i have a 5 month old Connemara filly foal. she is really sweet and quiet she lets you lead her without any hassle and will come to the gate when you call but when ever you go near her she insists on licking you. when she was up to 3 months we let her get away with it as we thought she would grow out of it but she showed no signs of stopping so from then on we would push her away but still she isn't letting up so we have come to flicking her on the nose whenever she does this. we are worried that this habit will evolve in biting when she is older and we need a way to stop it! PLEASE HELP!
yours sincerely, a fellow horse lover.
Babies are, as a rule, incredibly mouthy. I applaud you for taking the problem in hand now when she's still little and not waiting until she's three years old and potentially hurting people.
I would continue being firm with her. Repetition is the KEY. You can't let her lick you one time and then five minutes later tell her it's bad. Any time she licks I would say NO in a firm voice and push her head away . You don't want to hurt her or make her head shy, but you do need to enforce that no means no. She may see the flicking as a type of game.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com She's probably just confused. For three months she was allowed to do this behavior and now all of a sudden people are telling her not to. Be consistent. Don't let her lick your hands OR your clothes. She isn't going to be able to distinguish between your jacket and your hand. To her it's all you.
Good luck!
I have a 7yr old paint mare who is obsessed with licking me. She licks my hands, arms, and face:) She has never bitten me when doing this and it really isn't a problem if you don 't mind horse slobber. If she isn't biting yet I don't think it will be to much of a problem.
my 11yr old appy licks me all the time he's never bitten me though. but if your still worried carry on doing what your doing but say no in an athoritive voice. she'll soon realise that you dont want her to do it
hope i helped:)
She might be licking because you're sweaty (so you're salty) and she isn't getting enough salt in her diet.
Try giving her a salt block.
