2 yr old Mountain horse gelding

Question
Hi Michael!

My name is Jennifer, and 2 yrs ago I bought a bay Rocky Mountain/Gaited Morgan colt at 1 month old.  He turned 2 today actually!  I unfortunately do not have the facility to have him at home, so he lives w/a dear friend.  His name is Legend's Captain Jack, and believe me he lives up to his name!  I was fortunate enough to be there w/in minutes of the birth, and I was one of the first people to touch him.  I had a wonderful relationship w/his mother, and she was very comfortable letting me around him.  From birth, he has had a fierce oral fixation.  At 2 days old he was pulling tarps off the wall of the stall.  As you can imagine we had everything we could think of up to keep him warm.  When he was still VERY young, he was very aggressive with his biting.  He would charge you with his mouth wide open.  Now, the friend he lives with has been breeding, training, and selling horses her entire life, and I have definitely asked her opinion on many of these issues.  Sometimes it helps to have an outside point of view though. Now, 2 yrs later, his biting is SOOO much better.  Yay for progress!  He does still want to nip though. Every once in a while I sport a few tooth shaped bruises on my legs and arms.  I have done everything I can think of, have been told to do, and have read, and he still nips!  I have put him in with a few of the brood mares, and his attitude has improved immensely.  He has always been rather bossy, and he needed to be reminded that he isn't the head honcho.  I guess I have two questions really.  Do you have any suggestions on the biting issue?  
Also, I have begun more intense training to prepare him for starting under saddle.  Lots of longeing, bit n rigs, disengaging, etc...  I don't know how much you know about gaited horses, but Mountain Horses have a natural 4 beat lateral amble.  While lungeing in a bit n rig, I noticed that he doesn't lift his hind feet very much.  He has average lift in the front, but he kicks up a ton of dust in the back.  Do you think this is something he'll grow out of?  Would shoes help?  I had planned to have him shod about mid-spring, when the vet gives me the final ok on his back and teeth.  You're not supposed to need them since they have a natural gait, but should I consider small weight on the back if he doesn't grow out of it?  Dragging his feet on the trail would be very dangerous, and although this is mainly why I bought him, I will show him on occasion if he enjoys it.(And believe me, he's a bit of a show-boat so he probably will)  Jackson is like my 4 legged child, and I want to do everything the right way for him.  How could I do any less?
Thank You For Your Time
Jennifer

Answer
Jennifer -

The problem with your young horse biting sounds more like a 2 yr old "male" thing.  Most colts tend to have that oral fixation - it tends to decrease as they get older.  You just need to constantly be correcting him and making sure it doesn't turn into a situation where he is agressive when he does it.  Otherwise it is pretty normal for a two year old colt to get in a nibble once in a while.

As for the dragging hind legs...  obviously you want to rule out a medical problem.  I doubt it has anything to do with medical problems, but it should be a thought in the back of your mind.

What I would try is having him trot over ground poles.  Ground poles will make him lift his feet and be more mindful about where he is placing his feet.  Plus it has the extra bennifit of "muscling" him up in the hind end.  I would try that first and see if that helps.

I am happy to hear you are putting in some good, hard work with your horse.  Consistant work and patience will pay off big in the end.  Keep up the good work.

Michael Hockemeyer
Kicking Bear Mustangs