Horse Information - Aussie Horsemen

Flying heels can be a defining moment; one where your life flashes before youreyes as those hooves come toward you, or alternately it can come as a huge surprise when youdon’t see them coming at all and just feel the impression they leave upon you. Either waycan lead to a very painful ending, as you would be aware if you’ve ever been on thereceiving end of a swift kick from a horse.

Kicking can come in a wide range of styles from the gentle pat on the thigh in warning, tothe karate like punch as the horse strikes with a front leg, the powerful and painful cowkick that has left many a thigh black and blue, to the far end of the spectrum, the doublebarrel that usually tends to come straight toward either your face or your chest for a quickflying lesson.

A kick from a horse can be very painful at the least and very serious at worst, depending onjust what type of kick you receive and where the horse places it; for rest assured, whereever you got hit was exactly where the horse intended you to be. I’ve often heard peopletelling of an incident where they got kicked and just how lucky they were that the kickwasn’t just an inch or two either way, but believe me, the kick landed just exactly where itwas supposed to. Horses are very accurate with the placement of their feet, the angle thattheir soles touch you and with the amount of power that they put into it. If you didn’t gethit real hard, chances are the horse liked you to a degree and was just giving you awarning. If you got the full belt than that’s what you were meant to get! If you areunconvinced of this, take note next time you see a horse being bothered by a horse fly. Theycan kick a fly right out of the air and with the speed of a snake at times ... especiallythose front feet when they strike. Many a human has received a kick when they were lookingstraight at the horse and still didn’t see it coming.

If you watch a herd of horses, especially one with foals in it, you’ll see a wide range ofkicks being used ... gentle pats on the fleshy parts of the body like the rump or shoulder,that emphasize a teaching point without hurting too much and the whole gamut, right throughto full-on with both barrels blazing that leaves and impression for several weeks ... alldepending on the depth of the lesson being taught.

I once saw my old mare, who is the boss of the herd, lift a young horse of about 14hh rightoff the ground and send him flying sideways for about 12 feet without leaving a mark on him.She got both back feet under his barrel and lifted him off the ground and sent him flying... it shocked him no end but didn’t hurt him too much ... she was just trying to teach himto not get himself into a bad position and to respect his elders. He had been constantlygetting between her and her food (and the other older horses too) and had not headed herearlier warnings ... so he got a flying lesson instead.

On another occasion one of our students approached me one morning and told me he had notbeen having much success in the round yard with his horse. The horse was going okay but wasgetting a bit cranky with him. I’d been watching him for a time and he tended to use toomuch pressure when asking her to do something and was not accepting her efforts of try ...he kept asking for more and using his stick too much. In the end the inevitable had happenedand as he reached out his hand with the stick in it to give her a tap on the butt, shelashed out, kicked him in the hand and knocked the stick from it. He showed me his hand andhe had a nice black and purple bruise on his palm from the fleshy part at the base of thethumb and right up his thumb too. It was a pretty good shot ... she had been cantering atthe time and had given give a nice warning stamp that he was being too bossy. I told him howlucky he was and that he needed to listen to her a bit more and be clearer and more fair inwhat he asked. He then told me that when he sent her the other way it was just as bad andproceeded to show me his other hand which had an identical bruise! Very accurate. She couldhave kicked him anywhere but she just chose to warn him ... twice. I suggested he heed heradvice as the next kick might be placed somewhere more serious!

Horses really will only kick for one of two reasons ... through fear or confusion, andagainst common perception, they rarely tend to kick and generally will only do so ifprovoked. I’m not recommending this, however you can walk up behind most horses and evenpull their tails without getting kicked; if you have not caused the horse to be afraid ofyou and you’re not acting like a predator ... and this last is often the tricky bit for mostpeople.

The Cause
If a horse is afraid of you, then you haven’t built enough rapport with him. Youhaven’t built a bond or relationship with him to where he can relax with you around. If hedoesn’t trust you or feel safe with you or he feels threatened by you, then he will alwaysbe on the alert when he is with you. So his instincts to protect himself will be very closeto the surface. In this case he will be ready to kick out and defend himself especially whenyou touch or approach him in sensitive areas that you haven’t prepared or asked permissionto be around. In this case you are always liable to being kicked. If you do get kicked itmay even be for something that you hardly realized you did or it may even seem that therewas no cause. “The horse just kicked me for no reason!” Rest assured, there is always reason... it may not have even been something you did, it may well be something that you didn’tdo, like letting the horse know you were there.

