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[RC] You should (was: agressive kicker) - k s swigartSandy said: Having another STALLION at a vet check be ALLOWED - and he WAS allowed by his idiot rider - to BITE MY HORSE IN THE BUTT, causing my guy to take a kick and slightly swipe the P & R person(the bad actor boy got pulled apparently later on) is not cause for me to punish MY horse. Frankly, the rider deserved the swift kick - and I will not punish my horse for defending his person against physical attack. With this I cannot agree. With my stallions (and other horses for that matter), the rule is, "I don't care HOW provoked you were, you are NOT allowed to take pot shots with your hooves." At least not at a vet check at an endurance ride, or anytime the horse is being handled anywhere. While it may be understandable that a horse with let fly with its hooves when bit in the ass by another horse, I don't consider it excusable. It is called being civilized. The definition of being civilized is to refrain from retaliation even when provoked. So yes, my horses get corrected for kicking at horses that run up their butt, slam into them, or even bite them. And until they learn it, I don't consider them civilized and refrain from taking them out in, at least unsuspecting, company. Or keep them well away from other horses (i.e. ride at the back). However, since the way to train horses not to retaliate even when provoked is to provoke them, somewhere along the line, you HAVE to take them out in company so they can learn it. My favorite way of doing this is to pony another horse off of them so they get used to having another horse in close proximity, jostling them, harassing them, etc. But I confess to also recruiting friends to play "provocateur." That way, I can hope to be ready for when I am in a group of strange horses with my horse and know that the horse will behave impeccably no matter how ill-mannered the rest of the company. So yes, you SHOULD correct your stallion (or any other horse) for taking a pot shot at the P&R person just because s/he happened to be standing in range when your horse got bit in the butt and let fly with his hooves indescriminately (after all he MISSED the true offender). And actually, one of the biggest reasons that horses should be corrected for taking pot shots at other horses that harass them from behind is just this....often, they miss with their retaliation and some innocent by-stander is the one that gets nailed. When I am riding and/or handling my horse, it is MY responsiblity, and mine alone, to keep it from being harassed from behind. My horse doesn't get to take matters into his own hands no matter how badly he thinks I may be falling down on the job of protecting him from such harassment. kat Orange County, Calif. :) "If the end justifies the means, everybody is justified." John G. Beck, PhD =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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