Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt/The Horse

Q: My horse kicks out when I clean his hind hooves or when the farrier trims them.   I’ve tried giving a sharp yank on the lead rope, smacking him on the hindquarters, and even squirting him with water. Sometimes he will stop after a few corrections, but the kicking starts up again the next time I work on his feet. Why has punishment not worked, and what can I do to correct my horse’s dangerous behavior?

A: Horses quickly learn that their behavior has consequences, and in theory, a behavior should stop when it is followed by something unpleasant. In practice, however, punishment can be challenging to put into action and can have unwanted side-effects. Becoming familiar with some of the pitfalls of punishment can help improve your training success.

You want to reinforce your horse’s correct responses.

One significant shortcoming of punishment is that it only provides feedback about incorrect behavior but doesn’t give the horse guidance about what it should do instead. Reinforcing correct responses can have a more direct and effective result than punishing unwanted behavior.^1,4 In your case, the correct response is when your horse yields his hoof without kicking, which can be reinforced either by releasing pressure (negative reinforcement) or by providing a reward (positive reinforcement). Importantly, the release or reward must happen before your horse kicks to avoid unintentionally reinforcing the bad behavior