Horses kick to deliver different messages to their herd mates, writes Jennifer Williams, PhD. She shares what a horse’s kicking means and what can be done to deal with this potentially dangerous behavior.
Source: EQUUS, July 23, 2022. Link. Some situations will compel practically any horse to lash out–to protect himself or to relieve pain. Yet in other cases kicking is a bad habit that must be addressed before someone is hurt. Generally, a kick delivers one of six messages:
- I feel threatened
- I feel good
- I hurt
- I feel frustrated
- Back off
- I’m the boss around here
INSIGHTS: This post brought to mind a horse safety post from last December in which researchers said horseback-riding injuries are a frequently ignored public health issue <Link>. 37.1 percent of the riders experienced chest injuries, while injuries to the arms and legs (26.5 percent) and head (23 percent) followed. The average age of those injured was 47. Among the 320 riders who suffered fatal injuries while on horseback, head and neck injuries were the leading cause of death in 75 percent of the cases. Additionally, 3.5 percent of the riders suffered severe neurological damage stemming from their injury.