I am not sure where to start. I have a 8yo ottb who is very aggressive with bitting. I do have a trainer to help who specializes in ground work and behavior. However it just does not seem to work. You can’t touch him without your hand getting bitten off quite literally. Yielding his hindquarters he just throws his mouth at you and bites or tries to bite you. It’s gotten very bad over the years. I done a vet check and nothing. Being in herd I felt like just made it extremely worse and I am not sure why. He is also very mouthy he wants to play with or have something in his mouth at all times. I cannot tell if it’s a stress response or he is bored. He also shuts down so it’s extremely hard to get through to him. Spanking just I feel like just aggravates him more to do it more. I am on the verge of getting rid
Of him which I would hate to do because I really care and love him even though he makes me wanna scream…. I know selling him I couldn’t get anything but I do know he has potential if he gets pass this weird bitting habit. I am not sure if any places would take him like an adoption or what but if anyone knows places or knows people who work in these problems who might wanna work with problem like this I would be glad to do so. I wouldn’t wanna sell him but it seems like the problem is to far and out of my experience. My trainer could get to him but I am running tight on money and absolutely at a lost. Any advice or has had similar experience would help.
Do you mean biting? As in he bites you with his teeth? Or bitting, you want to know what bit to use?
If it’s biting I would suggest funding a good ground work trainer specializing in problem horses, most often someone from a Western background. Get the horse evaluated and start to study ground work techniques.
Horse is only 8. Lots of naughty behaviour is tolerated at the track because it doesn’t faze the pro grooms and trainers and they like a hot opinionated confident horse.
I’m assuming from your post you are a junior with the kind of English riding coach who can say “heels down” but doesn’t have a big tool kit for solving behavior issues.
I would also suggest hormone testing to see if he is a ridgling/proud cut if he’s doing stallion aggressive behaviour. When was he gelded?
Also look at pain sources like ulcers and kissing spines.
I suspect you have one of those OTTB that were hastily restarted and sold on as riding horses and he has a lot of holes in his training. When did he come off the track and what’s his history since?
Basically though you need a good groundwork trainer to start over from basics and teach both of you the many things you don’t know you don’t know
Edited to add, I see you say you have a ground work trainer. That’s nice. Get a better one because this one isn’t helping
As to whether someone would take him on as free project I really couldn’t say based on this information.
I see many ammies and juniors in over their heads with project horses who really wouldn’t give an experienced horseman a moment of trouble. If he is sane, healthy, sound, reasonably athletic and not crazy aggressive someone would want him. If he is crippled from his racing years or super aggressive, no.
My experience honestly is all horses bite to some extent. They nip each other in field or paddock, they snap at handlers who ignore their painful or ticklish places, they get mouthy and want to play with zippers, hats, pockets, etc. With my mares, it’s always been direct communication about a problem, and they have drawn blood. I’ve made it stop by a combination of problem solving and very focused short punishment.
Geldings colts and stallions are more likely to get nippy in play mode, as well as herd aggression mode.
But when you have unwanted behavior you need to look at the whole horse and whole situation.
Yes he Bites not the type of bit my bad!
For sure he is sound crazy athletic but this isn’t a nip this is a whole ass try to bites you when grabbing him or anything that resorts with being interactive with him. He will try to snag at you and it’s no friendly way it’s a way of getting into your space and trying to move you out of the way.
I would definitely consider ulcers.
Sounds like he’s saying no as loud as he can but no one listens to him.
Definitely treat for ulcers and try just hanging out with him and zero expectations. Sit outside a fence if needed.
He was treated with ulcers. I just recently done a second 30 day supply in which the behavior was still preexisting and behavior was still existing before during and after there was no dramatic changes other than the symptom was less but still very presentable and still would try to go after you.
Did you use either Gastrogard or Ulcergard (full tube/treatment)?
Yes. I don’t think it’s ulcers I believe there was miscommunication or I didn’t catch something in his training and there’s not much I can do. I already did an evaluation on my horse. There is no pain sense I was in contact with his race trainer he was always known to be biter.
Some horses are just really mouthy. Some horses fake-bite for fun. Other horses bite for real. Other horses savage. It’s not clear from your post what kind you have.
Smacking them will not help any of these kinds, it only makes it worse.
