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Re: [RC] Tailgating a kicker - rdcarrieMy mare that I started the sport on in 1999 was a kicker when I first started riding her with other horses. Her "reason" was fear motivated...she was a subordinate horse, and felt threatened by other horses coming too close to her. What I did was to "set her up" with an opportunity to threaten to kick, with the help of some friends. A friend rode her big TWH gelding up alongside, but out of reach...my mare pinned her ears and tried to kick. I'd bought a crop (just for this) and immediately yelled QUIT!! in my meanest voice, kicked her forward hard, and smacked her hard on the shoulder with the crop. Of course, she immediately bolted forward, startled, and confused as to why I'd done that. I settled her down, and my friend rode up again...mare again tried to kick. I did the same things. This time she started to make the connection between my discipline and her actions. My friend rode up a third time, and the mare started to threaten the other horse, but this t
ime I just used the QUIT!! and a bit of leg, and she behaved. I continued to work wth her on group rides, and she quickly learned that she'd better behave when under saddle. I also had friends ride behind her...at first she'd threaten when they were 20 feet behind, and I'd get after her for it. Eventually, she learned that not only was kicking not allowed under saddle, but that the other horses were not out to get her. By the time we did our first LD a year later, she was very solid. I still put a red ribbon in her tail for her first few rides, but on our first ride I paired up wiht another first time rider, whose horse was very insecure. That horse actually crashed into my mare several times, and she never so much as laid an ear back.
So basically, if your mare kicks or threatens to, I'd get after her hard (make it memorable). She needs to learn that you're in charge and that when working, she needs to put her horsey behaviors aside.
Dawn in East Texas -----Original Message----- From: Lysane Cree <lysanec@xxxxxxxx> To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Mon, 19 Dec 2005 10:24:39 -0500 (EST) Subject: [RC] Tailgating a kicker I've been following this topic with interest, since I will be starting my young horse in the spring. I want to work on her attitude before I take her to a ride. So far I have ridden with different people/horses and have had different reactions from my mare. She is a dominant horse and tries to boss other horses around in the pasture. She is often testing me as well to see if I'll let her get away with something (wrong person though LOL).
The first horse I rode with, a mare, she had never seen before. My friend and I arranged to meet up on the trail and rode together. My mare never did anything, we rode side by side, sometimes my mare in front, sometimes behind and she never pinned her ears.
Another day, I was riding in a field where some other people were riding and I was about 10 feet from another horse (a gelding) . My mare pinned her ears, swung her hips and started backing up to kick. The other horse started to do the same, so I gave my mare a smack with the end of a rein to get her to move out before she got a chance to kick.
This weekend I rode with yet another horse - my mare has been pastured with this other mare for about a month now (and many other horses), so they know each other. My mare behaved both in the lead and behind (she tends to want to jog more though when she is behind) but when the other horse came up beside her she pinned her ears. She didn't kick which was good, but she wasn't happy.
So far, she hasn't kicked while I 've ridden her but there have been some close calls. The trainer I sent her to told me that she had kicked when he first took her on the trail with another horse.
My reaction would be to punish her if she did kick, but having been on another horse that I didn't know kicked, it can happen so quickly the reaction can be delayed a little. I'm wondering what I can do to get her to be more trustworthy to not kick. As a novice, I'm sure lots of people will be passing me on the trail. Of course, I'll put the biggest red ribbon I can find in her tail, but I want to work through rather than just say "oh well my horse kicks".
Lysane
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