Some people are prone to be kicked by horses just by the way they are around them. Theirwhole demeanor and approach can make horses feel edgy and unsure, so they are at risk aroundany horse. Other people are very relaxed, non threatening and gentle in their approach andtouch, so they put the very same horses at ease ... so its important to watch how you arearound them; you body energy and your intentions. If you are very upright, aggressive or tooassertive, bossy, abusive or inconsiderate, then chances are you’ll put horse on theirguard. If they feel trapped or confined in anyway and they feel threatened by you, then youcan expect to receive the full force of those feet when they get the chance. In this casethe kick you receive will most likely be one that really leaves its mark.

If you get your horse to the point where they are confused, like the man with thebruised thumbs above, then you may still get a kick. How severe it is will depend on yourrelationship. If it is a good one and your horse knows that you are generally not a threatand that you’re more of a partner, then you’ll probably just get the warning ... they willgive you the benefit of the doubt. But if you persist with being bossy, then their phaseswill increase concurrently.

What To Do About It
If it’s confusion then its pretty easy to fix ... its just a matter of being more clear inwhat you ask of your horse and remembering to reward the slightest try. Look at your phasesand make sure you are not skipping straight to phase 3 or 4 when a clear ask at phase 1would have done. In other words, be more polite and recognize when you horse tries for you.If you are too demanding and too much of a task master, you’ll lose rapport and then whenyou horse gets confused he’ll be more likely to express how he feels with his feet!

If it is coming from fear than you have some soul searching to do and some homework as well.If you tend to get a nervous reaction from a few horses and have been kicked at a number oftimes, then you need to look at your demeanor and your approach. It could be that yourbearing is just too intimidating for horses and that you make them feel fearful. Relax bit,smile more and soften your body energy. You’ll visibly see them relax when you do. You don’thave to be bossy or aggressive in your demeanor to cause a horse to feel tense either.Sometimes the opposite is true. Some people are so timid and nervous around horses thattheir very tentativeness makes the horse more skeptical and they then expect something badto happen. Finding the happy medium is the key. Not so timid that you make them nervous andnot so bossy that you make them scared. Bold, confident yet relaxed and friendly is thehappy balance.

If your horse is touchy in some areas and tends to kick out through fear, for example aroundthe back legs, then you really need to help him to over come his fear in this area andbuild, your relationship. Being a good leader for your horse and helping him to feelconfident with you is the key to being rid of all negative responses from you horse. If yourhorse trusts you and you have rapport, even if he does feel unsure about being touched in asensitive area, he’ll cut you some slack and not follow through with a kick or a nip. Horseson the whole are very forgiving, trusting creatures ... they have to feel pretty threatenedto follow through and hurt a human badly.

Start with doing a few things with him online to help him build his trust and confidence.Use a horseman’s stick or something similar (a stiff stick with no give in it about 4’long). The stick is great, as it’ll allow you to reach onto sensitive areas with outactually putting yourself physically in these spots and running the risk of being hurt.Begin by introducing it too him and allowing him to sniff it. Asking permissions from yourhorse like this will go along way to building rapport. Then begin to rub him all over ingentle but firm circular motion (almost massaging ... if it’s too light or soft it’ll tickleso let it feel good). Start first in an area that he is okay with and gradually progressinto those sensitive areas. Use your *approach and retreat method to gradually work your wayback to those *sensitive spots. Don’t be in a hurry ... be happy with a small improvementeach time you do this, rather than trying to get it all done in one day. You don’t want toforce yourself onto your horse, but instead allow his confidence to build. If he does lashout or try to move away, make sure you go with him and try to keep rubbing until he standsstill before you stop. Remember, horses learn by release so if you stop when he kicks out ormoves, then you’ve just taught him to do this ... so hang in there until he stands still.Pretty soon you’ll be rubbing him all over with the stick and then you can replace it withyour hand. When you do so, try to keep several points of contact with your horse physically,to help him feel you and relax. Have your hand, forearm and elbow of one arm resting on himas you rub him with the other hand. This will help you to make a further connection and helphim to relax.

All horses will kick given the right circumstances and the right person ... alternately yourhorse will never kick you if you have a great relationship built on rapport, confidence,trust and preparation. The choice is yours!

*see Sensitive Spots in the Road ToHorsemanship series

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