Would you forgive your horse if it kicked you?

I've got a grumpy ginger witch who made her daily task to try and kill me, be it by booting me across the yard or charging at me across the field, I've forgiven her everytime, she had little handling before I bought her and has been abused somewhere along the line... she's now a sweetheart and now only kicks when I'm cleaning her leg wound.

Have also taken a kick to the face off one of others, but that was my fault, i sprayed her with fly spray, she took a dislike and kicked me in the jaw...thankfully she was unshod or I would have been in a right mess!
 
The welsh idiot kicked me in the thigh, very close range so not too bad, as I was brushing his tail. Absolutely no reason at all other than he preferred not to have it brushed. Afraid to say I took a step back and launched a well aimed kick to his buttock. Got all manner of abuse and lectures from the other liveries. Had he lifted a leg first, or jiffled or ears back or whatever, then fair enough, but no, just a swift hoof to the thigh.

I don't hold it against him, and he hasn;t done it since though he has warned plenty of times.

Not sure how i would feel if it was a large horse and I had been kicked in the stomach......
 
G kicked me across the yard two winters ago. There really was no obvious reason for it, he was eating a haynet and I was brushing his legs (which is a normal routine done all the time) however, we had very heavy snowfall and he hadn't been worked in 2 weeks and was, as a result in a very grumpy mood.

Friend's horse double barraled me in the arm in the spring, a freak accident and my fault for going behind him. I have never ever felt such pain and literally could not breathe. I still have a small lump/bruise now. I guess it's permanent.

I've forgiven both, they're animals they don't realise the hurt they can do. HOWEVER, if I had something that would continually and regularly threaten me for no apparent reason then no, couldn't be doing with that.
 
In my opinion horses are not just a bundle of unthinking, mindless reactions. They often plan to get a result ie how to open bolts to get food & the like, all sort of things we have all witnessed to how cunning they can be. They will be vindictive to a horse they take a dislike to & sometimes will always be nasty to that horse, why not to a person as we demand so much. They can equally be very protective to a horse that is a chum. A stallion can be murderous to an intruding stallion meaning real harm. All this is not mindless. A horse I once had would wait until you were in a particular place to tie him up, then deliberately side step to make sure he got your foot, had to walk on a ledge to avoid getting it. More over he knew when you were on the ledge & didn't move. How many have you seen untie knots etc. they are cleverer than many give them credit for. We expect them to learn from training but they can also learn from life. Anyway that's my take on it. They are lovely but never under estimate them.
 
amandap said:
I'd seriously be asking myself what I was doing to make any of mine kick me. I'd be more inclined to ask if I could forgive myself actually.
I believe horses have been telling us in other ways that they're not coping or understanding long, long before they feel the need to strike out so I would go back and do a full reassessment of my horses life from his point of view. I'd include what he eats and how it might affect him physically and mentally, how he is managed and does it suit him rather than just the yard, who has hands on contact and do they have very different ways of handling horses, is he in any discomfort especially gut and feet, am I confusing him with my requests and signals, have I trained him properly and enough for what I'm asking... the biggie, what am I missing, why isn't he cooperative sometimes and stand back and really listen and look at what HE is trying to tell me.
Also I'd make a real effort to pick up on and take notice of smaller and smaller behaviours that are his ways of communicating. I've found that the more I learn to understand, the better I 'listen' and the better I can teach and communicate.
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This!
 
If it was done with malice for no reason then no, I'd be furious and would let it know it was completely unacceptable. If it was because of something I had done/not done then I'd blame myself but at the same time I'd be cross that it had retaliated as I just won't have nasty horses here, there are plenty of nice ones about without having a grouchy guts too.
 
A horse knows what he is doing when he kicks out. They aren't stupid. If any of my horses kicked out at me frequently I think I would have to reassess my handling skills. I cannot ever imagine any of mine doing something like that but then I am on top of their behaviour at all times and I keep my wits about me constantly. I am dealing with a large number of big horses and it wouldn't do me any good to feed this sort of mindset from any of them.
 
