> That little nipping that has started with Willie/Segull now that he is > gelded and I have made a pet out of him has bothered me. When he was a > stallion I never fed him anything by hand, like his carrots were in his > food. He > never as a stallion offered to nip me ever. Now here I have this pony that > I > hug and kiss on and feed treats to that wants to play with me. He is not > respecting my space evidently or my dominance over him. What do you > think? Sylvia
>>Maybe Cherie can jump in on this one. >>Judy I didn't see the beginning of this. Is he nipping at your hand or other parts of you? How long did you have him before he was gelded? Did he respect your space before? What else is he doing that you don't like? Many horses can be fed treats and still be very gentle. Others get very excited when a hand reaches toward them and they grab for it. Horses like that benefit from clicker training. I know...if he already nips would a treat-based training technique work? Yes! The first thing you do with clicker training is to show the horse that mugging will not get a treat. The horse has to hear a click and the reward is always delivered in a safe manner from an outstretched arm or by asking the horse to back up a step first. I can go into more detail off list or you can go to the clicker list and check the archives. Cherie
