Why is my OTTB so Mouthy? What does it mean and how to fix it

Is your horse mouthy?

Are they constantly busy, nibbling on everything?

Do they like to grab the crossties, lead rope or reins?

Or maybe they nip at you or grab your clothes?

Maybe it's actually painful and they've left some bruises?

I see a lot of mouthy behaviors when working with OTTBs at the beginning of my program. There is a wide spectrum of mouthy behaviors from cute and funny to painful and distrustful.

No matter where your horse is on the spectrum there is something going on beneath the surface that is causing these oral habits/patterns.

Yes, do a dental for oral health.

Yes, rule out pain/discomfort (as best you can).

Yes, set boundaries where you need to for your own safety.

But the underlying source for all of these oral habits or patterns is tension-based.

When I say tension, I use it as the umbrella term for anxiety, excitement, anticipation, etc.. Every horse is different but I promise you that if your horse has an oral pattern, there is underlying tension driving it.

Oral pattern: my definition for a repeated behavior involving the horse's mouth area from touching to chewing and biting that is not related to eating, investigating or playing.

Why does my horse express their tension through an oral pattern?

This is a great question and one that comes back to our understanding of functionally dysfunctional patterns (if you want to learn more about this, read this article HERE).

For many OTTBs, this is a benign habit they form at the track when they have tension and need an outlet for it that is acceptable to their environment.

Maybe they're standing tied in their stall while being tacked so they chew on the lead-rope as a self-soothing behavior.

Maybe they are braced to the amount of nose/jaw/tongue pressure by the bit or chain while being led and grabbing the lead rope helps relieve the direct pressure to their jaw.

Maybe they are uncomfortable in their body and are trying to communicate a boundary when a certain area is being touched to roughly.

See how the pattern could be created?

Without knowing your individual horse's journey in previous handling we can make educated guesses to the cause, here's how:

How do we find what's causing the oral pattern?

First, we have to understand the framework for the pattern. Here are a couple questions to ponder:

• Does my horse do it when I or other humans are not present? (ie field, stall, paddock, etc.)

• When do I first get the feeling he/she is about to do something with their mouth?

  • Is it while haltering? in the cross ties? While leading? at the mounting block? standing still? while moving?

• Does my horse do it the whole time or just occasionally?

  • If only occasionally, does there appear to be a trigger?

• What have I or others done to "stop" the pattern?

  • Smack the face, stick finger in mouth to release rope, yank rope, etc..

• How does the oral pattern make me feel?

  • Do I get instantly triggered and annoyed/frustrated?

  • Do I smile and think it's him/her just being a baby?

  • Do I feel helpless about it?

(please know there is no judgement for any of these reactions, this is part of the pattern we are going to work to find more harmony in)

Hopefully, you have a framework for understanding the pattern and when/why it might happen now.

Now, we have to start changing the dysfunctional pattern by teaching a new, more functional pattern.

Why interrupting the pattern isn't enough

Our horse's oral pattern indicates to us that there is an underlying tension, our job as their partner is to remove that underlying tension (umbrella term). When a horse has tension, their nervous system is in a sympathetic state (fight/flight).

Simply, interrupting the pattern (smacking, taking the rope away, creating a distraction, etc.) will not change the behavior. It might give them pause but the tension is still there (and may even become worse).

You can think of the nervous system like a scale of 1-10.

1-3 are parasympathetic (rest/relax/safe), while 4-10 are sympathetic: 4 being mild tensions, 10 being full survival mode.

Most oral patterns are around the 4-6 area, depending on the pattern. If we can

help our horses regulated to a 3 or less, the pattern will stop.

Does that make sense?

They are mutually exclusive, a horse cannot be relaxed and calm AND have a tension-based oral pattern.

We cannot effectively change the behaviors until we can talk to the tension underneath.

How do I remove the tension causing the oral pattern?

Well, now we get to the heart of it. You have to figure out where the tension is coming from and help shift the horse to state of felt safety, connection and relaxation (that's our goal anyways isn't it?).

Your horse's nervous system is built the same as ours. You can explore ways to improve your horse's felt safety and decrease their reactions to things/situations that raise their tension.

Make your horse feel seen, felt, and heard by you; that you notice the little signs of tension that will lead to an oral pattern and pause there, giving them time to process and regulate.

If you need something a little more concrete to go off of, I teach Pattern Replacement Theory in the Restart Online Program for this specific reason. It's simple and transformative for you and your horse.

If you'd like to learn how to do this and remove tension from all aspects of your OTTB's journey, I highly recommend joining the program.

The Bottom Line

My hope for you is that you can start to get curious about your horse's oral patterns (benign or malignant). I hope you can begin to explore what might cause tension for your horse, and how to help them release that tension for more safety, comfort, and connection in their environment and partnership with you.

Stay curious and happy partnerships!

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