I am new to horse ownership and psychology
Hard to know without being there. Most likely biting since its a pony and you are a new to horses gal. When they do try to bite everyone has their own opinion based on how sensitive their horse is. What works for me is to do my war dance with flailing arms and loud high pitch chanting for 5 seconds. I want the horse to move back out of my space. I donât ever move my feet. Then I act like nothing ever happened.
I am new to horse ownership and psychology
Iâm trying to post original post which was longer. I think posting on my iPhone is working. Can you see the reply with full original post?
The original post I tried to put here says unapproved and when I tried to post it originally it only saved the first few words!!! So annoying. The pony didnât bite. She put lips on my cheek, after she leaned against me and I kissed her neck.
All I can see in the Original post is this:-
I am new to horse ownership and psychology
Darn- Iâll try tomorrow. Thereâs a lot more to the story
Horses have a range of affectionate gestures with their mouths, influding touching, snuffling, and nuzzling as well as mutual grooming. I suggest not thinking of it as a kiss, since giving animal actions human words makes us miss what the animal is really doing.
Because people worry, and rightly so, about kids and beginners being bitten, standard operating procedure tends to be horses are not allowed to put mouths on people, period. But as you get to know your own horse you will learn when it is being gentle and when it is being aggressive.
If you get a chance stand and watch horses interacting at liberty every chance you get.
One of the complicating factors in all this is that friendly interaction between horses can often end in a nip. It is quite common to see horses nuzzle and groom each other, then after a few minutes one nips the other, squeals, they jump apart.
If sheâs invading your space and being "mouthy, rub her nose and mouth until you become annoying and she will keep her nose away from you. If itâs trying to bite I hold a hoof pick up near the neck so if they swing around to bite, they find the hoof pick and soon quit (of course be care of where you hold it).
This helps. What happened is this - I was grooming and petting her when she moved her Head and neck near to my head . I thought she was very affectionate and tame so I didnât give it any thought and actually thought it was a sweet gesture . What happened next confused me I, which I should not of done, leaned in and kissed her neck being that she had leaned towards me that way. Immediately after I did that she whipped her nose quickly in the direction of my cheek and landed her big gummy lips across my cheek. Her teeth were totally closed . I have no idea what this meant if it was aggressive. Obviously horses should not be putting the miles on people I agree with that . But Iâm trying to get some understanding on the motivation for this if I should be on guard from now on .
No, not aggressive. If she had wanted to hurt you she would have bitten you. That would be my definition of âaggressive.â
But she was being rude and not respectful of your space by hitting you with her muzzle. It wasnât an accident, and it wasnât, in my opinion, affectionate.
My TB mare will flap her head she she is annoyed; if I allowed it, she would smack me with her head. (I donât, and she knows it., but it has happened before.) This is something she might do, for example, if in cross-ties too long or standing for the farrier for a while. Sheâs basically telling me sheâs done and wants to be turned out. Itâs just rude and unacceptableâŠa little temper tantrum, and needs to be corrected.
Itâs important to be wary of these little behaviors because a small smack with a horseâs head can send you flying.
3 Likes
When I go out again how should I deal with her ? Keep my head out of her space obviously. But I feel badly that I didnât react at the time . She caught me off guard and I didnât know what had happened so I walked away which Iâm now realizing gave her more power. I think Iâll walk out with the crop just in case I need it . Iâm concerned if I pop a horse on the nose after something like that Iâll be attacked. Is that something I should be concerned about or not?
I think it is good that you are asking these questions but based upon what you have written I donât think you are in danger. You are not likely to be attacked if you pop her on the nose. Use your elbow to keep her out of your space if she gets too close, she will get the hang of what you are looking for space wise.
1 Like
Also the âJeopardy Buzzer Noiseâ can be used to great effect when a horse is starting to do something it shouldnât. A well-placed elbow/hoofpick that they âhappenâ to run into along with an âAAAAAATTTTâ and theyâll stop, but not really associate you with anything they should be afraid of.
If carrying a crop makes you feel safer thatâs totally fine! With the ones who know they shouldnât be doing what theyâre thinking about doing, just showing them the crop can head it off. You never have to actually use it. Cheeky young horses mostly. 
