Mounted search and rescue

["Jorene Downs" <Jorene@CEOates.com>]

From: "Lyne Peterson" <lyne@bryngyld.com>
> I would sure appreciate some suggestions on teaching my mare not to kick at 
> horses behind her. [...]

Una is correct that this isn't gender related, simply misbehavior, and the 
easiest method to retrain is for you to prevent the behavior.

Try paying attention to the more subtle signals from your horse. Commonly 
the obvious is an ear pin as a warning prior to a kick, but it may be more 
subtle like a swish of the tail, tilt of the head to give the "back off" 
glare to the horse behind, more tension in her movement, and you should be 
able to feel the change in her stride as she gets ready to fire. (By the 
last it may be too late to do much distraction unless you act very quickly 
and blatantly, but you should provide correction.) When you see those signs, 
ask the horse to do something that requires paying attention to you instead 
of the horse behind her. Start with more subtle cues, escalate only as 
needed.

Essentially notice the horse working her way up to a kick and use 
distraction as a form of prevention.

Meanwhile, a red ribbon tied in the tail is a common warning that the horse 
might kick. So the rider behind you also has responsibility to be doing 
prevention by keeping a safe distance.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Jorene Downs
Tulare SAR - Hasty Team ICP Team
www.ceoates.com/sar
Tulare-Kings CERT
www.tk-cert.org