The Problem:
We recently purchased an eight year old gelding for our seven year old daughter. "Trigger" is fairly quiet in nature, well mannered and low man on the totem pole to our other three horses whom he never tries to kick; yet every time we go trail riding Trigger kicks out at any strange horse that comes up behind him. He gives plenty of warning signs but novice riders don't notice and ride right up behind him.
The result is always the same - both barrels right in the chest!
I'm willing to ride Trigger and do whatever is necessary to correct the situation but I'd rather have it come from Jessica because I don't want Trigger thinking he can get away with anything just because he has a smaller person on his back. What can I do?
The Answer:
Fixing Trigger's problem isn't going to be all that easy now that the behavior has moved from being a reaction to a habit.

It's a safe assumption that you or another adult must fix the problem and then, hopefully, your daughter will be able to maintain the new standard of conduct.

There are several reasons why horses become red ribbon kickers but in Trigger's case (being a low ranking horse), we suspect that the roots can be attributed to feelings of fear and insecurity. Oftentimes a submissive horse sees the situation of having a rider on his back as being fenced-in. He has been taught that his body is basically under the control of this rider. He can't escape or move away from the other more dominant horses on the ride.

His natural instinct is to yield to the dominant horse but his training won't allow him. In the horse's mind, a possible solution is to try and drive the dominant horse away from this personal space by kicking at it.

Initially, caught in this delimma, this is a reasonable solution for the horse to come up with. Reaonable for the horse. Not reasonable for the riders. Yet, each time this kicking out behavior has a successful outcome (nothing negative happens to the horse and the other horses and riders give him a wide berth) the behavior is positively rewarded. Very quickly, this behavior becomes a learned response; kicking while under tack becomes part of his normal behavior.

Obviously this wouldn't happen in the pasture. It is not socially acceptable for a submissive horse to attack a more dominant horse. If he did, the kicked horse would immediately reprimand the "social misfit" for his lack of manners. Since this is not an option for the assaulted horse under saddle, his only recourse is to try and escape the blow.

Humans have allowed a distruption of the natural equine order. And humans must accept the responsibility for fixing it. If we are going to assume dominance over our months, then we must assume responsibility for their actions and enforce proper rules of conduct.

We suggest that Trigger's re-education of social graces begins by trying to convince him that he will not receive threat gestures from other horses with riders on their backs; that horses being ridden will not attack him.

One way this can be done is to tack up Trigger and pony him along side a seasoned pony-horse. This will show him that he can be under human control and safely inside the personal space of another horse. After he accepts this and relaxes in the situation, other horses with riders can approach and ride along, varying their distance by Trigger's response: if he gets scared, back off; if he remains calm, move in closer.

All this will help desensitize Trigger to other horses and riders moving around him BUT, should he even think about kicking any horse, the Pony-horse rider's response should begin by lifting Trigger's head up by using a lead shank with a chain run under his chin. This should discourage Trigger's kicking behavior as it is more difficult to kick out with the head held in this position.

What happens next is determined by Trigger's reaction - if he lashes out with his heels, an measure of additional punishment needs to be applied. Through all of this, keep in mind that we want to reward Trigger for his good behavior (allowing other horses up close without the presentation of a threat to kick) and to APPROPRIATELY punish his negative responses.

Once Trigger receives the message that his former behavior will no longer be tolerated, it is time to get off the pony-horse and repeat the lessons from his back. Be prepared to repeat the initial retaliatory responses should he try to kick: lift his head up high; and be ready to deliver a punishment should he persist: perhaps, smacking him hard with a long crop under his belly. What you do is not near as important as the fact that you do something. A consistently-applied negative response to an undesirable behavior will minimize the odds of a repeat performance.

Also, since the ultimate goal is for your daughter to ride Trigger, we would suggest that each time the horse receives a reprimand for kicking, a unique sound be given that both of you can make. It might be a growl or a harsh word- it doesn't matter - but only pair this sound with your displeasure about Trigger's kicking.

By coupling these two, Trigger will eventually respond to the noise and not wait until the correction is given to abort his action. The sound will warn Trigger that he is about to behave in an unacceptable way and that he needs to straighten up before he arouses the additional wrath of his rider.

Use of this sound by your daughter, hopefully, should transfer some of your authority to her. Initially, Trigger may not know that she isn't as strong or powerful in correcting his behavior. By imitating the sound and trying to mimic your reprimand responses, Jessica may be able to take control over the situation -especially if you have done a good job setting Trigger up for her.

Still, it would be a good idea to occasionally ride Trigger and be sure that he is maintaining proper trail etiquette. Most horses ridden by children need to be periodically "tuned" up. Trigger sounds like a pliable horse who just needs to be taught some trail manners - manners that aren't terribly different from those found in the equine world.

Thou Shall Not Kick while under the control of a dominant partner is not a far reach from rules dictated by natural herd social hierarchy.
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Copyright © 1997. Dr. Jim and Lynda McCall