Horse kicking when being rugged

Penny Less

Penny Less

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Loan horse has had a back/pelvis problem which resulted in him being retired. he is a nice lad except for rugging. He kicks out when Im putting it on, usually same leg. I try to avoid pulling on the rug when adjusting it, but as Im not too tall and hes a big lad I can never get it on straight first time. Bit dreading the winter routine when Ill be changing rugs 4 times a day. Today he kicked out when I was undoing surcingle. Ive tried the BHS folding rugs way but with a big 7ft rug im finding it quite difficult. Now do I tell him off and give him a slap, or try rewarding him if he doesn't kick. If I cant sort this I will have to let him go back to his owner but am reluctant to do this with winter coming on as they will have to find a yard.
 
My mare can get like this when her ulcers play up. I do tell her off because I think she should know by now that rugs on / off are not going to cause her any discomfort. A very firm AH, AH, AH at her when she gets a bit fidgety and a lot of 'good girl' when she stands still for me to do it.
 
As it could be quite dangerous I would lean towards telling him off rather than only rewarding him when he doesn't do it. Putting a rug on can't cause too much discomfort to a big horse so I would be quite strict with him. I would say NO quite assertively and make him step away from me with his hinds each time he tries it. Hopefully he will get sick of moving over at some point and give up. You can't have him doing that all through the winter, he might catch you one time.
 
couldnt he stay in his turn out rug and you then only should need to do it once daily. instead of removing rug to groom, you could unfold the front, groom and then put rug back and unfold back part, groom and fold back...that should be easier if you are small and he is big. i would also tell him off. kicking is not acceptable and doing the above should not cause him pain. good luck and be careful..
 
What's the arrangements re vets etc for this chap? If you mention to his owners that the kicking out worries you (it would worry me!) would they pay for a vet check/chiro/physio to see if he's in pain? It may just be a habit carried on from his earlier injuries, but you could get badly hurt. Think about what happened to Catembi. If he is in pain, then that needs dealing with.
 
I'd spend the day taking everything at the pace of a tortoise using positive reinforcement.

It might take an hour or it might take five mins for him to catch on, but by hitting him/telling him off for it, you're not only going to have a horse who doesn't like being rugged, he's also not going to like/trust you.
 
SpringArising said:
What method should he use to communicate if the only thing he knows is going to get him a telling off?
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You don't need to beat him, but an 'Ah' and a growl would be a start. I doubt a carrot is the way to go. Just MO, we all do things differently and neither way will cause him pain or stress.
 
Clodagh said:
You don't need to beat him, but an 'Ah' and a growl would be a start. I doubt a carrot is the way to go. Just MO, we all do things differently and neither way will cause him pain or stress.
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So assuming the horse is either in pain, or scared, because let's face it - horses don't act like this for no reason, your method of fixing it would still be to tell him off?
 
FWIW I find the BHS method the easiest way to put a big horse's rug on (and I've had a lot of big horses). If you get it folded properly away from the horse, you can put one 1/4 on the withers and unfold it carefully, so that the horse has no/little need to object. I would also put this horse's rug on from the 'wrong' side. I can't think of any reason for 4 rug changes in a day.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
FWIW I find the BHS method the easiest way to put a big horse's rug on (and I've had a lot of big horses). If you get it folded properly away from the horse, you can put one 1/4 on the withers and unfold it carefully, so that the horse has no/little need to object. I would also put this horse's rug on from the 'wrong' side. I can't think of any reason for 4 rug changes in a day.
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No, I assumed that 4 rug changes a day was an exaggeration! Mine lived in their turnouts (clipped hunters) and I 'woggled' them as necessary.

SA - yes, because horses should not kick, he can put his ears back, or even lift a leg, but booting humans is a no no. (IMO).
 
Any chance he's too hot? I knew a mare that used to run away when her owner tried to rug her. He finally got the message when she threatened to kick.. mabey try the horse unrugged for a bit. If it's cold it will shiver, if not he's fine without it. I think it's worth a try.
 
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If he kicks when you bend down to grab the belly straps, I've seen somewhere using a wire coat hanger helps (or something similar). You can hook the strap without bending down too much.
PS. Wear a hat please.

I did have a dream about this oddly, but the horse in question morphed into an octopus...
Sorry for adding a weird take on it.... lol
 
I have to confess that when my mare is being particularly stressy her outdoor stays on overnight. No need for a stable rug if there's a risk of getting belted!

If you don't want to reach under the belly then clip a lead rope to the belly straps and either kick it under the horse or, if very bad, use a broom handle to pull it towards you. Just gives you that extra length so you're not bending down in the kick zone. Pull up gently and then unclip rope.
 
Mine sometimes starts scraping a near fore on the floor when rugging up to go out but I put this down to excitement and anticipation of going out into the field for the foot of grass I give her every night! It doesn't happen all the time, but that's one thing I can't bear is foot scraping so I go 'No' and either knee her leg or give it a slap and it seems to stop. WHen I say slap I don't mean a real hard one btw.

Like someone said before, if horses are over rugged then and threaten to kick it could well be because they are just plainly saying 'I don't want all this on, please listen to me'.
 
Agree with Pearlsasinger about putting rugs on from the 'wrong' side (offside). I've seen a number of horses get 'angry' over rugging and am convinced that some of it is due to the belly straps banging the stomach as the rug passes over from the near side. Did holiday cover for a friend whose horse would kick out or bite when rugs done and after the first couple of days became a dream after rugging from the off side. IMO rugging from the near side is barbaric if the metal then bangs a horses leg or stomach - haven't done it for years and wince when I see others doing it the 'right' way o_O. Of course, it may be nothing to do with this at all, but definitely worth trying. Good luck avoiding the kicks and hope you get it sorted.
 
Could he not just stay in the turnout? Why the change to stable rug?

I’d be using a lot of vocal noises and putting rug on PC/BHS way ie. folding over shoulders.
 
Penny Less said:
Well hes on his way back to the owners, nearly kicked me in the face today when I was picking out his feet.
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That is sad but the right thing I think. Fair enough dealing with that behaviour in your own horse but in a loan companion really not necessary.
 
Crikey Mucking Out-still - what metal are the fasteners on your rugs made of? I could understand the term "barbaric" if you used horseshoes to secure your rugs, but I don't think my horses have even noticed if the minute lightweight rug fastenings flick them as the rug goes on!
 
Hee Hee, Auslander.....'barbaric' is probably over-doing it a bit o_O and no, my rugs don't tend to have heavyweight metal fasteners. Still a real bug-bear of mine though :p
 
Why can’t he cope without rugs?

We had a show horse here that could not cope without rugs according to owner and an accident happened. Since then you could not get a rug anywhere near it try as you might. After sedation wore off it was dangerous to get one off... shame vet didn’t have a dart gun.

Lived out happily ever after, grew a coat so thick you could hide a donkey in it. That was that until she died 15 years later at 39.
 
Fools Motto said:
If he kicks when you bend down to grab the belly straps, I've seen somewhere using a wire coat hanger helps (or something similar). You can hook the strap without bending down too much.
PS. Wear a hat please.

I did have a dream about this oddly, but the horse in question morphed into an octopus...
Sorry for adding a weird take on it.... lol
Click to expand...

Just choked on my tea reading this :D An octopus!!!
 
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