Why do horses kick? After training and rehabbing several young horses and problem horses, I've learned how to address the most common horse kicking problems and why they occur. It's essential to remember that all horses are unique, and the underlying reason for their kicking can be specific to their individual situation and personality. A horse's body language can give you a lot of cues to why they may be frustrated or showing aggression through kicking. The best way to deal with a kicking horse is first to understand why your new horse is kicking in the first place.
Most Common Reasons to Why a Horse is Kicking
5) Resists Training
A spoilt horse can kick out against the riders leg aids in a protest to working, this usually happens in young horses that are in training or riding school horses that are tired of being kicked at by beginners day in and day out. A bossy horse is more likely to be naughty as its higher in the herd hierarchy and more confident to protest against humans too. If your horse is kicking towards leg pressure when ridden a good exercise is to bring it back to the basics and teach it the legs from the start on the lunge line. One person lunges the horse and stands in the middle of the arena while there is a rider on the horse, if the horse doesn't listen to the first small squeeze from the riders legs or if the horse kicks out then the person holding the lunge line is the driving aid forward and asks again with a cluck or flick of the lunge whip. Repeat this until the rider can get the horse moving forward with a small squeeze of the legs without help from the person holding the lunge line.
4) Pain or Discomfort.
Many riders often conclude that the horse is in pain when it's kicking, even though it's simply a behavioral problem. However, it's better to be extra cautious and rule out any pain-related kicking (together with your vet) before trying to fix the issue in other ways. Common health conditions for horses that may cause them to kick under saddle include stomach ulcers, kissing spine, and sacroiliac joint pain. These can be difficult to diagnose without the help of a veterinarian; hence, step one should always be to have the horse thoroughly checked out. Other discomfort could be an ill-fitting saddle, too sharp spurs or the horse is ticklish (especially after being clipped). Some warning signs to look out for if a horse has a sore back is if the horse reacts to the saddle being put on their back, or if they react strongly when you squeeze the horse's back.
3) Fear & Aggression
Horses communicate with their body language, and a kick towards another horse usually means 'go away'. When training young horses, the horse owner needs to teach the horse that humans are at the top of the herd, as a horse that kicks due to a lack of respect for people can become a very dangerous animal. It is mostly common with young horses that has never learnt boundaries. Horses that have become habitual kickers can cause serious damage, especially if they throw a cow kick (to the side). These types of problem horses should only be trained by a professional horse trainer that is experienced with dominant and aggressive horses. The very basics of training a young horse should always include respecting humans and their personal space.
Horses can also kick towards people or other horses due to fear, this only happens if the horse is not handled as a foal or a mustang brought in from the wild. A fear kick is just as dangerous but can usually be fixed a bit easier than an aggressive kicker. A lot of desensitizing, love, time and strong boundaries usually fixes the problem. Horses are prey animals and their natural instinct is to kick when they feel threatened or uncomfortable. Always use extreme caution when handling a scared or aggressive horse. If your horse kicks when touching their feet or for the farrier I recommend putting a chain or a lead rope in their mouth and jank it if they try to kick when you touch their back legs. See video below:
2) Anxiety & Frustration
In North America, it's common for performance horses to be kept in small corrals or stalls all day to prevent injury or a lack of turnout options. Horses that are kept in stalls or corrals with no turnout often build up stress in their body as a result of not being allowed to release it by playing in a turnout naturally. This type of stress primarily affects young horses or high-energy breeds, such as Thoroughbreds and Arabians.
Horses that hold too much stress in their body can also show other signs of stress, such as head flipping, rearing, and biting. Luckily, this type of stress is easily alleviated by allowing the horse to run around in the turnout a couple of days a week, in combination with managing the sugar in its feed. Alfa alfa hay often leads to anxious horses if they aren't allowed to work off the excess energy.
Another common kicking issue in horses is inside of the trailer. Horses often kick in the trailer in response to their frustration and anxiety of being in there. This can be fixed in most horses by working the horse outside the trailer on a lunge line and making the trailer the rest zone with lots of hay and treats. If you do this 20 minutes every day, the horse should change its behaviour inside the trailer and see it as a reward for standing there relaxing. It's essential to remember that dangerous situations can occur when trailering a horse; the horse can kick the back door open and potentially hit someone. So, for your own safety, always close the back doors with extra caution when dealing with a kicking horse.
Stall kickers are also caused from frustration, especially at feeding time. These types of stall kickers are impatient and are saying 'hurry up and give me my feed now'. These types of kickers can be challenging to train, so you may want to change the order of feeding this horse first unless you want to use more aggressive methods, such as horse hobbles or kicking chains. This is, however, not something we support as it's a more aggressive training technique.
1) Excited & Happy
Horses that are kicking in the turnout or kicking after a jump are usually doing so out of excitement. Playful horses may kick if you are cantering on a trail and they become excited, especially when other horses are cantering nearby. Playful kicking is nothing to worry about and its important to let your horse express themselves and have fun, this kicking should not be punished or discouraged. If you are worried about your horse being too fresh and kicking after a jump, then you can warm them up by lunging them for 15 minutes before the ride or have a more experienced rider warm your horse up for you as its a great way to get any excited kicks out of their system before you hop on.
Most Common Reasons Why Your Horse is Kicking:
- Horse Kicking at feeding times - Inpatient/frustration
- Stall Kicking - Horse kicking at stall walls usually has to do with aggression towards another horse or frustration kicks at feeding times
- Horse kicking trail ride - Excited to go home/wants to go faster
- Horse kicking in trailer - A bad habit and dangerous behavior, it's a good idea to get help from an experienced trainer.
- Horse kicking when asked to go forward when ridden - Training issue (lack of respect)
