Ground Behavior Problem
Why Does My Horse Kick or Turn Its Butt at Me?
If your horse kicks or threatens to kick, it is reacting to pressure and may also be trying to push pressure back onto you using its strongest and safest side.
What’s Really Going On
If a horse kicks or threatens to kick at you, it is reacting to pressure, but it is also trying to apply pressure back to you.
A horse will present its hind end because that is its safest and strongest side.
Think about it this way: if you had to choose where you were going to get hit, would you rather be hit in the face or in the part of your body with the most muscle and protection?
That is how a horse thinks. The hind end has the most power, the most muscle, and the most ability to defend itself.
So when a horse turns its butt toward you and kicks, it is not random. It is choosing the safest and strongest way to respond.
You can see this clearly when horses fight. One horse may turn its hind end, back into another horse, and repeatedly kick. Sometimes it may even push another horse into a corner.
This is not harmless behavior. This is dangerous behavior.
When a horse uses that behavior on a person, it needs to be corrected quickly and correctly before it becomes a habit.
If a horse learns that kicking makes you step away, removes pressure, or gives it control, it will continue to use it. That is when it becomes a serious problem.
Safety Warning
This is one of the more dangerous behaviors you can deal with.
If you do not have the experience or timing to correct this safely, seek professional help. There is no benefit in putting yourself in a position where you can get hurt.
The Real Problem
Kicking usually comes from one of two situations.
Reaction: Pain, Fear, or Pressure: The horse is reacting to something it does not understand, something that hurts, or pressure it cannot handle.
Learned Behavior / Boundary Issue: The horse has learned it can control space, avoid pressure, or move you by using its hind end. At that point, the behavior is no longer just a reaction. It becomes something the horse may choose to use again.
What to Do Next
First decide whether the horse is reacting to pain, fear, or pressure, or whether it has learned to use its hind end to control your space.
Main Fix: Move the Hindquarters Away and Fix Kicking Threats
Start here when the horse turns its hind end toward you, threatens to kick, swings its hip into your space, or uses the back end to push pressure back onto the handler.
Teach a Horse to Respect Your Space and Stop Biting
Use this when the horse also crowds, pushes, bites, rubs, or acts like your space belongs to it.
Halter Pressure and Leading Foundation
Rebuild basic leading, pressure, direction, and control so the horse follows your space instead of moving you with its body.
Pressure and Release
Teach the horse that pressure has a clear answer and release comes when it moves away, softens, and gives space correctly.
Check for Pain or Discomfort
If the kicking happens during grooming, saddling, cinching, picking up feet, touching certain areas, or asking the horse to move in a certain way, this may be a physical issue.
This is not a training problem until soreness, injury, or discomfort has been checked.
Final Thoughts
A horse does not usually start by trying to hurt you. It starts by trying to protect itself or create space.
If that behavior works, it will continue.
The key is understanding whether the horse is reacting to pain, fear, or pressure, or whether it has learned to use kicking as a tool.
If it is pain, fix the cause. If it is behavior, fix the boundaries.
Once the horse understands it cannot control space with its hind end, the behavior begins to go away.
Recommended Equipment
These tools help you keep distance, control the horse’s feet, and correct the behavior without standing in the danger zone.
Rope Halter
Gives clear communication and control.
Lead Rope
Helps maintain safe positioning and distance.
Training Stick / Whip
Reinforces boundaries safely without needing to stand too close.
Gloves
Protect your hands during correction and handling.
Round Pen or Arena
Provides a controlled and safer environment for working through the issue.
Control the Hindquarters Safely
Do not let the horse learn that turning its butt toward you works. Find out whether it is reacting or choosing the behavior, then safely move the hindquarters and rebuild the boundary.