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Re: [RC] Red Ribbons, Tailgating & Kicking (and obnoxious people) - Born CountryThen there are those people that will tell you, after they have slammed into the back-end of your horse a couple of times, "Let your horse kick, it will teach mine a lesson. Then maybe he'll back off!" You're right, it would be a rather hard lesson if they have to put their horse down because they refuse to take control! Esther and Chagalle, who has never kicked, but still has heels just in case..... --- rdcarrie@xxxxxxx wrote: <<Such as, the horse who just is in love with live and a bit crazy around all them horses. Some of these horses (not to mention my darling, Doimas, of course) will kick their heels over their heads because they feel good. When that happens, there are no signals, because the horse isn't angry or defensive. >> I don't think most were talking about horses such as this - I know I wasn't. As long as the rider makes sure that their exhuberant horse isn't a danger to others (and from your posts, it sounds like you do take precautions), I don't have a problem with these kinds of horses. I think we were all talking about the horses that deliberately try to kick other horses, for whatever reason - defending themselves from a perceived threat (they need to learn that other horses are not a threat when under saddle), aggression, whatever. Those need to "see Jesus" right then and there. I kinda agree on one level - those who stupidly let their horse crash into others deserve whatever they get. Except, a shattered tibia or knee on a rider, or a horse put down from a broken leg, is pretty harsh punishment. So, it's up to all of us to make sure that our own horses are as solid as we can make them (and I agree that there is no such thing as a horse that will *never* kick), and try to educate (or avoid!) the idiots who refuse to (or can't) control their horse. Incidentally, I encountered something last summer that I'd never seen before...people making fun of those who had red ribbons in their horses' tails. I was at a ride in a different region. My 6 yr old gelding had a red ribbon because he'd kicked once 5 or 6 months before, and as far as I was concerned, enough time without kicking had not passed to show me that he was trustworthy. In CT region, people tend to be pretty cautious about warning others of potential danger. I was riding alone, and had come up on two other riders on horses with red ribbons (and their horses both *did* threaten and try to kick mine when I eventually passed them). Right behind me were two very well-known riders with thousands of AERC miles each, from another region. One of them kept saying over and over, deliberately loud enough for me to hear, "Look at all these kickers. I can't imagine why people would want to ride a kicker. Wonder where all these kickers are from" and so forth, off and on for about a mile. I didn't say anything, but I sure wante d to turn around and slap his snide, self-righteous remarks off his face! I guess some people just have a superior attitude and like to put others down...guess they never heard of "if you can't say anything nice, keep your mouth shut!" Dawn in East Texas (who will continue to use red ribbons when I feel they're warrented) and Bear (I sure got religion the one time I kicked!) -----Original Message----- From: WRSINOSKY@xxxxxxx To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Tue, 20 Dec 2005 11:56:13 EST Subject: [RC] Red Ribbons, Tailgating & Kicking I remember this conversation just a few short months ago. While I totally agree in theory regarding reprimanding before the kicking starts, there are also those gray areas. Such as, the horse who just is in love with live and a bit crazy around all them horses. Some of these horses (not to mention my darling, Doimas, of course) will kick their heels over their heads because they feel good. When that happens, there are no signals, because the horse isn't angry or defensive. And then there are the people who allow their horse to continually crash into the backend of your horse. Sorry, but I would probably kick too after the third or fourth time. That isn't to say I allow my horses to kick, but there are times that arise when a nonkicker will show the bottoms of his hooves to somebody and take you by surprise. Like the saying goes, "Sh$%! happens!" I try to avoid getting that close to another horse. Especially strange horses. I live by the rule, "If it has feet, it can kick. If it has teeth. it can bite." Which is probably why I've only been injured by my own horses and not soem stranger's horse (even though the stranger assures me that their horse doesn't kick.). Cindy Edwards Buckeye.AZ __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! 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