I'm so sorry to hear you have been kicked and hurt and hope you are feeling better soon.

I think this is a hard one to answer, well it is to me anyway. You know the temperament of your own horse, you know whether it was out of nastiness or your horse was trying to tell you something.

Archie is not a kicker and if he did I would, like you, lose confidence but I would then look to myself for reasons why he did it. I guess I would give him the benefit of the doubt, never be complacent - have found out to my cost that accidents tend to happen when us humans let down our guard - and not put myself in a position to be kicked until I got to the root of the problem.

However, if it is downright nastiness, and we all know there are some horses who seem to have the devil in them, sadly for whatever reason, if I thought myself and others were in danger I would not be able to continue our relationship as it was. Horses like this, and I have seen a good few, need to be managed and its handlers on their guard all the time. Next time it could be your head in the firing line. Only you know how you truly feel but if it were me I would hold my hands up and say it was too much for me and find a suitable home where his nasty tendancies were managed and accepted.

I know of a horse who was a brilliant, brilliant athlete, good at lots of things but would not tolerate grooming, tacking up. Obviously, that was very tricky but the person who owned her found ways to do these things with minimal risk to themselves.

So really, its not what any of us would or would not do, some would rather be maimed or killed than part with their horse, whilst others would part with them if the wind is blowing the wrong way, we are all very different. Ultimately its what you feel is right for you and whichever way you choose to go it should be what is best for you and your horse.
 
I suppose it would depend on the circumstances. My youngster kicked me the day after she arrived. She fractured my scaphoid and I was in plaster for 10 weeks. But she is still with us and will remain with us. She didn't mean it. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She heard a tractor being started, spun round and kicked out as she ran off. I almost fainted with the pain but it was no one's fault.
 
Depends why the Horse kicked out in the first place.

I was kicked once in the leg, I was in the field going to catch my share Horse. He did not want to be caught, so I used the method of following him so he couldn't eat. He finally stopped and then spun and kicked me. I tried to get out the way, so luckily just got my leg (wouldv'e been my ribs if I hadn't moved) I went back to the yard and got some feed, and owner was there I told her what happened and when she finally caught him. She gave him a good hiding! I felt very guilty.


This did not happen to me but my YO, she was double barrowed in the head by one of her Horses. He broke pretty much every bone in her face and she was laying in a pool of blood. Luckily no serious damadge done, she had surgery and the scars have healed nicely. However she has completly lost her nerve on the ground. It was a complete accident. Before she had her own yard, the livery where she kept her Horses at, stopped turnout. She took her Horse for a walk to stretch his legs, he got exciteable, pulled away and screw bucked accidently catching her in the face. Everyone told her to sell the Horse as he was dangerous. But 3 years later, she still has him. He is for sale now though but for different reasons.
 
A horse that really attacks by trying to kick me would not stay long.

Getting caught in the crossfire between 2 horses is quite another thing and I would blame myself for misreading the situation

Neither of mine would dream of kicking, they just wouldn't. Even when I inadvertently stabbed old mares hind fetlock when removing a poultice only resulted in her leaping in the air and then looking at me reproachfully :D I duly apologised profusely by way of Xtra Strong mints :)
 
Without having read any of the previous replies, in your case, so I don't think I'd forgive him and I'm glad I'm not in your shoes.

I can't have untrustworthy animals like that, firstly because I had a youngish child and secondly because I have a disabled husband who isn't horsey and can't move out of the way quickly. Any horse behaving like yours, using a kick to let you know his opinion, would have been very firmly dealt with and if no change sold or shot depending on the horse and exact circumstances.

I do have two horses that have kicked me. The first one has been abused in the past and when I first got him and walked into his stable with the broom over my shoulder I wasn't quick enough to read the signs and continued toward him and he double barrelled me and immediately stood in the corner shaking. He's now been with me nearly 10 years, I trust him completely and am happy to walk behind him even when is upset and stressy and will push him to accept things he finds difficult in the stable, I cannot recall any other time he has attempted to kick. That one was down to my ignorance of his problems.

