I feel like a terrible mom.

[Moniece Dickerson]

I kicked her back guys,I kicked her back.I was moving their hay into the shelter when I got a kick at my knee.She must have barely got me but I did feel it and I kicked her right back and she took off.I called her you little FART and kicked her back.It was the only thing I could think to do fast but I feel terrible now :-(.Moniece

[CarolU]

Good job!!! Next time she goes to kick you, kick her FIRST! Then she'll stop.

ROFL Awwww growing pains!

[Barbwire]

http://www.jammerbabe.com/flotilla/images/smiles/gogirl.gif

[siegel]

Moniece:

Quick thinking; one day she will weigh 800 #. You're still a "GREAT" mom !

[motorgypsy]

That's why it's called TOUGH LOVE! ;-) ;-) ;-) It's tough on you but necessary. Her mom would have done exactly the same thing and had no guilt whatsoever about it. She deserved it. That doesn't mean you can't love on her and let her know that as long as she behaves she gets her scratches and her treats. Now you see why we think foals are the most dangerous of all horses. They don't know the rules yet, they are so quick and so unpredictable. Enjoy though because they are also fun, funny and very sweet as well as naughty, stubborn and difficult.

[songbird]

Moniece you did exactly the right thing. You corrected her bad behaviour immediately. If she tries it again (and she probably will) do the same thing, immediately. She'll connect the two with "hey, if I kick this isn't so fun when they kick back" and that behaviour will stop, you will have established dominance, and earned some respect. Doesn't take away one darn bit of love so don't worry!

[GeorgeGuns]

Welcome to paso mommyhood! Don't feel bad, even if she doesn't speak to you for days like Rio did. OMG could that boy sulk, still does but he doesn't do it for days on end anymore. He'd get nippy and I'd pinch his nose or something and he'd go huffin off like I was some prevert ignoramus. He would just not look at me for a few days, then come sneaking up to see if we could still be friends. Now he is the nicest and friendliest fella, loves to put his head on my shoulder, a true hugger.
:hug

[hast]

Now, that was being a good mom! :D You go girl, she'll become a great horse if you keep it up!

[ErinC]

yup thats the right thing to do, I have done that and backed up squiling like a mare does, just with my lag raised up a little, that really makes them think, I AM ALFA HORSE!
and the respect me for it,
it also helps later on when they are older because NOW they trust you to take care of them , and will be a good faithfull mount for you in all situations.

[Carol Nelson]

Moniece, you did perfect!!! Like MG's said, that's exactly how her mama would've disciplined her...with a kick back. Erin, that's what we've done with some of our little ones, give a little squeal, and kick out backwards with our legs...boy, do they ever stop and look then! I think they're surprised that we can actually talk "horse language". :D Nothing else makes them pay attention more, either!

I have a mare...a few years back when she was just a filly...she was spoiled and pretty and used to getting her way with horses AND people. Well, when my farrier...a dyed in the wool bronc ridin' cowboy...went to do her feet one time, she raised a leg to kick at him. He hauled off and kicked her a good one in the side...You know, she never kicked again at ANYONE. They remember that kick...Moniece, you've just earned a little more respect in that girl's eyes! ;-)

(Just a little note here too, Moniece...you can NEVER with your hand or your foot, hurt that little girl more than another horse could! So don't worry about it! :smile: )

[Jane Hurl]

Moniece, not only was that the right thing to do (which everybody's already told you), but you need to understand that she won't hold it against you. In fact, she will like you EVEN MORE. (I know, it doesn't make sense in people terms, but it does in horsie culture.)

I have a mare here who is so dominant that she's a nightmare. She bites CHUNKS out of everybody (well, every horsebody) and kicks the snot out of them if they get too close to her hay ... but if I take her out of their field, the entire herd gets frantic wanting the witch back! So you wonder ... why? WHY? The answer? Because she is their leader. They can trust her to look after them if a threat comes sneaking into their field. They LIKE having someone to look up to.

So, when YOU become the alpha mare, Moniece ... can you guess what happens in your filly's head? :idea: EXACTLY!

