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Why is my horse kicking?

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 14:48:08 GMT

Why does my horse kick?

WHY DOES MY HORSE KICK

If you're kicked by a horse, it can have serious consequences for both humans and other animals. Most people know to be cautious when passing behind or approaching a horse's hind legs. Additionally, horses can strike with their front legs, so be aware of this too.

Reasons horses kick?

Kicking is a natural behavior for horses. Their hind legs can serve as weapons, but that's not the only reason they kick. Horses kick when playing (Left-Brain behavior) and when scared (Right-Brain behavior). They also kick in rebellion, especially Left-Brain horses, who often aim accurately and kick deliberately.

Understanding Horse Personalities: Left-Brain and Right-Brain

Observing horses in a herd shows how and when they decide to strike. Before a horse raises its leg to kick, it usually gives a warning. We might miss these signals because they can be subtle. Introverted horses often strike without obvious signs, making it seem like the kick came out of nowhere.

Reading Your Horse for Safety

Learning to read your horse's body language, behavior, and mood is crucial for safety. Recognize his signals to stay out of the strike zone or keep a distance until he calms down. That is why learning to read your horse is so important for your safety. You learn to recognize his body language, behavior, and mood, and to stay out of your horse's strike zone or keep him at a distance until he is calm and relaxed.

The Scenario: Reasons for Kicking

Right-Brain Horses: Usually kick because they are worried, surprised, or scared.
Left-Brain Horses: Kick out of resistance, often when asked to do something they aren't ready for or when touched in an unpleasant spot .

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Recognizing emotion.

Understanding your horse’s emotional state helps you know what he is ready for. Observe if he’s tense with a tight tail, high head, and pinned ears (Right-Brain behavior), or if he appears relaxed or grumpy, avoiding contact (Left-Brain behavior).

The warning signs.

Right-Brain Horses: Tighten their tails, bring hindquarters inward, and may strike when pressured or cornered.
Left-Brain Horses: Show quick movements, like tail swishing or ear pinning, before striking, giving more visual warning.

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The Kick

Right-Brain Horses: Strike fast and accurately, often multiple times if panicked.
Left-Brain Horses: Kick slowly and deliberately, sometimes from a distance.

What to do when you are kicked?

Once kicked, it’s too late to punish the horse. Punishment is ineffective and can make the horse fearful. Instead, focus on becoming a reliable leader to build trust and respect.

Knowing the risks?

Always be aware of the danger when dealing with a horse that doesn’t trust or respect you. Avoid the danger zone, protect your space, and work on building trust and respect.

Good horse people read horses, they know what to expect and prevent it. If they are hit by a horse, they will immediately admit that they have made a wrong assessment.

What to do?

Invest in your relationship with your horse. Understand his personality and communicate effectively. Recognize the importance of the relationship over rigid goals. Invest in the relationship with your horse. Make sure you know his personality and take sensible actions that bring you closer together. Earn the respect of your horse and ensure you are kind and reliable. Too often, people become too focused on goals, becoming rigid and forgetting that the relationship comes first. Make sure you understand what is important to your horse and what you need to do. Learn and study the horse language that horses use among themselves and how they display it in their interactions with humans. Practice reading the expressions and behaviors of horses, and you will be amazed at how clear they are. If you want to be safe and comfortable around horses, you must understand horse language/communication, not only from your horse but also from other horses.

Make no assumptions.

Just because your horse was a certain way yesterday, does not guarantee the same behavior today. You do not know how your horse experienced your previous session, and you also do not know what has happened in the horse group in the meantime. Various factors in the environment can influence the horse, such as the weather or if a horse in the group saw something that made others uneasy.

Translate this paragraph to English: When your horse looks at you with ears forward and a positive expression, when he is not tense, bored, or distracted and you are not introducing anything new, it is likely okay. But for people with knowledge and experience, this is not enough. They make sure every day that they earn the respect of their horse by responsibly and with knowledge and skill, dealing with the horse they have in front of them at that moment. This means they have a quiver of knowledge arrows that they can use in various different circumstances they encounter in their interactions with their horse.

