I ride a couple times a week, and most of the horses are fairly well behaved except this one guy…
He’s a young OTTB and if I go in the stall with him he’s fine, but when I approach him in front his stall and stand there, maybe to pet him, he would stretch out his neck, pin his ears and snap his teeth at me.
He doesn’t bite or make contact with me at all, but it’s quite unnerving when this huge horse face is coming at you.
I might step back and wait till his ears go back up (I’m sure stepping back is definitely not the answer) or I might tap him on his cheek.
I would then wait a couple seconds and I can touch or approach him as normal. Also when I’m tacking up and doing his nose band he will sometimes toss his head or put his teeth on my hand (which earns him a smack and he doesn’t try again).
Is he trying to bite, will it lead to him biting me eventually, or is he just trying to scare/dominate me? I never ridden any grumpy horses like him so I am unsure of what I should do. I’ve read hitting horses on their face or cheek just worsens the problem.