The other one was being bullied by a bigger gelding and I got in the way as she lashed out, she was horrified as I dropped to the floor, she's a very good child's pony and she knows very well you don't kick people. My fault again, I shouldn't have been in the way.

Neither of mine was chastised in any way for the two incidents mentioned, they both knew they shouldn't have done it even though both occasions were my fault, neitehr of them have shown any other signs of it and I've now had them both for just around 10 years. One lapse each can be forgiven:D
 
I was double barrelled about 20 years ago by a horse I really trusted. I was loading him and walked up behind him and smacked him above the hock. Total muppetry on my part so foregivenss wasn't even thought about. However, my 2 month old foal is giving me cause for concern and seems to think its OK to squeal and kick as she comes past me. She hasn't got me yet but I think I'd struggle if she did tbh. It would probably prompt me to find her a professional home on weaning. I don't want to be over-horsed by a foal!
 
Depends on the animal. I had a mare who couldl lose the plot with no warning. After she had - literally, kicked me off the lorry and put me in hospital for 5 days she was sold (to a friend who knew her well and took her on as mare was a good competition horse). Reading the horse correctly or not, I got fed up with having such a massively unpredictable animal.

Now I am working through this with my youngster. Its a totally different ball game. He is easy to read and is still working out his boundaries. At one stage I was grooming him with a crop in hand to tell him to keep his legs to himself. Fundamentally he is a nice horse who likes attention and takes his lessons in good spirit so this behaviour is really disappearing. Slight set back when he has been ill as one of the signs of recovery was a ravenous horse. He has needed to learn respect again but I appreciate he is still only a baby.

But a horse that gave no warning? totally unpredictable? No. Life is too short and 5 days in hospital, during a heat wave for 2 seperate operations to drain the large haemontona on my leg, endless lectures about how I was lucky I didn't have a broken leg meant I had absolutely no regrets about selling on that mare whatsoever. Still the only horse I don't bother enquiring about either.
 
Yes, but would be more careful next time.

I was kicked not too long ago, because i startled our old horse. Rushing to get to work and took his rug off, unfortunately, I came up from behind him, (he is 28 yrs old and quiet), I thought he knew I was there, but obviously not. I went flying through the air, and was lame for about a week.

I have to say I have never done that before, now of course I make sure he knows I am around.
 
Yes, he's gone to kick me loads of times both in the stable and in the school, he's gone to attack me in the school and rear at me more times than I can remember, in the past (hopefully all in the past), part and parcel of learning to respect each other, knowing which buttons to press all that, if I hadn't of forgiven him and worked on it and past him on the problem may of continued, now he's as soft as anything BUT I'm still very careful and never let my guard down, I've been kicked by an other when he was eating his feed, bloody kicked it back I can tell you, never did it again!
 
Not when he has behavioural problems anyway, and by the sound of it he does! I wouldn't accept that behaviour, horses know right from wrong and you know when they mean it, and I think you already know deep down that he meant to hurt you. He's obviously not going to be your friend, and unless you are cruel to him, or frighten him then this behaviour cannot be tolerated. He either need a good lesson taught to him the hard way or I personally would consider getting rid of him. All horses can have the grumps sometimes but truth be told my horse would get a beating if he ever ment to hurt me for no reason, and I would sell him if his behaviour did not improve. He costs a lot of money, and if he's not earning any of that back for me I'd have no reason to continue with him.
 
riding_high said:
my pony used to come at me in a nasty way, for some reason he hated me. i learnt very quickly how to scale the stable walls to get away from him, many times i'd land in the next stable with my other pony stood looking at me as if i'm nuts!

i can't really put into words how bad he was but it was very bad, my OH refused to let me handle him after a while because it had got so dangerous.
i became scared of him and actually contemplated shooting him myself.

we moved yards and i was basically forced to handle him and the first couple of months i was terrified but i refused to let him get the better of me so i put him to work in the arena, every day he would come at me, kick out, bite, stomp and anything else he could think of.
fast forward to today (16 months later) and he is alot better, more respectful and doesn't intimidate me as much as he used to, i will do things with him quite happily but i'm always aware of how bad he can be and what he's capable of so keep my witts about me.

i guess you could say i've forgiven him and trust him about 90% but if he goes back with his attitude then i will call it a day with him.
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Serious question, why do you want to own a horse that makes you feel like that?