So the next time she even THINKS about booting you, you boot her. Hard. And snarl at her. And yell. And flap your arms and scream. Scare the bejabbers out of her -- just for a second. Then, when she comes back (looking meek), treat her to a scritch scratch, which translates into Don't you DARE kick me! And as long as you don't, I'll love you.

PS...that goes for nipping too. She WILL try ... though I don't think you should try to BITE back! *grin*

[motorgypsy]

The "not biting back" is really funny because that's exactly what I've had to do with the goats. They would climb into the horse's feed can and nothing would get them out but a good seriously hard bite. I can't lift a 150 pound goat so that's exactly what I did. BIT the goat. It worked!!! :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

[finolover]

just don't ever confess throwing fruit at her in anger ;-) :rofl

[Edurne]

especially apples :D

[Jasfino]

Nothing gets their attention anymore than a person who acts like a horse. :D I used that squeel, kick, ears back with a dirty look, many times with our orphan Charlie Browne. He figured out what I meant pretty fast.

[Barbwire]

This is what we do to horses that kick humans 'round here:



http://www.addis-welt.de/smilie/smilie/tier/deadhorse.gif

[Brigitte]

You're a great mom, they would have called you a bad owner if you'd let her get away with it. So be proud. You did the right thing :D

[Monty]

GOOD for you - that is exactly what you need to do -
Also - I remember you mentioning she was "grooming" you the other day - STOP that part now - or you will have a biter ! Sooner or later they use the teeth -
We grabbed and pinched JR's lip ,sounds mean ,but I used my fingertips and held on - If you wait until they are bigger than you - you lose!
Everyone here told me to kick back - WELL, being rather short - kind of hard ! Anyway - the one day I had to go in Jr's pen - he decided his feeder was a neat thing to pull off the rail and play with -
As I was getting he caming running up and turned butt and started to kick - too far away for MY short legs - but he would have nailed me - he had his head away from me - so I bounced the feeder off his butt and yelled at him!
:lol: HE never figured out I hadn't actually kicked him - but he thought I had! ;-) Hasn't tried that again -
You need to think like a mare and observe what they do when their foals act up.
Oh - Jas - - can you take a pic of you pinning your ears back ?? :shocked

[Jasfino]

Its the look Monty.. Its all in the evil glare... like so... :evil:

[Carol Nelson]

Ok...I'm gonna humiliate myself here on this board...I swore I'd never tell this story but here goes. We had a couple of fillies who would pin their ears when you came with their hay, or approached them if they were in a certain mood.
So I read somewhere where they said that horses think that we are mad at them all the time because our ears are pinned to our heads all the time. And that is why they obey us.
So my guy came out of the house one day...he had made "ears" out of two toilet paper rolls...you could slip them over your own ears and they would stick either up or slanted down without having to hold them. (He's really a pretty funny guy! :lol: ).
It was amazing...the reaction we got from the horses. The older ones would look and then pretty much ignore us but the looks on the faces of the young ones were priceless! It soon got so that they would mimic what we did with the ears. If we looked at them with the ears up...their ears would go up! But slant them down close to our heads and they would pin their ears and point their noses at us with wild eyes. Absolutely hilarious! Lucky we didn't get kicked!
So now you can imagine what we looked like here running around with "toilet paper roll ears" on. :lol:

[Jasfino]

:D Great story Carol! I need to try that sometime.

[CarolU]

Okay Carol!!!!

:PICS

[Carol Nelson]

...and if you think I've got pics of that, YOU'RE CRAZY! :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Moniece Dickerson]

Well well well,she didn't try a single bit of hooey after eating this evening.Me thinks little princess Rosalita did take note of that kick back.Though love is exactly what it is though cause it does make you feel SO terrible after you do it.I'm taking new pictures tomorrow,since she has started eating she is really growing and filling out and I do believe her color has gotten darker.It has been real cold here and we have had sleet so it may just be more of a winter coat but she does look darker.Can't wait to show you all new pictures!Moniece

[Jane Hurl]

I'm with Monty. I want to see Jas with her ears pinned! *grin*

[Moniece Dickerson]

