more on how well prepared the horse is to be ridden.
@@WarwickSchiller thank you, that makes sense, hes 40 months old to be exact and has been riding with no issues (yet 🙄) for three months three times a week for 30 minutes, it's only just turned muddy, love your channel and website. Cheers
Does this work with a very young (less than 1 yr old.) Horse?
Hi Warwick,
My mare has recently started getting nippy when I groom/bath her (I've had her for 6 months, she started roughly 6-8 weeks ago). Never did it before, only when being saddled up (although I've been working on this and she is improving). I've been implementing your advice but feel like I'm dropping the brushes every minute to engage with her this past week and with not much improvement. What do you think may have started this? I'm wondering if it's her hormones, as she does get worse when she's in season and I did get her in the middle of winter and it wasn't a problem at first.
Use one hand for the brush, one hand for the muzzle
My gelding Rocketman is very mouthy, he licks my hands a lot, but also nips my arms and shoulder when leading, in walk, especially when turning away from him (Eg turning left while leading on left), and almost a always when asked to trot. I’m going to give this a go while standing still, but…
❓How do I engage with him while we are on the move?
I just purchased a digital download of your book, can not wait to get started reading it!!
What about when your horse seems to wreck everything he can pull apart. Has to grab your clothes and twist them back and forth in his teeth. Use to pull me around by the clothes but now he gives a tug every now and then. I can’t figure it out. Ulcer, tension .
Today as I turned to walk away my 3 yr old nipped the back of my loose shirt. He didn’t actually bite my skin. I reacted with Ouch, No! And he startled but didn’t move his feet. I think he may have been wanting more attention. I like interacting with him and giving lovings, so I’ll do your method of having my hand ready to engage positively. Thanks
I have a two year old gelding who explores everything with his mouth. This has been the only thing to help with biting, however outside of engaging with people he still chews. up. everything. The vet has ruled out anything medical, and I give him chew toys but he is more interested in the things he can't have. It is an expensive habit and also a dangerous one, as he has flipped twice from grabbing the stirrup and getting it stuck in his mouth. It makes it difficult to work on his undersaddle work, and I have a feeling he won't be growing out of it anytime soon. Any advice?
My gelding has recently started to engage with me in this manner. Not so much a nip, but a “hey, what are you up to?” He’ll bend his head around and nuzzle me and look at what I’m doing.
Ok, this is when they want engagement. What about when they want to be in charge and want you to move away from them?
My rescue pony I have had for a few months was a hand raised foal where he came from and is very clever. So clever that he even does things like pretend to spook or push you so that he can get to his favourite grass outside the paddock. He is very playful and friendly, but lacks social skills due to his upbringing and tries to playfully nip at you constantly. He doesn’t have very good manners with other horses or humans and often waits until you are facing away from him and otherwise engaged before he nips. Should I still try to turn around and engage him like you demonstrated here, or is there another method for when you are further from their face such as doing brushing and care tasks on his back legs?
My horse bites in everything constantly, but when I try to engage with him, he obviously doesn't like it. So I don't know how to stop it. I have been trying every time he bites to engage, but than he seems agitated.
Many many years ago I held a treat improperly to offer it to a horse and he caught the end of my middle finger in his teeth. It was remarkably painful and I walked away in shock, but I didn't lose the tip of my finger. I've always wondered, could he have taken it off? Did he detect that something was wrong at the same time I did and release?
That's happened to me more than once. My own dumb fault and like you I wondered how I didn't lose a finger. Their teeth aren't sharp but those jaws are powerful and they can easily bite a finger off if they want to. It has made me more aware of flattening my hand if I'm giving a tasty treat.
A friend of mine did lose a fingertip!! Don't offer a treat to a new mother!! But seriously, that bite is VERY strong. Always pay attention to yourself and the horse.
So I've been doing this with my Gelding for about a month a half. Prior he was only nipping very occasionally, as soon as started engaging he has started doing it endlessly, he can spend hours just mouthing my hands and doing this. He licks and chews and will start again, over and over. It can escalate to moments where he will start quickly trying bite, even when I'm already engaging with him (and always on his terms). I feel like we plateaued in our progress. I know it great that he is interacting as he feels safe to explore and engage with me, but it's not developing and can get quite dangerous when he starts to get super stimulated and bitey in our interactions (again he is already getting attention at these points). So I'm not sure what the next step is.
Any help would be so appreciated!
What about when your trying to put a halter on when your outside or in the barn and they are continually grabbing the halter in their mouth?
I usually let them do it, and let them satisfy that urge. Its a stress coping mechanism, and if you reprimand them for it, it will just come out as a different coping mechanism
You may want to watch this older video from Warwick czcams.com/video/xhapIYc1_dM/video.html
@@WarwickSchiller my horse bites and chews the reins, I think it is a cooping mechanism too. Kinda traumatized horse. Do you just let them do that? Got to buy new reins quiet often now, he chews them to pieces. How can I fix this?. Been doing the engageing since your first video.
@@solbjrgkristiansen3699 I've found tough large dog toys work well for horses that need to bite down for the release
@@samanthag9524 yes I done that too. And we will be there for several hours if he "shall chew it down/out". Even if I let him do this every time. Been doing this for the last year and don't always carry dog toys around every where we go.
Never heard a cowboy with an Australian Accent🤠🤔
What does licking lips, chewing, and yawning have to do with a horses expression? We just got a horse about 4 weeks ago. I thought maybe he was having dental issues and we were boring him…🤷🏽♀️
I've been having increasing problems with my horse wanting to chew on things I have in my hands or my clothes. Anything from brushes to bottles of fly repellant are fair game. He doesn't bite, he just wants to swing around, grab and hold lightly in his teeth. He often does it when he has a halter on so I've got the lead in my hands. If I put my hands in the way of his nose if he goes to grab my T.shirt, he'll go for the rope instead. I've started verbally telling him off for it if he grabs at my clothes or rope (which will only stop that attempt,) as I was just ignoring it, distracting him or playing with his muzzel previously but the behaviour was getting worse and he'll scare someone sooner or later. It sounds like this is the wrong thing to do though from your other comments here?
Believe me I've tried that (except for the vertbally telling then off, that's just a sign of losing your temper). This technique worked better than any of the others.
What about savage mouth open bite when your cinching
I’d say you have ulcersx
Too funny, he just made me yawn! I skipped the "lick & a chew" part 😁
I got my thumb bit off by my biting horse I can send u pictures if you provide an email . He’s a 5 year old Andalusian horse he nips and bites well I tried your tactics and that happened .
I have a question. Whenever I do in-hand work, or Elsa-Sinclair-walking-mediation work with my gelding, he gets aroused. He arches his neck and nickers to me like I'm a mare, dropping his penis. I think it means he's relaxed and happy, but the nickering and posturing make me uncomfortable. Before you say test his blood for hormones, I should say he lives with a female donkey 24/7 and had never tried to mount her even when she's in heat (he nibbles on her when she's in heat). I wish someone could help me understand why my gelding gets studdy with me when I do close ground work with him. He's always respectful, just strangely incongruent.
So, do you think they are trying to get your attention?
BEAUTIFUL HORSE ‼️ THAT WHITE FACE WITH WHITE STOCKING MAKES HIM ONE OF A KIND ‼️🐴. Vinny 🇺🇸
yeah, I got nipped in the ass once leaning against the paddock fences talking to another human and the horse just wanted more attention payed to her.
I have found if a horse comes forward to bite you, you have overstepped a boundary and if wasn't you it was someone else.