From what you describe, who knows, it sounds like the same motion sheâd use to shoo away a fly with her muzzle. They have good peripheral vision but still canât see directly behind them, maybe she felt something on her neck and swung her head around before she ârealizedâ it was you. Thereâs no way to know from the description.
It takes time to learn to read their body language. For now I would have a firm rule that the ponyâs head must stay OUT of my personal space. So grooming is fine but no hugging and kissing right now, until you establish some firm boundaries.
Have fun!
-Wendy
1 Like
It sounds like you were scratching her and she might have been starting to mutual groom you. My horse does this all the time - If I scratch or curry near his withers, he reaches his head around and will wiggle his lips or take small bites at me, not mean just how he would mutual groom another horse. Obviously the teeth are inappropriate towards me so we have it down to where he just wiggles his lips.
If you had stopped scratching her she might have been moving her head around to say âWhyâd you stop?â or just to be affectionate. I donât think you should read too much into it honestly. Did her previous owners teach her to âkissâ? Itâs a pretty common trick.
2 Likes
Pony sounds fairly sweet. I would just gently push her face around back to the position I wanted it in. Especially if teeth were closed. Sounds like mutual grooming. Still hard to say without being there though. If pony was coming with teeth, then thatâs different.
1 Like
I donât think the horse did anything here I would reprimand for. I say this hsving dealt for years with a bossy mare who has drawn blood in the past while being saddled (only ony butt) at times, but is also the sweetest gentlest creature when little kids are feeding treats.
I would however watch your own behavior. Donât kisd her neck or nose. Donât get your head in her own head swinging space. That way lies broken bones and concussion. Humans have hands and can use those to offer the full range of behavior that horses need their heads and mouths for, comfort touch and warning too.
Putting your face on her neck could be seen as aggressive by horse or at least too close for comfort.
Many animals donât like being hugged and kissed by humans, including horses cats and dogs. If you want to show affection that your horse will understand as affection, develop a little repertory of soft pats and scratches that she shows she enjoys. Experiment. Keep your face put of the strike zone.
Thatâs exactly what I thought. The mare felt something ticklish or itchy and swung her head around.
Ideally, horses shouldnât invade your space, but basic safety means you should always be careful and mindful of being in a position to get a painful head butt. Also beware of putting yourself in a bad position to be kicked if there are a lot of flies around. There are some places you just shouldnât stand, like in front of a horse when the farrier is working on a front hoof; the foot will strike forward if the horse puts it down too fast.
OP, I donât want to say you were doing anything really unsafe though; standing close to a horse next to its neck is a pretty safe place to be all in all.
She didnât do anything. As another poster mentioned she was probably responding to being groomed and reacting to you as she would another horse. If she was being aggressive you would be asking this question from the ER waiting room.
There is nothing wrong with our horses touching us and I am fond of petting, hugging and kissing my mare ( i admit that even though I am 54) on her face. She has never been mouthy or aggressive and enjoys the affection.
I would set up some limits since she is new to you and you have no idea of her past behaviors. Feel free to lavish affection on her, but be very aware of her facial expression, her ears and any signals she may be giving you ( swishing tail, teeth grinding, moving ) that she is irritated so you can give her space, or stop what you are doing.
I never , ever hit a horse in the face or head. There are other ways to deal with a biter and so far she hasnât bitten you or threatened to.
I agree that it could have been a mistake/fly etc. I would watch for the behavior again rather than be prepared to pop her on the nose just in case you are misinterpreting her intentions. Mutual grooming is a possibility; I watch for that with my other horses because they will try to groom me; they are cute but no thank you.
In the case of my TB mare, I know itâs not a fly. Sheâs being a jerk. Sheâs not trying to hurt me but itâs the equivalent of a kid throwing a mild tantrum. âBut mo-oomm. Pleeaseeee?â Foot stamp My dogs might do something similar by nudging with their nose or pawing. Itâs not aggressive, but itâs annoying.
In both cases, I would probably do something similar to the âJeopardy Buzzer Noise.â I agree that hitting muzzles might result in head shyness. If my mare is really annoying (e.g. on crossties) I might give the tie a little shake at the same time.
Sheâs retired so she doesnât feel like she should have to do anything but eat. I donât ask a lot, but hitting me with her muzzle isnât acceptable, in part because her head probably weighs as much as I do.
