Bitting Horses

Question
My cousin has got a horse it is a 1 1/2 yr old throughbred horse, she does not any experence with horses at all, she is 12 i am 14 have been ridin for 5 yrs and has ask me to help her with her horse  but i really only know things to do with ridding horses but not with problem horses and stable work but the horse has just recently started bitting any time you go near it to pet it but does not roll the whites of her eyes and just askin what the problem is, and also when should i start lunging it because they are breaking it in in the spring.
thanks so much for helping
rebecca

Answer
Hi Rebecca;

Normally it's not good idea to longe a horse before 3yrs of age as the circling is too hard on the growing joints.  They also shouldn't be getting on the horse to ride until it's at least 3yrs of age, better if they wait until it's 4.  The last bones to finish growing and closing are the vertebrae.  Adding to that is that the horse is poorly designed to carry weight.  The longer one waits to mount a horse, the less likely it'll be that you'll injure its back.

The horse is likely going through a 'teething' stage right now.  Tell her not to put herself in a position to be bitten and then she won't be.  Provide the youngster with toys and lots of turnout and herd socializing and it'll grow out of the biting stage.

Best wishes!

Sincerely,

Lana Reinhardt