The Kick - Level 4 - Deb Lee Carson

“Always have class but always kick ass.” ~A.D. Posey

The kick! Making contact or attempting to is what the kick is all about! Kicking and biting are both part of the fourth level of agonistic behavior.

I didn’t have to travel far to find examples of the kick, and these two stallions living wild in Theodore Roosevelt National Park display this fourth level of behavior well! I also have pics of Thunder taking on Sidekick, and then there is Gray Ghost versus Georgia’s Boy, Xander versus Marty, Vamoose versus Guardian, and oh the ever so lovely Bella versus Sidekick! That one is a whopper!

*Those two wilds in TRNP, Thunder on the left, Sidekick on the right, both well established band stallions squabbling over two mares the day of this image.*

The ultimate example of a kick as harem mare Bella establishes her dominance over her band stallion, Sidekick. The foal was born that morning, but this was also the day rival band stallion Flax came calling and had Sidekick agitated. Sidekick was attempting to drive his harem as far away from Flax as possible. Bella was not in agreement.

I’ve been kicked by a horse, more than once, but the moment that stands out was one time right in the stomach at a cutting even in Oklahoma City. The mare wasn’t pissed at me, she was after the horse I was leading through the warm up area. One of those ignorant human moves, not paying attention to my surroundings and didn’t see the warning sign. The sound was so loud everyone turned to look when she made contact. Thank goodness I had my flip phone (yes it was a few years back *grin*) in my left hand pocket of my vest. It saved my ribs, but totally knocked the wind out of me and went on the list of one of those embarrassing moments, and I had to replace my phone. I can’t imagine what that punch by Thunder Cloud would feel like! It’s no darn wonder Copper has body tattoo’s all over him!

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