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  Discussion on Yearling stud wants to chew on everything
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Posted on Monday, Aug 5, 2002 - 9:31 pm:

i recently purchased a yearling paint stud colt. i am in the process now of working with him on his ground manners. one problem i am having is that he always wants to have something in his mouth. he wants to chew on the lead rope, lunge line, halter. lunge whip, or me. does anyone have a home recipe for anything i can put on the rope or lunge line that will make it unpleasant for him to have in his mouth? i have tried the commercial products such as sour apple, but that can get very expensive. i dont want to be hitting him all the time to make him quit. if anyoun has any ideas, please let me know. thanks

Posted on Monday, Aug 5, 2002 - 10:29 pm:

Hi, Darrell,

It seems normal for a young horse to be mouthy. I don't see anything wrong with you allowing him to sometimes hold the leaDrOpe in his mouth, as long as you are offering it to him. If you are not offering it, then he needs to quit and a flick on the nose with your finger may give enough of a sting without you having to swing your hand at him. Everytime he wants to hold something in his mouth, get him busy on moving forward, leading exercises (halts, forward, halt, turn, forward, halt, back, etc.) or doing circles on the lead or longe; keep him so busy that he won't have time to think about putting anything in his mouth. Horses get into trouble around us, design their own busywork, when we don't keep them busy and focused. In order for us to keep them focused, we have to be focused. Change the negative, "Don't put that or that or that in your mouth," to the positive, "Okay, do this or this or this." Of course, when he is off on his own and doesn't have anyone else telling him to perform, he will probably find things to put in his mouth. Maybe one of those horse balls with the bit-shaped handle would satisfy his urge to mouth something.
Holly
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