I have a horse who is very mouthy and fake bites all the time. Sometimes, by accident, he makes contact and then is like, whoops. In other words, it’s his way of communicating; he doesn’t mean to hurt me; I don’t love it; but, we’ll, it’s what he does and who he is, so we have our little ritual and do our little dance (me like a bullfighter sometimes, torquing this way and that) and I sort of love his fake biting me too, because that’s who he is. He also gets some really great stretching in because of it—he can get me all the way back by his hip.
If it’s really bugging me, I string a piece of twine through his halter and slip it lightly under his gum, like a lip chain, so he has something to think about other than fake biting me. Or I’ll hang a towel for him to chew on from the noseband of his halter. Sometimes, when I’m crouching painting his feet or something, he will open his jaws and put them around my whole head, and attempt to massage his gums. He really loves to do that, and other than his spit in my hair, I don’t really mind. I put a gum massager in his stall, and he completely ignores it. Sometimes I stick my thumb in his mouth and massage his top gum, and his eyes glaze over and he drools. He will lick my hand for hours, if I let him. So…yes, I belong to the mouthy horse club.
If he’s not play biting but real biting: does he tie? If so, you should only be in his space when he’s tied. Then, do what you need to do. And what you don’t need to do; don’t do. Literally, mess with him as infrequently as possible. You could also try putting up a hay net in front of him, so he can bite that instead.
It is possible that the ulcers are so severe that it was not enough time. You mention that the symptoms were less, so maybe it was helping, but not treated for long enough? I treated one gelding for a month and he improved but after treatment he reverted, so I treated for two months after that and switched to the Esomeprazole for two months. He did well for a while, and then at the slightest onset of symptoms again I had him scoped. I wanted to know how bad his ulcers were when he started showing signs. He had mostly grade 3 ulcers. So I can only imagine how bad they had been when he was at his worst behavior. That time I treated for 5 months and gave sucralfate before a ride and felt like we finally got past it. Also, while many do, not 100% of horses respond to omeprazole.
You mentioned the track vet, but have you had your vet out to evaluate him? Have you tried any other supplements like magnesium or Redmond’s Daily Gold Stress Relief?
Don’t really think track workers just tolerate working with a race horse that bites and/or kicks as much as they simply do not put themselves in a position where the horse can easily bite or kick. They know where to stand so horse cant reach them and are quick to see the signs a bite or kick is coming and act to stop it before it starts or get out of range. They don’t have time to teach manners but they sure can avoid getting bit or kicked better then the average hobby owner.
Wouldn’t blame the track, rather whoever has had the horse after it left the track who DID have the time to work with it for letting this nasty, dangerous habit continue or even let it get started, not all racers bite. If it was already an ingrained habit, seller(s) should have disclosed.
Maybe something else is hurting that gets him cranky but going after a person to hurt them is never acceptable. Have had many horses that got sick or were suffering pain and never had one suddenly start repeatedly coming at me to bite. Once or twice maybe giving meds or cleaning/dressing a wound, not repeatedly with little or no provocation.
Have had a mouthy mare who would strike like a snake but it was disclosed on purchase that she would if she thought she could get away with it, Only got me once right after she arrived, she did not get away with it and I never tolerated mouthy behavior when grooming or tacking up. She got the message.
Anyway, horses can learn they don’t have to do anything if they scare the person by biting them. It works well. OP needs some training help here. Soon. This is a bad and dangerous habit. Maybe it is aggravated by ulcers but treating the ulcers is not going to stop anything if this is learned bad behavior.
It sounds like the problem is serious enough you should work with a professional (someone different then the curent trainer who it seems is unable to help with this issue), but if thats not an option at the moment Warwick Schiller has several free videos on how to deal with biting. You might want to watch and see if his approach would help your horse.
How long have you had this horse? Years? Do you ride him? Is he OK to ride or is he only going after you on the ground?
You are in over your head with this horse and so is your trainer. Do you have access to any competent horse person in your area?
Where are you located ? Maybe I’m off base but is English your first language?
Has this horse had a dental exam and float done in the last 3-6 months? When you treated for ulcers, did you scope? Does this horse have a history of colic?
Not every bad behavior is pain/discomfort related, but it’s our due diligence to rule it out. Without a scope, you cannot rule out ulcers of any kind, even with treatment. Without a dental exam, you can’t rule out mouth/teeth pain.
