Re: [RC] retraining horses that bite/kick/paw/head bump - SandyDSA
hi Steven,
First of all, after a few years or decades of
experience, most people learn that, regardless of what you do, accidents happen.
SO...if that is the case, and it is, WHY IN THE WORLD would ANYONE with an
active brain cell NOT do whatever they can to AVOID it? That would include NOT
taking a known biter to a ride. BTW, While kicking is damaging and can injure
people, many times it is the result of the horse reacting to fear or the
aggressive act of another horse. It should STILL be corrected, stopped, and
ultimately not allowed in public. A BITER on the other hand, is absolutely
nothing less than unveiled aggression. That in itself is enough to leave Bint
Busy Mouth at home. Could the other gal - Susan -have avoided injury by moving?
Possibly - depends on how fast SHE could move with her horse in hand,
and how fast Bint Busy Mouth attacked. Secondly, another rider was within FEET
and was NOT warned; and finally, after the attack - and it WAS an attack - BBM's
rider had no apology to make for her vicious horse. If it had been our stallion
- who does NOT have a vicious temperament - we would have been so ostracized, he
could NEVER have come back to a ride! Personally, after this episode, if some
tells me their horse bites, I will dive for cover and sue them if my horse gets
away and gets hurt. Then I will personally bite the OWNER of the attack horse:).
how can you tell whether your horse is likely to behave
that way under the close contact with numerous unfamiliar horses and people
that are likely to occur at endurance rides.
In closing, you cannot always tell, and that
is what the word "accident" is for. This was not an accident. Why? Because the
owner KNOWS the mare attacks. It was something of a domino effect as well, and
that is frankly scary. As I had mentioned, our older mare, years ago, was what
I considered a kicker. She did not get to go in public let alone competition
until she quit that crap. A couple of people emailed me privately with the "I
can't AFFORD another horse" mantra. Sorry - too bad. That does not mean you
get to haul you vicious horse into public places. That's life, and it
isn't life or death, so deal with it. I couldn't safely take my girl
into public for two YEARS either. If she had not cleaned up her act, she would
have been a pasture potato. Specifically, while we do NOT like to have to lay
a harsh hand on ANY animal, in general, a few well-timed, well placed acts of
corporal punishment will USUALLY cure a bad actor - but not always, and those
bad actors who either insist on being vicious or are owned by a sissy lala who
will not take charge of such behavior should just never show up in public.
