What to Do About Kicking?
Question:
<< Dear sir, i am emailing you from Greece to ask you for
some help. I am a 25 year old girl and i own 5 horses that i have all breed
my self and i have treined them all with success since they were babies.
However i am now dealing with a new experience and i don't know what to
do. Every method i use is useless. I have an 8 month pinto colt that he
is kicking since the day he was born. He is kicking with both front and
hind legs, bitting and rearing and i am ubsolutely confused how to stop
him from doing all these. He is a nice horse, he is kind but this attitude
is getting worst. Few days ago he run away and hit him self on a parcked
car. The foal had no injuries but the car was damaged badly. Now his behaviour
is worst. He doesnt like to be tied with a rope at all. He is bitting the
rope and rears. Kicks with fornt legs alot and acts as silly. You can not
sand in front of him at all. I give him all the love he needs but i havent
earn his trust yet. When i enter his field, he is waiting always for me
in the fields gate, and this is so sweet. But as i enter i dont know what
to expect. He is surprising me by bitting me in the back and rear on me.
I shout at him and slap him in the face. After i pet him and talk to him
but nothing really works. He acts sillier every day. He is still with his
mother and she also looks upset as the colt is doing the almost the same
to her. And she is 8 month pregnant. Please can you help on correcting
this behaviour? please send me your answer through email. Thank you so
much.
>>
Answer:
The first thing that I woud do is have him gelded! (castrated) I
would also separate him from his mother as he could harm her and/or her
unborn foal.
The behavior you are describing is the typical behavior of a young
stallion. This is best corrected when they are very young, however it is
not too late now. At this point I would carry a riding crop and use it
to teach him to respect your space. You will need to be able to work with
him in a round pen or other type of small enclosure. Put a halter
with a 10' heavy lead rope on him and the first thing to do is to teach
him "Whoa". This is done by making him move around you until you say "whoa",
as you say it, jerk downward on the lead rope. If he doesn't stop keep
him moving for a few minutes and try again. He will get the idea quickly.
When he has stopped on command you go to him and rub his head and front
end, if/when he attempts to bite or strike you give him a good pop on the
chest with the crop while shouting "NO". You then make him move around
you again and do the whole thing over and over until he learns. You then
do the same thing with his hind end.
You need to be forceful, but, don't over do it. A horse his size
can hurt you.
Keep me informed.
Bob
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