If you want to learn more about horsenalities, check here: Horsenality course

Trailer loading issues

Mon, 01 Apr 2024 15:41:38 GMT

Why is trailerloading for horses such a problem?

Many people may have experienced that loading a trailer can be a problem. It is not to be blamed on your horse for not wanting to enter the trailer, as it is a purely instinctive reaction of your horse for self-preservation.

Loading a trailer can be problematic due to a horse's instinct to avoid narrow spaces. Building trust and leadership is essential for successful trailer loading. Force and punishment make the horse distrustful. Instead, use a natural approach, giving the horse time to relax near the trailer.Horses have avoided narrow spaces for millions of years. Every prey animal knows that you should never let yourself be backed into a corner, and that includes a narrow space like a trailer. A trailer has a ceiling, a floor, a wall on the left, a wall on the right, a front, and a back.

In the eyes of a horse, a trailer is nothing more than a metal cage on wheels, a trap that you walk into.

A trailer-loading issue has nothing to do with the trailer itself. It usually involves the relationship between you and your horse. It's about the sense of trust the horse has in you and about your leadership. The more you force him, the less he will trust you and the less he will follow your cues. Success in easily loading your horse into the trailer starts outside the trailer. You need to understand how to gain the trust, respect, and leadership of your horse so that he understands what you want from him. Trailer loading is a one-off event, but if you suddenly need to take your horse somewhere, it's nice if he just gets in.

The more your horse trusts you, the less likely he will say no to trailer loading. Learn to communicate in a language that is as natural as possible for your horse, so that he understands what you mean and can willingly carry out the commands.

The conditioned response, comfortable and uncomfortable.

We all know that you can force a horse into the trailer with violence and quickly close the ramp. However, there is a better way to acclimate your horse. By using a natural approach that is much less frustrating and dangerous for both horse and human. Most people force, punish, and put pressure on a horse near a trailer, so it's no wonder the horse starts to dislike the trailer. If you lead him near the trailer without force and then leave him alone, giving him his comfort, things will start to change.

Work with him at a distance from the trailer and then bring him back to the trailer. Leave him alone and give him time to relax. He will start to see the trailer as a place of safety, peace, and sanctuary rather than a place of coercion, pushing, pulling, and confinement. He will begin to associate it with comfort rather than discomfort, and he will be much more relaxed near the trailer. With good communication, leadership, and building trust, the horse will eventually do what you ask of him..

Do not wait too long to teach it, but also do not neglect the maintenance of trailer loading. Imagine if you unexpectedly need to go to the clinic, it is nice that your horse is accustomed to walking in the trailer. Or if you want to do something fun like compete or go on a beautiful trail ride, if your horse doesn't want to go in the trailer, it can be quite a downer.

We therefore recommend taking ownership of trailer loading and regularly practicing it to avoid any issues when you actually need to use the trailer.

If you want to learn all the tips we have gathered on trailer loading, you can do so from home at your own pace through our online trailer loading course.

If you would like a private lesson to work together with me on helping your horse with the trailer, please send an email to humphreydirkshorsemanship@gmail.com or use the contact form.

Safety tips

Once your horse is calm enough to stand in the trailer for 10 seconds, you can place the bar, but make sure to immediately close the safety hooks of the bar points to prevent the horse from leaning against or underneath it and pushing the bar out with all the consequences that may ensue.
Never, under any circumstances, close the trailer ramp without first placing the bar behind the horse's hindquarters, as this can lead to a serious accident for both. If the horse backs up while you are lifting the ramp, you could end up under the ramp and in the hospital.
The front door of the trailer is meant for the handler, not for the horse. Some horses may try to see if they can exit through this door. Always close this door immediately after use, so your horse doesn't get the urge to push against it. It may seem unnecessary to say, but have your trailer checked by a specialist every year. We don't want a horse to fall through the ramp or floor, or for the brake not to function properly. Safety comes first.
Do not tie your horse to the halter in the trailer if you haven't placed the bar behind the hindquarters yet. If the horse panics and pulls back, it could fall over and seriously injure itself. So, always secure the bar first, close the safety lock of the bar, and then tie up your horse.

Have a safe journey ..........