I'm afraid I couldn't do it. Owning horses needs to be fun for me, and that doesn't sound fun.
 
scarymare said:
I was double barrelled about 20 years ago by a horse I really trusted. I was loading him and walked up behind him and smacked him above the hock. Total muppetry on my part so foregivenss wasn't even thought about. However, my 2 month old foal is giving me cause for concern and seems to think its OK to squeal and kick as she comes past me. She hasn't got me yet but I think I'd struggle if she did tbh. It would probably prompt me to find her a professional home on weaning. I don't want to be over-horsed by a foal!
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Carry a schooling whip and give her a smack on the arse. Better to teacher her now than have the same fight when she's fully grown. She's still learning boundaries as a baby so you need to enforce this now.
 
Frumpoon said:
My horse aims for me all the time!! Of course, I love him, forgiveness doesn't enter into it - there's no malice, he's an animal, he can't understand consequences.

Horses just live in the here and now, they don't see into the future, body language is their only way of communicating with us.

If he could speak he might have said, 'not just now mummy I've had a bad day and as much as I love you, I have forty winks scheduled in'

As he can't you got a well-aimed kick...xx
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I don't think kicking is ever okay. I'd nip that in the bud before he connects and hurts someone. They have plenty of ways of communicating without having to kick!
 
Brandy said:
The welsh idiot kicked me in the thigh, very close range so not too bad, as I was brushing his tail. Absolutely no reason at all other than he preferred not to have it brushed. Afraid to say I took a step back and launched a well aimed kick to his buttock. Got all manner of abuse and lectures from the other liveries. Had he lifted a leg first, or jiffled or ears back or whatever, then fair enough, but no, just a swift hoof to the thigh.

I don't hold it against him, and he hasn;t done it since though he has warned plenty of times.

Not sure how i would feel if it was a large horse and I had been kicked in the stomach......
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Sounds like a fair, firm response to me.
 
No, and here is why.
I had a horse on loan (to buy) for two weeks. I put her rug on at end of the first week having got on fine with her and when I did up the back leg surcingles, she kicked me, Blooming hard as well. So hard I still have the bump on my thigh (6 yrs ago). She went back the next day.
In horse language, ears are usually first warning, then raised leg, swish tail, teeth nashing, etc, last I would expect a kick. I draw the line at a horse that kicks without any prior warning first. My current horse has never kicked me but has warned me and I take heed of his warnings but in a firm manner. I am the alpha horse here, not him, and all my body language tells him that on a daily basis.
 
I've had a few wallops off my yearling whos a pushy colt and always pushes his boundaries but we are getting better with a firm mommy who puts him in his place :rolleyes: that said if he'd had shoes on i'd definatley have a broken hand and a broken arm by now, worst times I don't have a chance to 'tell him off' because i'm jumping around clutching my hand/arm/wherever he hit! That said the next day he will be following me around and giving kisses :')

He knows its wrong though because if he does catch me he can tell i'm angry/hurt because he comes creeping up a few mins later with his head down as if to say sorry mommy..I just got a bit excited :D
 
Wow I'm actually quite shocked that so many horses deliberately kick their owners!

My filly double barrelled me in the field last spring, it shocked me so much I couldn't react.
A few days later she took another shot and just missed, but I got her good and proper, before her back hooves touched the floor she felt my size 6 up her arse :D

She's never tried it since, I too got a few lectures and silence when I asked what would one of her field mates done? Of course the answer is kick her back, and she of course understands this language perfectly well.

