>With all the talk about kickers on the trail, it seems the discussion has
>focused on kicking horses coming up from behind. However, I have seen even
>more
>vicious "cow kicking" (to the side), with one well-placed kick landing
square
>on
>a rider's ankle on a narrow trail at the beginning of a ride. I think the
>moral
>is you never know when even the most predictable horse might let loose with
a
>kick, and when at all possible you should give as wide a berth as possible
>when
>overtaking and passing, always asking for trail, always giving it when safe.
>
>
Absolutely! And again, it seems incumbent upon each rider, regardless of
gender or age of the horse to see that that horse and rider does not cause a
hazard. It doesn't matter to my mare WHY a hore lets loose and belts her with
a hind foot at the water bucket. And it doesn't matter to me. We don't want
to get blasted. And so, until one's horse is properly discliplined to control
those high-flying instincts, keep them home. The public trailways are no
place to train a horse. I don't do it and I don't want anyone around me to do
it. I don't like pain.
High spirits or whatever are no excuse for creating a hazard, as in the
incident of the Appy mare who should have stayed home with her hormones and
green rider. She was slamming into people besides us and is lucky she didn't
get nailed herself. Solution? Perhaps non-competitive trail work to finish
ahorse BEFORE they get to a race. Okay?