I was asked today if there is a way to deal with a kicker using natural horsemanship. YES! Is the answer. It is the best way to deal with any bad behavior.
So what exactly is natural horsemanship and how would you apply this to the kicking horse, well first off, using natural horsemanship means you already speak the language of the horse. So if you know his language, you should be able to watch the horse in action (kicking) and understand why exactly is he kicking.You must figure out why he is doing it before we can begin his training.
There are a few factors to figuring out a kicker, is the horse un-trusting? Is the horse spoiled, unrully or does the horse have an alpha or bossy personality. These three are usually the only factors, other than pain.
So how do tell where our horse falls under? Its very simple if you can read the horse, he/she will give a clear signals. If he/she is un-trusting you probably already know this about your horse. Watching the behavior while grooming is a great tool. A trust issue will come out as you approach the back end of the horse. If he turns to kick and acts as if he wants to flee as well, it is a trust issue.The same goes if he does this when you try to catch him. If he is cornered and jammed up with ears back slightly and acts like "if you come any closer I will kick" it is a trust issue. So he is not just a kicker but scared and using self defense. Working on desensitization and lots of grooming will work this kicking problem right out of them. Trust issues are another topic!
If your horse is spoiled and kicks at you when he is annoyed, this can be a bit of a challenge. A spoiled horse will usually kick at you when he has had enough brushing, when he is asked to pick up his feet or when you try to catch him in the stall. His body language will be very different than the un-trusting horse. He will not act frightened but more annoyed. He will lay his ears flat and display a very mad face. Un-trusting horses usually do not lay their ears flat but keep them more on your location. To fix the spoiled kicking horse will take going back to gaining respect (more on that in my blog archive). There is no quick training method for a kicker, you must figure out what is causing the problem and then fix that, the kicking will disappear.
Alpha horses, generally BOSSY are dominant. They too are hard to train. If you mix an alpha horse with spoiled and kicking you really have a problem! An alpha horse is the easiest to spot, his horse language will be displayed well with his stall mates. Mares generally have more alpha members than geldings but there is always a pecking order in the herd for ALL sexes. So how do we know if the horse is bossy? Does he chase everybody off from food? How about when he is tied next to another horse, does he flatten his ears and turn his but. There is not a lot you can do to change this personality but you can let them know this behavior is unacceptable. I prefer to keep these alphas stalled alone, it really seems to help. I also reprimand any anger shown to another horse. If an alpha horse is allowed to show his anger often it can get worse. It is best to keep it under control. These horses are best suited for more experience horseman.
Remember, a kicker is dangerous no matter what type of personality your horse has. It is best to seek help from a knowledgeable horseman.Gaining respect both on the ground and in the saddle is the best thing you can do for you and your horse. It is best to gain as much knowledge as you can on this subject and apply it to all you do with your horse. Take time to learn the language of the horse.
Look at some of my labels to find past post on gaining respect........