So I have forgiven and forgot as she was young and she's a section D :D

I wouldn't tolerate an older horse that thinks its ok to kick because it doesn't want to be groomed, or doesn't want you to enter his stable, I would get shot because bad temperedness just isn't nice to be around. How can you relax if your horse is this way?
 
I'm sorry but if a horse kicked me in anyway shape or form (whether he meant to or not) I'd really leather him one with what ever I could get my hands on. Sam ditched me once and purposefully bucked out at me, Jane said he was aiming right for my head. So I grabbed him and really gave him some real smacks on his arse.
Next time I came off - all my fault - he stood stock still and didn't try hurt me.

Kicking is never, ever ok.
 
My little welsh has a bit of a 'misunderstood' character. He has never liked little children and when he was part of a riding school you just had to keep every small person away from him. He was on loan and sent back within a month to 4 different homes before I rescued him as he's my boys best friend. I know him inside out and have accepted his character which is sweet, affectionate and cheeky and just plain and simple hates little people round his feet! With me he's fine. Admittedly if he's having a proper grumpy day I'll get a swish of a tail or his 'ugly' face but this purely indicates to me he really is not in the mood for attention and doesn't want pampering. If a foot is raised as a warning he gets a firm telling off. If a child goes near him its an instant ears pinned back, bares his teeth, swings his hindquarters round and tries to eat them. Ironically he's an absolute teddy bear when they are put on him and loves being a lead rein pony:rolleyes:
 
PiebaldPeril said:
As title really: mine recently kicked me. I was doing some groundwork with him at the time and we were just NOT in co-operative mode. Admittedly I allowed myself to get too close to him, but suddenly - BAM! - he'd kicked me, right in the stomach. Luckily there were other people around, but I was in a world where everything was going black and fuzzy for about ten minutes and it was scarey, very scarey.

His nasty habit of rearing at shows at other public events, I've coped with and realised I'll have to grit teeth and bear it, BUT this latest little exhibition of temper (which is what it was, coz having given me the benefit of his opinion of me, he'd gone high-tailing around the field thinking he'd obviously done something wonderful - according to a friend who was - thank god - there at the time and saw it happen). I'd tended to blame myself, told myself I "hadn't read him properly", "had got too close therefore MY fault" etc etc. Which although partially true doesn't excuse the fact that he hadn't been asked to do anything difficult i.e. like jump through a flaming hoop of fire!!! - and when you "ask" him, he frequently gives a rude and downright dangerous reply.

99% of the time he's a sweet, amiable, nice boy and suits me down to the ground in every single way; but the other 1% can rear, buck, and now he's learnt that if he doesn't want to do what I'm asking on the ground, that all he has to do is kick, and that will be the end of it!!!!

I've had a trainer who I trust implicity come to help me with his issues, and we've come a very long way, BUT this is the end of the road, for me. I just can't trust him anymore - he's a big strong horse and has learnt to kick me if he doesn't want to do groundwork - and groundwork was the place where I knew I could use to bring him back into line, but I can't anymore.

Soooo. ....... the question I'm asking is, if your horse, your best friend (like I thought mine was), kicked you: not an accident, but on purpose, could you/would you, forgive & forget?

Am just wondering really.
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I can't be sure, but it sounds like you've been too soft on your horse and he's pushing you further and further.

If a horse ever kicked me and there was no good reason for it (fear, a mistake erc), it would get a bloody good hiding and realise it is absolutely unacceptable to behave like that.
 
scarymare said:
However, my 2 month old foal is giving me cause for concern and seems to think its OK to squeal and kick as she comes past me. She hasn't got me yet but I think I'd struggle if she did tbh. It would probably prompt me to find her a professional home on weaning. I don't want to be over-horsed by a foal!
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When my friend got her foal I always carried a lead rope in the field, if she didn't respect my space I would swing it around in a circle in front of me. I found this very effective!

My friends filly is now 2 and is very well mannered. She has worked from a very early age with her as her attitude was only that she would get bigger and more difficult to train! She is very consistent with her, never bribes her to do anything, but always rewards good behaviour with praise.

Good luck with your foal.
 
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