Now Carol,you KNOW i've got to try the toilet paper roll ears now for the fun of it so come on,cough up some pictures and tell me just how to make these ears so you don't have to hold them.This is going to be fun and halarious!!!And yep I use that :evil: face to but mostly i've used it when Cola comes to try and take the baby's food from her.Having Rosalita is becoming fun now that all the problems seem to be worked through and finished.She has one more day on antibiotics then were done.I have also had her on probios but her poop has continued to look good throughout so she did not have to have pedasorb.You know,having a horse baby that needs help and having a human baby must be alot alike because when Cola had Rosalita and I saw her still wet and not having even tried to stand yet it was the feeling was unbelieveable,magical and I thought she was the most beautiful baby ever.I even ran down the drive way in my pink robe to catch my gay neighbor,who is REALLY nice,walking his yorkie to have him come up to see my new baby :shock: !He was SUPER sweet to stand there and marvle at her beauty with me for a while and now as I look at her newborn pictures I have to admit she MAY not have been the beauty "I "saw to a non horsey person.And all those days of every two hours milking and feedings seem like SOOO long ago now and I don't feel any worse for the wear now.Like you just forget all the pain and trouble it was.That is the closest thing I will ever experience to child birth and i'm just fine with that but I do feel SO lucky now to have gone through it and have my super special baby girl.I wonder if she felt how strong I felt about how she HAD to make it and if that has anything to do with that strong will of hers or if she had that strong will all on her own.Anyway sorry about all the rambling on...guess i'm just sitting here tonight feeling lucky.THANK YOU ALL so much for being here!!!!You know,without you all my baby might not have made it.I'll never beable to thank you all enough!!!Your friends, Moniece and Rosalita

[Monty]

:lol: I gotcha Jas - you mean that "special" MOMMY stare that stops kids dead when they are about to do something they shouldn't! ROFLBO ;-)

[DebbieS]

Moniece, you are a good mommy. It must be tough to kick that little girl after all you've been through, but Cola would probably kick a lot harder than you, so she got off easy. . . . but still got the message.

I can't wait to see more pictures of her!

[Jasfino]

Yep.. thats the one Monty. :lol:

[motorgypsy]

Great mental pictures of the TP rolls and Moniece running down the driveway in the pink bathrobe to show off baby Rosalita!!

By the way - you can make ears with your hands by putting your fingers together and put them in the ear position at the top of your head, palms forward. Now try "pinning them". You'll be amazed at their reaction. They jump back so fast - especially if you "snake your head" at the same time.

And no we don't have pictures but I'm sure it's nowhere near as entertaining as the TP rolls!!!

[cowboy ed]

well, you might be able to mimic horse behavior to a certain degree, but i dont think you horses will ever really see you as an "alpha mare". just be the human bean in charge, thats all you have to do. horses are smart. they know you arent a horse. its far better if they treat you like a human bean.

[moonrize]

Am I the only one who was taught to never kick a horse from the ground? How dangerous for the human :shock: Hit quickly from a safe spot. Kicking a horse in the leg or belly is just asking for an injury. I good swift swat works just as well, especially when accompanied with a scream. Guess what folks, a lot of horses kick back and with one leg off the ground, you're in no position to get the heck out of the way. So give them a swift crack with your hand from a safe spot and clear out of the way of any repercussion.

JMO. Horse needs to be immediately reprimanded, but kicking a horse is not a solution (unless you're on his back).

[motorgypsy]

C Ed we agree that's true with horses that don't have a lot of people interaction from birth but our horses tell us that the ones you raise from birth and interact with frequently think one of two things - that they are people which is NOT good or that you are just a "deformed" or different variety horse. This is why it's so important to let them know the rules of behavior with humans aren't the same.

SloughP thinks he's people (No we didn't raise him) and Arwen thinks we're deformed horses. Pistachio also thought we were horses - but just different. The "cousins who walk on two legs". The rest aren't exactly sure what we are and don't really care as long as we feed them.

[Barbwire]

Good point, Sally.

[Jasfino]

Sally is right. I have only used this on the foals. I wouldnt want to advise anyone to kick a full grown horse because you just might turn up on the losing end. :-?