Parelli’s Answer: Horses kick for two reasons: fear and self-defense, or as an act of dominance. A fearful kick is usually quick and tends to happen when a horse feels cornered or trapped. A dominant kick is more of a premeditated attack and not quite as quick; you can see it coming as the horse backs toward you.
In both cases, it’s about the relationship you have with the horse. If a horse likes you and respects your leadership, he doesn’t feel like kicking you. The key is in building a relationship with your horse.
If the horse is not confident, you need to embark on a training program that builds confidence (as in our Level 1 / Partnership Program) and try not to make the horse feel trapped. If the horse is dominant, then you need to behave as horses do and build respect by moving the horse away and out of your space. Doing jumping jacks is one way to keep your horse out of your space. Don’t look at the horse; just start doing arm flapping jumping jacks, but make sure you don’t chase your horse. When she moves away you can stop. You also can drive the horse away (Driving Game; game number three in the Parelli 7 Games.) Another good idea is to put a halter and 12 foot line on the horse and have her follow you as you do chores outside.
Finally, think of the horse’s corral as her bedroom. People don’t tend to think from the horse’s point of view and instead they just walk in the corral and go about business without realizing that what they are doing might be offensive or threatening to the horse. Before walking into the corral, get your horse’s permission to enter. Do this by standing at the door until she comes over. Give her some treats and rub on her, then politely go in and spend time rubbing and scratching her until she feels relaxed. Only then start working around the corral, and remember to reconnect with her from time to time. Never enter the corral when the horse is not looking at you.
If your horse is dominant, the type that wants to chase you out of the corral, you’d be better off taking her out of the corral when you’re cleaning it until you’ve built more love and respect, and she thinks of you as the leader.
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I thought the comment to be very direct and sensitive to the situation. I just wonder, as another point of view, if desensatising would maybe help..the "touch-and rub" . Pat has worked a bit with my then QH in a clinic in Alpine, Calif. I find that the majority of problems with People/horses is lack of time together and knowledge. Could you cover the "when horses are on a trail ride" and lay ears back and kick if a horse gets too close, so one must ride at the back of the line? Article was good..thank-you for doing it..wish more people were aware of this web site, especially young children who are just starting out with not enough guidence..and correct approach. Thanks to you and TV like RFD (which many do not have) and tapes/CD's one can get at the library I find that folks are becoming better educated..Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!
this is my first visit to HorseChannel.com I'm just poking around and this caught my eye.
Bravos all the way around. I always ask permission to enter my horses' spaces. It just makes good sense.
i've never thought about the corral being my horses bedroom. thanks for the advice!
Pat & Linda ARE THE GREATEST!!!
Very good article, I am in level 2 of the parelli program and they sure have alot of, common sense ,training with horses. No one would ever think about asking their horse if they could enter their stall or not. Need to think like a horse.
I have a nineteen-month-old Welsh filly who kicks due to lack of respect(she was hand raised). I am working through it, but she still kicks on occasion. Sometimes it's due to respect issues, sometimes it's fear(crowding). The reccomendations in the article are the same as the methods I use, but I don't have any of the Parelli kits because they're too expensive.
Hi. I would like to say that everything you and Linda Parelli have said about training horses has definitely helped me train both my two horses along with three other of my friends horses. I've never been to any of you tours (though I would absolutely love to someday,) but watching your shows on TV has allowed me to have great results from the horses I have trained because of what I have learned from the two of you. For the first time, I really feel like I can follow someone else's training methods with ease and great success. I have tried other methods in the past and some of them have worked, but your methods seem to work better by far. Besides I feel very strongly about natural horsemanship and that is what I like about you training. So, if I can speak on behalf of those who watch you and myself who train by your methods, keep doing what you are doing because you have helped not only the people who train horses, but most importantly, the horses who are learning from us as well.
I'm no expert, but I have trained horses and it sounds like your horses kicking has turned into a "fearful aggressive" thing. Whereas before your horse was probably exibiting a "fearful assertive" kind of kicking. Quite simply, she was not sure who the dominant one was so she was "testing" the waters at first to see who is dominant and when she saw that there was no dominant one then that's when she decided to escalate because she has begun to think that "she" is in control, not you. Horses need to have a sense of dominance in a human to horse relationship. Don't think that being "dominant" is a bad thing but more so a "natural" thing for a horse, because in the wild there is always an alpha male or alpha female (usually female) in a herd of horses, so therefore, if you aren't the dominant one then that makes your horse think that she is the dominant one. So just think of it that way and you wil create a much safer and more established relationship with your horse. I hope this tip was helpful for you and your horse."80% of training a horse is understanding their psychology."
-Ana
Our horse bites. What can we do do to make him stop?
I really enjoy the Parellis' approach to horses and training. They are training us as much as the horses we love. My husband is a Clinton Anderson fan. But these guys are more pets to me and I love the idea of playing with them to get the response and respect I desire from them. I'd love to read the response about horses thoughts on humans but it doesn't link you to their answer. A general page appears.