Mounted search and rescue

[JULIE FRANCO <snowyridgeranch@yahoo.com>]

When a horse kicks what is it saying?...it usually is a defensive 
move...."don't come near me"...don't crowd me".... STAY AWAY!....John Lyons 
has an excellent trainin section on this problem...it involves ground 
training techniques including body language observance...a lesson I will be 
reviewing with my mare...who is the one who kicked out at Paul's horse 
Patches! We are all responsible for our own horses and if they have a hole in 
their training it is up to us to do our best to correct it and always be 
careful around and defensive of others horses! Julie Franco

Una Smith <una.smith@att.net> wrote:Mares are not alone in kicking at 
irritants behind them,
so for starters forget about the fact your mare is a mare,
has been bred, acts differently in front of vs toward the
back of a pack, etc.

The bottom line is the behavior is not acceptable and it
is your job to communicate this to her. Can you feel her
thinking about kicking? That is the time to correct her.

Polo, especially arena polo, is often played in a tight
pack so the no kicking rule is basic training. A helpful
training exercise is to trot, canter, or gallop together
with another, experienced horse behind her, right on her
tail. The following horse has to be willing to crowd but
do so without any attitude: no aggression, no fear, "just
doing my job Ma'am". The faster pace denies most horses
the opportunity to kick, but does entail some risk for the
following horse and rider: stepping on your mare's heels
can cause the following horse to fall.

For more detailed, specific advice, search the archive of
the newsgroup rec.equestrian, ask for training tips on the
US Polo Association's web message board, or read an older
book on training polo ponies (ask for help if your public
librarian won't find some for you via interlibrary loan).

Hope this helps,

Una Smith
New Mexico

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>From snowyridgeranch@yahoo.com  Tue Mar 15 23:49:18 2005
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From: JULIE FRANCO <snowyridgeranch@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [MSAR] Training mares not to kick
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Paul; I really am sorry about what happened this week-end, it definitely was 
my fault at letting my guard down with the horses and I can't tell you how 
relieved I am you were not hurt worse than you were. I am refering back to 
some lesson plans for this behavior...and as always we are responsible for 
our own safety and that of our horses as well as their behavior...I don;'t 
think  it would hurt to give the guy from Western Horseman some information 
about our Unit...I know he  has requested from several units for info...but 
any good publicity we can get would be good. It takes several months for 
articles to appear....I asked him to send a questionaire that I could field 
with the unit. Julie...I followed up with the IRS thing... will contact them 
tomorrow and Linda and I agreed to keep the address and phone # as hers so as 
to not confuse, but I will take care of future follow ups when they occur. 

Paul Fleming <pfleming@nwlink.com> wrote:I doubt its possible to teach mares 
not to kick. Horses being what they are
in all. I feel its far safer to be aware of the striking distance of any
horse and do your best to stay away. This has served me well. This past
weekend I was standing beside my horse observing the training going on when
one of the members of my unit lead her horse right in front of us up closer
than I would have approached had I been walking up to the horse. I remember
I had a sence of danger at the closeness but chose to ignore it, I knew the
horse, she'd be ok Seconds later my horse ducked and I got my hand up in
time to shield my face but took a pretty good shot to the back of the hand.
I don't know what that big dummy did but she sure didn't like it and let us
know. I have been around that mare for a couple of years and she is not
known for kicking or agressive behavior....She' s just a horse and that's
what horses do.


Regards

Paul


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Subject: Re: [MSAR] Training mares not to kick
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From: "JULIE FRANCO" <snowyridgeranch@yahoo.com>
> When a horse kicks what is it saying?...it usually is a defensive 
> move...."don't come near me"...don't crowd me".... STAY AWAY!....

Often biting is perceived as aggressive and kicking defensive, but kicking 
can also be aggressive. Either gender is well equipped with the necessary 
"weapons" and may use either. In serious herd battles, or defending against 
a predator, mares tend to kick and males tend to face and strike and bite. 
But I've also seen mares charge, rear, strike and bite, so very much depends 
on the horse. ;)

Kicking is commonly part of herd behavior, seen in "discussions" between 2 
horses that is related to a perceived safety issue, or may be related to 
which of the 2 horses is the alpha. Normally there is "conversation" between 
horses - even if subtle - before the situation escalates to kicking, and 
often kicking is intended to miss ... just issued as a more blatant warning 
since the more subtle messages were apparently inadequate.

I've watched a mare fire multiple impressive kicks at the herd leader after 
losing a battle for dominance ... but the mare had retreated to kick from 
over 50 feet away. She clearly expressed her disgruntlement at failing to 
win that challenge, and annouced she was doing a strategic retreat, not 
fleeing in conceded defeat. ;)

If someone is paying close attention to the horse, or the herd, they can see 
many less obvious discussions that never escalate to the kicking or biting 
stage.

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