kicking and control of the horse

[Erika R Achberger <eachberg@sophia.smith.edu>]

It seems to me, this conversation about kicking has wound around to the
larger issue of control of the horse.
	Things that people have mentioned include a stallion who even when
put in tight quarters waits for the signal from the rider and doesn't
follow his own whims;  pile-ups on the trail when one horse stops
suddenly, spilled riders and stumbling horses and the responsibility of
the riders behind to be able to overcome the physics in order to keep
distance.
	What I am seeing, and I am sure I am not the only one, and I
don't want to make this long, is the need for communication with the horse
(the one you're riding) that goes further than physically maneuvering
(which means: work done by hand) the horse with force.
	The horse will be much more in control if you let him/her make use
of the balancing end, the hindquarters, and your use of the bit doesn't
consist of pulling him/her to a stop, or to turn.  You will have more
control, if the reins are used to indicate o the horse-- not try to do the
work for him/her.  The latter pulls the horse onto the forehand and takes
away its ability to deal with the "physics" of what's going on.  When you
find yourself pulling on the horse, you are taking away something
important to the horse and to your (and ultimately other people's)
safety; it may be time to go back and work on teaching your horse to be
more responsive to gentle signals.
	Imagine a ride where everyone's horses are balanced mentally
and physically and responding to their riders.  I think we wouldn't have
to be talking about collisions and pile-ups.  Rather than asking where to
draw the line on misbehaving horses, we could challenge ourselves and
raise the standard of everyday interactions on the trail.

(Please don't be upset if the way I phrased this sounded like I was
addressing the reader too directly.  I mean it only as a kindly
sharing-of-perspective):)--Eka