A better channel to stop kicking?
My boyfriend and I have a weanling, that is wonderful and very at ease except for this one thing- he has picked up a kicking habit! He didn't own it when we bought him home from the breeder, and I think I can say he started after in the future he was kicking out to keep his balance when I picked a hind leg up, and he connected next to my knee.
It used to be he would only kick whether he was thrashing with his stern legs trying to keep balance if you picked them up so that it could own been an accident, but now he is clearly doing it deliberately.
He kicks sometimes if you pick his subsidise feet up, will kick at you sideways while trotting on the lead, and have once kicked me while I was passing behind him.
He have been punished every time he has done it, in the method the breeder reccommended to us: whether he kicks, immediately smack him on the rump a couple of times and shout, push him away for a few second. Then have him perform a task he does all right to get a reward.
However, I've been kicked twice hard contained by the past 3 days, so it doesn't seem to be working. I've started carrying a long whip near me all the time so that I can reach his rump more immediately (and hit a bit sharper than beside my gloved hand) when he starts to/kicks, but are there any better ways to get him to stop?
He is 15hh now, estimated to grow to 17.1hh, so distinctly this is not a behavior we can let fly for much longer. I don't want him to become dangerous.
The way I hold stopped this on some of mine was when they kick at you squeal like a stud horse and see back. It will scare them not knowing where that stud come from. You don't even have to make contact with your see just the motion of it will make them think that stud is going to find them. Keep the whip with you at all times a moment ago to make sure things don't get out of paw. Better to have it and not need it then to have need of it and not have it. This lets them know that you are at the top of the pack.
The horse you see in my avatar did the same entry when he was a weanling. This is what we did to stop it. Get a rope long enough to tie around both hind legs under his stomach and up through his halter. tie them individually. Get someone behind him, far enough back so they don't capture hurt. Lead him around with the person behind him rattle keys or some noise that annoys him. Have the person central him hold onto the rope tightly. When he goes to kick, his head will not shift down and he will not like that. It may take a little work doing this several times, but he will eventually seize the message. If he doesn't like it very much, he may learn legally quickly. I promise, this will solve the kicking problem and it will not hurt him. Just disciplines him and makes him respect you. Good luck.
Answers: Well it's hard for me to see a horse kicking out to corner their balance... usually if they are trying to arrest their balance they'd more likely just verbs their leg strait back down so hard and fast you couldn't stop them.
And no, unfortunetly I don't think any other method then a hard smack on the butt any with your hand, a dressage whip (or something similar) or a head rope.
You'd have to try hard to really hurt a horse doing this, and think of how confidently he could hurt you if you don't.
Kicking is dangerous and I really don't care going on for the horses feelings or anything like that if they are doing something that serious.
I'd fetch a whip with you whenever you are around him because you do not want even 1 kick to walk without punishment, as he's going to be a big horse! and you want this behavior to stop immediately.
Good luck.
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I've seen Vicki J's method work oodles times, but just make sure the rope doesn't enjoy too much slack.
One horse we did that on got his head down and managed to step on the additional slack. I wasn't there but heard there be some fireworks. ;) - The horse was fine though.
Hes a weaner and 15.1 hands?
Anyway... The lash is what it takes.. you have to make the punishment fit the crime and kicking is severe loss penelty to me.
I would pop that weaner with the whip once as hard as I could. Then jump back to the task when it calmed down.
If it did it again, you do it again.
Don't worry in the order of hurting him... he's gonna hurt you way more if you don't get it handle now.
Kudos about asking now up to that time it gets out of hand.
Enough whip smacks and he should grasp it.
