my horse tried to kick me........?

Question

My horse is very gentle but all of a sudden she just kicked her back legs and knocked me over and, she did it agian what is wrong with her she never did that before

Answer 1

She may be experiencing some pain--pay attention to where you are touching her or what you're doing when she kicks. I've also seen mares kick when they are going into heat. You may want to have her evaluated by the vet. The other possibility is that she's objecting to something in the environment...are you waving a whip or a rag or some object she might be afraid of, is there something new hanging on the wall, etc...

Regardless, kicking is NOT an acceptable way for her to express herself, and she should be disciplined for it--immediately after she does it with a sharp whack somewhere non-harmful and with a loud "NO" or something you want to use to instruct her when her behavior is bad (Basically: kicking and biting). She can't ever do these things because she can hurt someone. Basically what you should be thinking is that you're responding like another horse who is higher in the pecking order than her, who would kick her back if she tried that...she has to respect you as her superior, but shouldn't have cause to be afraid of you. My personal rule is that anything I can do with my hands or feet is fair game (as long as I'm not wearing heavy boots or something that might actually be too much) since I'm 5'4" and can't really hurt a horse like that, but I can be really noisy and make myself seem really angry/dominant--they get the picture pretty quickly and tend to really respond to body language. I also avoid going at their head, since you definitely don't want her to become head-shy. You should probably never use a whip or anything that way, since those should only be training aids and not disciplinary tools when used properly.

Establishing respect from your horse is vital for both of your wellbeing--horses find comfort from knowing what their social position is. Herd structure is very well established in wild populations.

Answer 2

Go back to the reason! There more than likely is one.
You probably know her best was she seeming at all not herself? Does she food guard? Was she eating?
If she really has never done anything like this before and you can rule out excitement or spooking then I'm afraid I would suggest that this is a pain response. Maybe a spasm in her back, hip or leg caused pain and she reacted by kicking out.
Carefully check for heat in these areas, or quivering of the muscles don't stand in her way as you do this as you may touch a sore point. Trot her in hand up and down and check her gait. Any doubts get a vet out!

Answer 3

There are a number of reasons...
1) She probably got spooked
2) Is she in heat (on her period?) A lot of times when mares are in heat they are very sensitive about things being around their back ends, she probably wasnt expecting you and just got nervous... who knows? you could have been a stallion! haha.
3) Is she lame at all? Maybe she is expierencing some pain in one of her back legs! Watch out for soreness or tenderness, limping etc...
4) Even the nicest of the horses kick, sometimes they just get nervous about people being behind them! How long have you had her?
5) Maybe there was sometime that you had or someone else had that scared her or made her nervous-- maybe she heard a scary noise coming from some where else as you approched her and her immediate instinct was to kick out.
GOOD LUCK!

Answer 4

Sometimes they're buttheads for no reason. I've owned every kind of personality of horse imaginable, my last filly was the meanest turd ever, but she was built like a goddess. The workers at the barn called her el diablo because she was fiery copper, and screwed with them every chance she got. She would try to take your face off if you kissed or hugged her, and wouldn't let any guys within 4 feet of her stall door, but you got her in the show ring and she was the perfect example of a lady. Due to her bad behavior we eventually retired her to the broodmare field as it is unfavorable to deal with day to day.

She went through this nasty kicking phase from yearling to two year old to the point we just had to desensitize her with everything from plastic bags to balloons and poke her with our fingertips. She wasn't in any pain, the vet checked. Some horses are just wieners from time to time. Incidentally she stopped kicking for 3 years and the day before I sold her I was putting her tail up in a wrap like we had done every few days for years, and bam! She nailed me in the shin, and loved every minute of it.

So basically what I'm getting at, it could have been you spooked her, maybe tickled her just right, or it was just a freak incident. If she continues I would find ways to narrow it down. Is she itchy or did you tickle her? Was she spooked? Did it hurt? Did she pin her ears? Did she follow through? Was it a warning? You get the idea, take enough time and you'll find the root cause of it all.

Answer 5

Well if you have flies, she could have been swatting at a fly. Also, if you got kicked badly go see a doctor. I girl down my street did not tell her parents she got kicked in fear of selling the horse and she died that night!

Answer 6

she does need to be corrected immediatly after kicking you. it doesnt matter if you did something she didnt like, kicking is unacceptable.. i find a smack on the rear with a PLASTIC baseball bat(from any dollar store) works wonders.. it doesnt hurt them at all but the noise startles them so she will learn not to kick the human.

Answer 7

you spooked her . Bet you dont like someone looking at your butt either ,just stay away from her hind quarters for a while till she settles down

Answer 8

crack her one cause if its happened twice it'll probly happen again. and next time it may be serious

Answer 9

she is nervous calm her down