She keeps trying to kick me?! advice please

kerrieberry2

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Hello

My friends horse has started trying to kick me! My friend has had her since December and she was an unbacked 5yr old, so at the beginning of the year we backed her and she is going really well, she went away for 2 months to a yard with a school and has been back at mine for 6 weeks now.

In the last couple of weeks she has started acting oddly in the field, one morning I was doing the water and she came up behind and without me realising and made me jump! then she spun around and turned her back end of me and started backing up! So I shouted her name at her and she went away. she then started doing it again as I was poo picking! and she's done this a few times in the last 2 weeks!

The other day she was in my way so I pushed her bum to get her to turn around, which she has always done very happily and she kicked both of her back feet up like she was going to double barrel me! so again I shout her name, whilst jumping out of the way and she stopped!

but today, I was putting my boy back in, she was waiting at the gate calling him and as I got near her back end to walk out of the field she properly kicked out sideways at me!

A friend of ours has been going up to ride her once or twice a week and she has been acting like this with her too and trying to kick while she's having her feet picked out!

I am wondering whether this something to do with her possibly being in season as she was apparently hasseling my boy yesterday, biting him and backing up into him!

but I am really concerned that it might be something more serious? as its only just started to happen? we know that kicking has been her defence reaction in the past but she's has never intentionally tried to kick us! her owner got kicked by her when a dog tried to go for her! and the other girl got kicked by her when she went to kick one of the shetlands! but both of these instances have been accidents!

any advice would be helpful, if anyone else had had a horse that has suddenly started doing this! and obviously I will be steer well clear of that backend now!
 
Is she protective or jealous of you and your gelding? I have no advise as I would be doing the same as you are although I would up the handling as much as possible- as my young pony needs lots of attention and if I've had a busy week he can start to be a bit feral.

Good luck- I know i have been no help but will act as a BUMP so someone else can help...
 
We had a mare that used to back up and kick out in the field - wasn't just people, other horses, dogs...crows!! She's was very posessive of 'her' field and was possessive of one other horse, but other wise was fine to handle. The other horses kept out her way, and for a while anyone that went in the field took a lunge whip with a plastic bag on the end to scare her away with IF she approached backwards, if she came nicely forwards she was patted and greated normally! She soon learnt if she was in a possessive mood to pull faces from a distance!
 
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