Horse kick to the head.

[3v0]

In my small community we real ranches and real working cowboys. When I first moved here I was surprised to see people in for lunch wearing their spurs at the local DQ.

Just two houses down on my street a rancher got kicked in the head by his horse. Ended up with the mentality of a mean toddler. Very hard on his wife. He is far from the only one to have been hurt by a horse.

From what I have seen there is no such thing as a 'safe' horse. Meaning any horse can have a bad day. It is a risk you take when you choose to ride. That is not saying people should stop riding. It is just something we should be aware of.

 

[aczlan]

From what I have seen there is no such thing as a 'safe' horse. Meaning any horse can have a bad day. It is a risk you take when you choose to ride. That is not saying people should stop riding. It is just something we should be aware of.

I agree. I have seen "bombproof" horses kick and throw riders when startled, its just not in their disposition to normally do that.
I would have to see the horse more than just a 10 second clip to decide to keep it or not.

Aaron Z

 

[drssg]

I also agree that the horse was not disoriented - it looked angry. I don't know if there is anything inherently wrong with the horse, but I would suspect improper training. If the rider is not well-trained, then the horse needs to be well-trained by someone else. A green horse with a green rider can lead to dangerous results.

Horse's are so big and powerful that there are some behaviors that can't be tolerated at all. As it was explained to me, if the horse actually puts his teeth on me, he should believe he is going to die for the next three seconds. Then make up and move on. The same thing would go for kicking. There needs to be no possibility in their mind that they can attack a person. On the flip side, the person needs enough knowledge and empathy to understand the horse's state of mind. Anything will lash out with enough fear or discomfort.

It also looked like she was jumping bareback. That requires a rock solid horse and rider, and she doesn't sound like much of an expert. She states that it was her fault because she didn't "given him enough of a run up." I'm sorry, but I doubt they were taking that big of a jump. The horse should have been able to walk up and hop over, step over, or knock it over without a big deal.

I suspect the overall issue here is poor handling skills and lack of knowledgeable supervision. She was wearing a helmet, and that might have saved her life.

 

[DutchHenryBrown]

There is NO SAFE Horse they have off days if that's what you want to call it but......buck,bite,kick,stomp it can happen in a heart beat.:2cents:

 

[powerpace]

Sometimes the animal is smarter than the human. That was the animals way of saying there is not enough footing in the snow covered frozen ground. You are trying to cause me harm now I will teach you a lesson.
Never ask a horse to do something that makes it fearful. It may react in a way which is not expected. This can happen to the best of horses. I have had friends killed by horses. One specifically because the person didn't have the training or skill level to handle her horse. Too much horse for the person. I have a friend now that trades a horse about every year because she can't get the horse to cooperate and do what she wants. Someday she will find the right horse but it won't be because she trained it. The horse will smarter than she.
My Dad was a "real Cowboy". When he saw a person mistreating a horse or any animal on his ranch that person was asked to leave. When he saw the same mistreatment done on another ranch or arena during cattle handling or "Penning" competitions he left the area, letting the responsible party know why.
Horses have a survival instinct called "fight or flight". If you have ever seen a horse fall, sometimes they get up and kick their heels a bit. That's the fight instinct after falling for a unknown reason. That same horse could also jump up and run away from the unknown cause of falling.

 

[dmccarty]

I have been rereading the Jame Heriot vet books which are full of stories of people being kicked by horses and bovines. One of his kids was almost run over by a bull which almost happened to my wifey when she was a kid. One of the stories I was reading last night was about a big draft horse that was a problem. The horse kicked the vet once, tried a few other times, and bit him once. The owner could not control the horse and the vet got the blacksmith to help. The smith knew how to handle the horse and once the horse knew the blacksmith was in charge they had no other problems. The blacksmith was a strong but little man who handled the big draft horse with no problem but he was scared of dogs. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Later,
Dan

 

[tallyho8]

Its natural instinct for a horse to kick when its frightened. Maybe this horse had been beaten before when it threw a rider and was frightened when it threw this one. Natural instinct is fight and flee.

A mean horse will bite. You ain't been bit till you've been bit by a horse.

 

[aczlan]

Its natural instinct for a horse to kick when its frightened. Maybe this horse had been beaten before when it threw a rider and was frightened when it threw this one. Natural instinct is fight and flee.
A mean horse will bite. You ain't been bit till you've been bit by a horse.

And you haven't been stepped on until you have had a draft horse rest its dinner plate size hoof on top of your foot...

Aaron Z

 

[bullbreaker]

I agree. I have seen "bombproof" horses kick and throw riders when startled, its just not in their disposition to normally do that.
I would have to see the horse more than just a 10 second clip to decide to keep it or not.Aaron Z

I agree not enough info to make valid judgement . Sorry that happened to girl. Happens all the time (horses,mules,cows/bulls/goats) you name it. We also don't know skill level of rider/etc. Happens to green broke riders all the time. Except this isn't " Flicka". In real world people can get seriously hurt or -----. Sometimes after incident like that you can get a deal on a horse with that "reputation", work with it and find a diamond in the rough.

Boone

 

[k0ua]

I don't know much about horses, but my Dad said he was kicked in the chest by one when he was a young man, and it about did him in. He said he was in bed for weeks. He did fully recover and continued to work with horses, but we never had any when I was growing up. We did have goats, and I know what it is like to have the "heck" knocked out of you by a billy goat. Nanny goats are for the most part gentle animals, but billy goats are all about breaking bones in other males and that includes humans. I remember being hit in the leg very hard by one when I was 14, It did not break my leg, but it felt like it. When I got up, i grabbed a 2x4 and broke it over his head. It didn't seem to hardly faze him. I don't think there is a lot of gray matter in that thick skull, I think it is mostly bone. Some animals are just ornery critters.

James K0UA