Once this is a learned behavior, it’s hard to break. I do extensive ground work with my horses and have about a decade of teaching it to clients, and training horses with it. This can be fixed on the ground, but this is definitely a horse that would be a candidate for a complete restart. If he is biting and being pretty aggressive about it, there is much more wrong than just bridling. This stuff starts small, and gets bigger over time when ignored or encouraged (I personally know of several race horse trainers that encourage their horses to bite, kick and strike, as they think it makes them more competitive). Bottom line, this horse needs a restart and a firm, fair, educated hand with good timing, which seems out of your wheelhouse and your trainer’s too.
Do this horse the favor of sending him to someone who specializes in fixing problem horses like this, and do yourself the favor of taking lessons with them. You can send them off all you want, but if you don’t maintain what they’ve been taught, they will revert back to the same behavior. These usually aren’t pretty fixes either, but this isn’t a pretty problem. This is a problem that will hurt someone one day, if it hasn’t already, and needs to be treated as such.
It might be helpful to have more details. For example, you said that when you treated him for ulcers there was some improvement (“the symptom was less”); what does that mean? Did he try to bite you less often? Only in some circumstances and not others? Has he, since the treatment stopped, reverted to his previous level of biting (or menacing)?
What do you do, what have you tried to end the behavior? (How long have you owned him?) Are there particular times or circumstances where he is more likely (or less likely) to try to bite you? When he is eating hay, for example? Or when you’re brushing a particular spot on his body?
I get the frustration that comes through in your original post, but it’s hard to tell what you’ve tried, aside from the two rounds of ulcer treatment.
I’ve had two horses over the years that bit at me and connected a few times. Ouch. Both ended up having serious dental issues. Once resolved…NO more biting.
I bought a mare 30 yrs ago who was a witch and I felt sorry for her. Got a dental exam - speculum and head lamp - a dental specialist DVM and he found a big old nasty fractured molar that had been in there so long it had calcified under the gum. I have a picture somewhere of that tooth. Nasty.
Then, just a year ago I got a mustang who didn’t want to be touched. He had been gentled and a cool dude but would walk away if I groomed or even rubbed my hands down his side. Right away knew to get a dental exam (the seller said teeth had been done and no issues and had vet report saying that).
My DVM dental specialist gets in there and first we find a molar turned sideways w food packed and rot and bone loss and the extraction was done. Still had issues. I’m like WTF? 6 months later find a fistula (drainage tract) over an incissor and xray showed an abscess. Root canal was done and guess what, yep… NO longer biting or having an issue being groomed or touched.
They are simply trying to communicate and you are listening. The bitch is just figuring out what the hell is wrong.
Some horses are “mouthier” just by nature. I have one currently and anything in reach goes in the mouth. I acquired him as a yearling and he came to me this way .
My horse was so polite about being disrespectful I let it slide a bit-- until we started under saddle and all it really took was me doing speed/ directional changes on the lunge. Making his feet move when I said so and I would back him up in hand anytime he attempted to put his mouth on me. I’ve never ever hit him.
It worked quite quickly.
I will go against the trend and say what you have is a basic disrespect issue. He sees himself as the one in control here. It can be fixed but you need to be on top of it daily. Is he pushy and in your space? That usually goes hand in hand. Most any horse will never consider biting his alpha and if they do the game is over.
You don’t say how he is under saddle or how long you have had him?
THIS!
I went to a Derby party given by the race trainer who sold me my TB (never raced, but worked as their Pony).
One guest - also a trainer - arrived with her hand bandaged & announced proudly that a filly she had in training bit her finger off 
Adding: “She sure has spirit!”
ETA:
My TB was mouthy too & if you didn’t know equine body language, you got nailed.
He bit a stall cleaner, once bit me when I let my attention lapse.
Caught my bicep, that immediately swelled so I looked like Popeye.
But we came to an agreement:
He could make all the nasty face he wanted, even escalate to raking stall wall with teeth.
BUT, those teeth could never be pointed at a human. Full Stop.
I had him 20yrs & in his dotage he’d attempt nuzzley behavior. Generally stopping short of contact.
Which surprised us both 
Re: your problem
What @Scribbler says
