Ridecamp: Re: [RC] [RC] "Horses that kick"

OK, I have a "known kicker." I am not at all proud of that fact. I have 
tried everything with this horse, it is not a matter of control, it is a 
matter of competitiveness. He isn't nasty, he doesn't pin his ears, he will 
just kick a horse trying to pass him on either side. He does it with a "who 
me?" look on his face, ears up, happy as can be.
The only thing I can do is put a red ribbon on his tail and keep his butt as 
far away from any other horse as I can.

At a ride, I do not consider myself responsible for the horse behind me if I 
can turn around and touch his nose, (and it's happened.)

If you choose to ignore the red ribbon, then you are responsible.

On the other hand, I keep my horses butt ALWAYS aimed away from whoever is 
passing me, he knows that when leg pressure is applied, it means to swing 
his butt away. He can do it at a walk, trot, and canter.
The one single time he has managed to kick a horse at a ride was at the 
start of Tevis and the horses head was almost touching ME! I was furious at 
the other rider, his horse could have stepped on my horses back legs and 
ended our ride 2 miles in, and he was yelling at me!

Horses who kick CAN be good endurance horses IF riders take appropriate 
precautions. These are big, unpredictable, fast, instinctive, and dangerous 
animals whether their is a red, green,yellow or no ribbon at all.
Just my 1 cent.
Jennifer





> From: Ridecamp Guest <guest@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: [RC]   "Horses that kick"
> Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 18:38:48 GMT
>
> K S SWIGART katswig@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> Starting with the caveat that all horses CAN kick
> and speaking not of them but rather of horses that are "known
> kickers."
>
> I must confess that I am a little bit puzzled by some of the
> stories that I am hearing related to people riding "horses that
> kick" and are complaining about being repeatedly tailgated by
> somebody who does not properly respect that.
>
> I am of the opinion that tying a red ribbon in the tail of my kicker
> is not enough.  If I am riding a horse that I know to be a kicker
> I need to ride in the back.  So one individual could not repeately
> be getting to close to my kicker from behind because I would pull
> over and get out of their way.  Actually, I would probably pull
> over and get out of the way of anybody who was repeatedly harassing
> my horse from behind simply because I would assume that they were
> doing so because they wanted to go by.  However, if I were riding
> a horse that I knew had a tendency to kick I would be doubly aware
> of people coming up behind me and get out of their way before they
> made the mistake of getting too close and risk getting kicked.
>
> Having a horse that kicks is not a license to put a red ribbon in
> the horse's tail and count on everybody to stay out of my horse's
> way.  Having a horse that kicks is a reponsiblity to watch out for
> everybody else and stay well away from them.
>
>
> Granted, it is wise to be aware when coming up behind another horse
> (whether it has a red ribbon in its tail or not); and there is no
> point in expecting a kicker to get out of the way if there is no
> safe place to do so.  However, if I am riding a kicker I need to pay close
> attention to who is coming up behind me, and get out of their way
> immediately that there is a safe opportunity to do so.
>
> Personally, because people are coming up behind other people all
> the time at endurance rides, and it is difficult to be paying
> attention to the trail ahead and at the same time constantly
> watching for who might be coming up behind; I consider a horse
> that is known to kick to be a poor candidate for an endurance
> horse. I consider it unreasonable to expect other people to
> have to "watch out" for my kicker.
>
> And I DO think that it is reasonable for people at an endurance
> ride to expect to be able to safely approach horses from behind
> without being kicked.  Horses get approached from behind all the
> time at endurance rides, and most endurance horses are perfectly
> comfortable with it.
>
> kat
> Orange County, Calif.
>
>
>
>
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
>  Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
>  Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=




_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp.


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=