Ridecamp: RE: [RC] "Horses that kick"

   My mare would kick if  another horse came right up on her butt, but it
was so rare, because the people I rode with didn't do that, and in the
arena, riders gave other horses plenty of room.  But when I started
foxhunting this mare, kicking became a problem. I started carrying a crop
and yelled at her and smacked her when she kicked and when she even thought
of kicking. She had to learn to tolerate horses running up on her, and
galloping shoulder to shoulder and nose to tail.  I don't care whose fault
it is, my mare is not to even think of kicking. This approach has worked, so
I know, at least with my horse, kicking can be stopped. Most people run up
on you because they can't control their horse , so I have taken the safest
way, and that is to break my horse of her kicking habit.  To me it is basic
training of a horse riding in groups. In endurance, people pass closer than
we would like and in ways that are not always safe.  We can't control their
unsafe behavior, but at least we can train our own horse to tolerate this
bumping and crowding.   
Betsy


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