Horse bites at chest

[mothra]

My boy is a pretty demonstrative, people oriented horse. For example, he gets visibly agitated if any of "his" people show anger/frustration even if it isn't pointed at him (or me). Occasionally when I go to halter him he seems to avoid me and bites angrily at his chest. A few firm words will stop him and we proceed as ususal. What, if anything, shoud I think of this? If he bites at his shoulder I give him a little massage there and he acts very appreciative. So, is it pain? Soreness? He wants to bite me but thinks better of it? Have I lost my mind? :confused:

[Jenni]

When i go to remove Kaiser's bridle he tucks his chin into his chest. Its actually not very nice to see. The minute i touch the top to take it iff his chin comes in and he looks uneasy.
I think he has previously had the bit hit off his teeth and this is way of trying to stop it and evade the pain.

So maybe he has had a bad experience previously. Have you tried holding a treat out with one hand and putting the halter on with the other.
I did this with kaiser to get his bridle on as he was a little anxious of it at first and now he is a lot better. Just the taking it off thats the problem.

[mothra]

Jenni-thanks for your reply. He has had bad experiences in the past, unfortunately don't know what they were. This is something he only does occasionally in the stall - and still reaches happily for the bridle and bit! On "normal" days he often bites the halter, which doesn't worry me since he's very playful and often drags it out to play tug of war with his neighbor. :rolleyes: It's the avoiding me plus chest biting that has me stumped.

[Alfies-slave]

I have a cob who bites his chest! I thought he had some sort of skin problem till I caught him doing it!

Anyway, this sort of self harm is a vice, like cribbing etc. It is a very rare vice if that makes you feel any better.:rolleyes:

My cob has stopped doing it now.... so there is hope. I simply eliminated any potential stress from his life. Got his back, tack and teeth checked religiously. Moved him to a high fiber, low sugar/starch diet, ad lib hay, never without company. Bought him stable toys, mirror etc. Got him in to a strict routine and in to regular work. Hasn't self harmed since!

It is a reaction to stress. Stress in the dark and distant past, or in the present day, who knows. One theory about such horses is that they were taken away from their mothers too early or weaned in an unsympathetic way.

They get a buzz or thrill from the pain of biing their chest it is a sort of perverse comfort thing.

My cob had intense separation anxiety. When he was kept alone he bit his chest untill he pulled the hair out.

[mothra]

Hmmm.... he does get very anxious when left alone.... took him months to be okay about turnout (we turnout in separate pens) and still keeps his eyes glued to me as I walk away. Do worry about ulcers and anxiety... he gets some professional massage/chiro and I do what I can inbetween... plus digestive supplements.... hay.... His barn neighbor in play range did move away recently, as did his neighbor across the aisle. And he saw some new places (trails) this week. All stress items for this particular horse. I try to keep everything as consistant and rewarding for him as possible. May be giving myself ulcers!

[mothra]

Alfies - thinking more about the weaning... he acts very baby-ish! When not biting at himself (really doesn't do this too often), trying to act fierce (again, not too often anymore), or other various moods he will sometimes do this funny baby thing. He stretches his neck out parallel to the ground, nose pointed way forward, and makes a sucking/glorping sound. Think this is something mostly foals do? Seems like a submission thing? Seems very happy while doing it!

So, thanks for giving me that to think about. Glad I'm not the only one observing some of these behaviors!