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Re: [RC] BIting Horse at Ride - desertrydr1As the owner of a horse who had kicked at another horse at least twice, (same horse--for some reason she just didn't like her) I automatically assumed that she might kick at a ride. I put a red ribbon in her tail, and warned people who got to close that she had been known to kick. At times I even had to move away from my established hay pile because someone was too stupid to move away from my horse after I had already just TOLD them she had kicked before. It is definitely the owner's responsibility to position their horse safely, and if someone gets too close, either re-emphasize the point or move away. It is also the owner's responsibility to discipline the horse for ANY unsocial behavior towards a person or another horse in a public setting such as an endurance ride. Yes, horses bite and kick. But there's so excuse for LETTING them do it. jeri-----Original Message----- From: Beth Walker <bwalker2@xxxxxxx> To: Ridecamp <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Mon, 28 Jan 2008 1:47 pm Subject: Re: [RC] BIting Horse at Ride I can only agree to a certain extent. Yes, she gave a verbal warning, but this isn't any more sufficient than tying a red ribbon around the tail of a horse that actively tries to kick other horses, even if they have to back up 10 feet to do it. That kind of warning is only sufficient in the "normal" case of a horse snapping at another one when it gets within a few feet.
This horse was already in a "group" with another horse - the one Susan was riding with. That sends a message to other people that the horse is moderately well socialized. Yes, the owner said "she bites". I will agree that a better choice would have been to go on the other side -- assuming there was room. However, the owner of that horse still had a responsibility to: a) clarify the situation -- "Excuse me, you are too close". b) try to avoid a problem -- back the horse off while clarifying the situation c) acknowledge that the horse has a problem d) reprimand the horse if it tries to bite (which means paying enough attention to try and catch an attempt before it succeeds) It is the last two that sends up warning flags to me in this case -- the owner got defensive and angry, and didn't reprimand the horse at all. This says to me that the owner is in serious denial about the severity of the problem, in which case, she isn't likely to take any preventive steps AT ALL.
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