When training a spirited horse you will sometimes run across one who pulls out all the stops to show you that you simply aren't the alpha horse in his eyes. Horses may bite, stomp, kick and the ultimate act of defiance, laying down when you want him to walk or stand to be saddled.

If this is new behavior in an otherwise well behaved horse, the first thing you should do is rule out anything physical. Anything causing your horse great discomfort or pain can cause him to act out. In this case it isn't defiance but a cry for help. If a new saddle or bit is causing him pain for example, he might lay down to actively avoid having to deal with either.

If you simply have a spirited horse trying to one-up you and be in charge, you simply have to gently reassert yourself as top horse when he does this. When your horse lays down, he is actually fearful of you, stroke his head and tell him he is in no danger from you and make him feel comfortable. Soon he will raise his head and neck and then get up. When your horse is up on all fours, continue the gentle stroking and tell him he's a good boy (or girl), and don't attempt to saddle your horse right away. Start off by leading your horse in a small confined area.

If you have determined neither the saddle nor the bit is causing pain, go ahead and saddle your horse, pay attention to how tightly you strap the girth. Tell your horse to remain standing and if he begins to go down, start stroking and reassuring him and in most cases this will begin to assert you as top horse and develop the pecking order in your horse's mind that he needs in order to respect you and listen to you.

Work with your horse every day on this until he fully trusts you and the laying down problem should be a thing of the past.

No matter what is causing your horse to kick, it has to be addressed immediately as it can quickly become a habit and is very likely to cause serious injury to you or another person or even another horse.

As with all undesirable behaviors, you need to determine exactly why your horse is kicking. You can usually boil it down to one of two things, your horse is fearful or something is causing him pain. Rule out anything hurting him and then you can concentrate on the kicking being simply bad behavior from acting out.

If your horse has been mistreated or abused, he is going to consider nearly all people suspect for further harm to himself and he may kick out of fear to frighten you away. You need to begin to slowly assure your horse you are his companion and will never hurt nor allow anything to hurt him. This will have to be repeated frequently and he will begin to touch you. When he kicks, get out of harm's way but do not leave. Simply move out of his kicking range and talk softly. Do not feed your horse at this time as it can be interpreted as a "reward" for kicking and thereby reinforce the kicking.

Get your horse used to being touched. If he'll allow it, a bath is a fantastic way as nearly all horses love the feeling of being bathed. If he is not ready for such close contact then simply touching him as you walk around is a good way to desensitize your horse and allow him to begin to trust you.

A horse's eyes are positioned in a way that they cannot see directly in front of or behind themselves, that is the reason they get skittish when something or someone they can not see if behind them. Talk to your horse as you walk behind him and pat him gently as you go, if you see him tensing up to kick, stop and reverse your steps until he is ready for you to walk behind him. With repetition, he will learn that you are not out to hurt him but you are his loving companion and he will then trust and respect you as such. Through daily working and repetition, your horse will learn to stop kicking and you will have a loyal and loving companion.