# how do you stop a horse kicking?



## Jericho (13 October 2008)

Just interested in what peoples views are about horses that kick out (not whilst being ridden). Nothing really to do with my horse but following a discussion with my farrier his view was that it shows a lack of respect and horse must be kicked (or smacked hard) back. 

Not sure how I feel about that - I understand that in the wild if a horse went to kick a dominant horse she would be kicked right back i.e. the dominant one would fight her corner, if she went to kick a less dominant horse then that less dominant horse would just run away..... 

Where does that leave us humans then, do we fight back to determine our dominance and thus the horses respect or do we just let it go and be the submissive???


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## soph21 (13 October 2008)

If either of mine kicked me they would certainly get a good smack! That's if I wasn't unconscious of course


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## BackInBlack (13 October 2008)

mine would certainly get a smack or a kick back too. it's always been the way and i've very rarely been kicked more than once by the same horse!


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## wench (13 October 2008)

give it a good kick back


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## jenbleep (13 October 2008)

I'd give it a kick back - as soon as I can after he's kicked me (or tried to kick me). That's if I'm not rolling around the floor in pain of course! 

It's unacceptable


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## Sali (13 October 2008)

Ditto above - I always give them a kick back failing that chop its legs off..


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## Silverspring (13 October 2008)

The question is where do you kick if you choose to kick back?  Kicking a horse in the stomach is dangerous and can cause injury, if a horse kicked another horse it would probably be on the back leg or hind quarters, would you kick them there?

Then what if the horse retaliated?  Who do you think would end up with the broken leg first?  If my horse ever raised a leg to me she'd be taken to the school and worked pretty damn hard, we would then discuss the lifting of legs and the likes.


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## kimmacey (13 October 2008)

iv always been told that if uyou were ever to kick a horse it would be at the front of them on there breasts.
kim x


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## Ottinmeg (13 October 2008)

i'd boot the bugga back to


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## stencilface (13 October 2008)

I would give them a bit of a thump I think, wouldn't necessarily kick them.  Didn't manage to do anything when my mum's sec D kicked me in the ribs and knocked me to the floor!!! little b*stard!!!


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## Fiona_C (13 October 2008)

Our little sec A keeps coming at me to double barrel me, so far I've been caught once and managed to get out the way the other times, advice on what to do to him when he tries to corner me.   
	
	
		
		
	


	




  You can smack him but he doesn't take any notice, arm myself with a good whip?


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## JanetGeorge (14 October 2008)

[ QUOTE ]
Just interested in what peoples views are about horses that kick out (not whilst being ridden). Nothing really to do with my horse but following a discussion with my farrier his view was that it shows a lack of respect and horse must be kicked (or smacked hard) back. 


[/ QUOTE ]

Depends on the circumstances.  Kicking shows a lack of early training, or fear, or pain, or all three!  First, determine why it kicks.  Is it random? Is it when you try to handle back legs? Is it when you approach the back-end or try to pick up a foot without adequate warning? Is the horse well-mannered in other regards?

The answers to these questions determine the approach.  Maybe the horse needs 'de-sensitising' to its back legs being handled.  With a bad kicker (usually a nervous horse) I find hosing useful - they can kick the water until they're blue in the face - you can keep it there until they stop.  With a horse who kicks while you're trying to hold the leg up - or when the farrier is - I'd be wondering if its being held badly or if it has a hock or stifle problem that makes holding the leg up painful.  If not, a soft rope around the fetlock will enable you to pick the leg up and hold it up without getting kicked - or letting go! (This should only be attempted by an experienced handler!)

There is always a reason that horses kick.  Find the reason - and deal with it accordingly.  If you kick it back, chances are it will kick YOU back and break your leg - or worse!!


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## cassiejane (15 October 2008)

The trouble with kicking or hitting a horse if it does something wrong, even if its something as horribly wrong as kicking, is that in order for it to be successful in terms of retraining, the timing has to be impeccable.  You would have to kick the horse back within a couple of seconds of it kicking you for it to understand what it had done wrong. The key concept here is that the horse does not know that kicking is wrong unless you teach it that it's wrong, kicking is just normal horse behaviour as far as the horse is concerned. Right and wrong are human concepts which we must teach the horse.
If you are not training the horse by kicking him, then perhaps you would be reacting in anger which is never acceptable in my opinion.
The other problem with kicking a horse would be that in a dominant horse you might set up a fight, and I am guessing that you dont want to have a physical arguement with 600 kilos of pure muscle!
Personally I take a non violent approach to training my horses and use positive reinforcement to teach a horse right from wrong, now I am aware that you might have to react to a situation that arises and you dont have time for positive reinforcement when a horse has just layed you out.  But in this case a bit of shouting and waving your arms around to scare the living cr** out of it might be more appropriate (and you can keep a safe distance whilst doing this).
I do agree with Janetgeorge that it would be more appropriate to take a measured approach to a problem like this and consider why the horse is kicking out, is it pain, fear or simply lack of training, all of which can be rectified without the need for violence.
Of course if a horse belongs to you and if you want to kick him, then go ahead, (unless you do some serious damage and the RSPCA get involved then its your call) but I dont fancy your vets bill if you do!


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## Talan (16 October 2008)

You have some more ideas on the problem here.
http://ihdg.proboards91.com/index.cgi?board=talk2&amp;action=display&amp;thread=86353&amp;page=1


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## PennyJ (16 October 2008)

Assuming I was still able to do so, then a thump on the backside and a bit (well a lot) of telling off would be my preferred response.  That is assuming that its bad manners that is responsible for the behaviour, not something more sinister.  

Completely unacceptable behaviour in my book.


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