# How to stop a kicking yearling



## mbender (Jul 22, 2009)

Ok. So how much handling has been put into her? She is asserting her dominance over you. I need to know when you got her, how much basic training she's had, and your experience.
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## Marecare (Jan 1, 2009)

Get yourself one of those little plastic bags that they hand out in the grocery store and put it in your pocket.

As you see the young horse looking at you like you are the play toy start to just wiggle that bag around a bit.

Maybe shuffle your feet some and make a little noise and puff yourself up to make yourself a bit bigger.

If the horse still does not back off tie the bag on the end of a lead rope and spin it some.

Let me know how it works.


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## thoroughbredgirl8949 (Sep 1, 2010)

Hello, I had bought her about six months ago and what we have been doing is taking the halter on and off, grooming, picking up the feet (which hasn't been bad). We go for walks, we practice walking and stoping, I don't work very long with her tho because she doesnt have a very long attention span. I have had babies before and the most recent was an arabian that was 3 months old that was a rescue, never had this problem before. The baby I have now is a thoroughbred filly. Since she has been kicking I put the halter and lead rope on when I go in the stall because if I don't keep her towards me or controled she will kick. She was always rowdy and high spirited and always kicked around when she was younger but now she has gone to doing it to people. She doesnt just cow kick or throw little kicks, if she runs by you in the pasture she will throw both back legs and I am worried because it almost go tme in the face! I have done work with all my horses in a round pen and buy lunging to gain respect and all my other horses never step out of line. I do not have a round pen anymore so I have limited areas to work.


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

Marecare said:


> Get yourself one of those little plastic bags that they hand out in the grocery store and put it in your pocket.
> 
> As you see the young horse looking at you like you are the play toy start to just wiggle that bag around a bit.
> 
> ...


Word of caution on using ANYTHING that makes noise. My 25 year old gelding's previous owner tried the bag trick to 'desensitize' him, nearly 20 years later he still gets worked up at the sound of anything similar. It took me a long time to be able to remove my hat or be handed anything while I was on him. He thought that bag was going to get him.

I don't blame him. Certainly not something found in nature.

OP - I need more information in order to offer any advice. WHY is the yearling trying to kick you? What are you doing or trying to do? Kicking is a defensive move. The horse is nervous or upset about something.


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## thoroughbredgirl8949 (Sep 1, 2010)

mls said:


> Word of caution on using ANYTHING that makes noise. My 25 year old gelding's previous owner tried the bag trick to 'desensitize' him, nearly 20 years later he still gets worked up at the sound of anything similar. It took me a long time to be able to remove my hat or be handed anything while I was on him. He thought that bag was going to get him.
> 
> I don't blame him. Certainly not something found in nature.
> 
> OP - I need more information in order to offer any advice. WHY is the yearling trying to kick you? What are you doing or trying to do? Kicking is a defensive move. The horse is nervous or upset about something.


Thats what Im trying to figure out, because she doesnt mind her feet getting picked up or grooming or anything. Would it be a phase?? I have heard of peple saying that their baby is going through a nipping phase but Im not sure what to do. In the pasture it seems she has NO respect for me or anyone because she wont respect your personal space. On the lead rope its a different story. I carry a whip or a crop if im in the pasture and it still doesnt get her away from me. I NEVER had to do this with my other horses.


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

thoroughbredgirl8949 said:


> Thats what Im trying to figure out, because she doesnt mind her feet getting picked up or grooming or anything. Would it be a phase?? I have heard of peple saying that their baby is going through a nipping phase but Im not sure what to do. In the pasture it seems she has NO respect for me or anyone because she wont respect your personal space. On the lead rope its a different story. I carry a whip or a crop if im in the pasture and it still doesnt get her away from me. I NEVER had to do this with my other horses.


 
Our oldest mare did the same things as a yearling. When we got her she was very thin and very stressed about food. She will be 24 shortly and while she doesn't appreciate another horse in her stall, she will not blink at a human.

We would simply smack her rump with a buggy whip whenever she turned her tail to us. However, she only did it in a stall - never in the open.

Here is an option.




*Kick chains can put a stop to the banging.*

_By *Dennis Moreland* for_ *America’s Horse*
 Dennis Moreland shows how to fasten a kick-chain.

I once had two *mares* who didn’t have *bad manners* in general, but when they’d see me come into the barn to get their *feed*, they’d stand there and *paw*. I put a kick chain – which can also be called a pawing chain – on each of them, and the next day, they stood there and watched me without making a racket.
The mares wore the chains while they were in their stalls for the next couple of days, and then I never had to use them again. The bad habit had been broken.
A kick chain consists of a piece of leather fitted around a horse’s pastern, with a 12-inch piece of stainless steel chain attached. You want stainless steel chain and hardware, because the horse is going to be dragging this piece of equipment around in his stall, and you don’t want something that can rust.
It works pretty simply. The chain will slap the horse’s leg when he paws or kicks. He’s causing his own discomfort, and most horses will figure it out pretty quickly.

I always remove the kick chain before I take the horse out of his stall. I don’t want him to move around too much with it on and accidentally step on it. And use common sense. You wouldn’t want to put a kick chain on an overactive horse who has access to a *paddock* or run where he might try to move out a little.
The kind of latch I like is really easy to fasten – there’s no looking for buckle holes. There’s a thick piece of harness *leather* that has a tab on the end. It threads through a stainless steel rectangle and basically latches on itself. It won’t come undone, but it’s easy to unfasten when you’re ready to take it off.

Usually, it’s not necessary to put more than one chain on. I’ve seen only a few horses who were more or less criminals, and they would figure out that they could paw or kick with the foot without the chain. But most horses just think that pawing or kicking causes discomfort, and they’ll quit doing it with both feet.
These chains are simple little things, but they do work, and they allow horses to train themselves without the handlers having to get in the middle of it.


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