This is just so sad. I live in a village with horse farms (as well as a riding school) and a lot of people are talking about this accident which took place in at the Ponyhof in Frick last Saturday.

http://www.a-z.ch/news/vermischtes/1...treten-6676446
(link is only in German).

A 12 year old girl, who was an experienced rider, was standing behind a pony when it kicked her in the chest with sufficient force that her heart stopped beating. She died at the scene.

It is unclear what is the fate of the pony.

Very, very sad indeed! I dont want to think about what the parents and the rest of family must be going thru'

Poor girl and poor family. We had horses all our lives (although not living with us but in a proper farm) and my dad always told us not to stand behind the horses or to give them food directly with our hands, only with our palms vertical to their mouths.

Ah yes.. but they can kick to the side as well.. and if they have their heart set on kicking you it doesnt take them long to skoot their bums around to have you set up right where they need you to get a decent kick in (I've never seen them do this to humans, only other horses, I just unfortunately got in the way once ).
That is so sad. I wonder what the pony's problem was.


I know a girl who was in hospital for a few months after a decent kick from her horse. First thing she did when she saw him (many months since the incident!!) was get a baseball bat and beat him in the guts.. as punishment?
Obviously I dont like this girl a great deal..
Hmm that story is semi relevant, but not really.

Dayumn... I was at a pony camp as well, and my pony decided it wasn't too happy with me and kicked me to the curb as well. I lived, bruised, but lived.

Yes, I was also taught never stand behind a horse. I also had the very unfortunate experience of being on a horse that got frightened when a gust of wind blew papers off a clipboard. It was during a competition and I was thrown from my horse. That was the last time I rode a horse. There is danger in all sports, I just would never have expected this.

Alas, it doesn't even need to be a hard blow to the chest - just an unfortunately timed one: Commotio cordis.

I had the unfortunate experience of being the horse for a girlfriend of mine that found whips a little more than just "entertainment".

The bruises took a month to disappear...

Still feel sorry for the poor girl

I'm sorry that you had an unfortunate experience that ended the enjoyability of horse riding for you!
I'm far from being considered a "brave" rider, and I'm also TERRIBLE at falling off (I have a friend who may fall off more regularly than me, but she has mastered falling off without hurting herself whereas I have been fractured, broken (actually the only broken bone came from being trodden on but still), sprained EVERY time).. so I can definitely understand why you never rode again.. but I'm still sorry to hear your horse riding "career" ended before its time, as its so much fun However, it could of always ended worse as it did for this little girl so maybe you were lucky


I once noticed on myspace all these girls had "rip jessica" on their profiles, so I googled her and found out she was a teenage girl who had been riding her horse around bareback and without a helmet and decided to jump the fence out of the arena rather than go through the gate.. her horse's back legs clipped the fence (if it was a proper jump the pole would have fallen and it may have been okay but it was a solid fence and not for jumping bareback and helmetless!!), and he flipped and landed on her completely crushing her skull. There are some horror stories with horses..


With regards to the not standing behind a horse, I think sometimes "experienced" horse people get over confident (as the story I just wrote about clearly shows) and think that they will be fine. My instructor once told me its safer to be right up against the horse's bum if you need to go behind it, not only because it knows you're there but because its legs can't get as much momentum and power in a kick if it decides to have a go.. and I think sometimes people dont realise how far back they really do need to stand to be at a safe distance.
Its so unfortunate for the little girl it must be so hard for her family.


I'm curious to know what will happen with the pony/what people think should happen..?
I dont really think that its a situation where it could now "have a taste for blood" and do it more often now.. I wonder if its always been a kicker. I dont know about here, but in Australia at shows if your horse kicks you have to tie a certain coloured ribbon to its tail and its the responsibility of everyone else to keep themselves and their horses away from those ribbons! I'm surprised the kicking horses are allowed there at all..

Well, would you like to ride a horse that killed a little girl? Or any other horse from the same farm, as long as the owner didn't "clean up"? Nobody would. Bringing the horse to the sausage factory is probably the best its owner can do.

not knowing with how much viciousness she hit the horse I can't really comment, but I've had 2 attempted kicks at me from our horses (both missed) and the first thing I did was to kick back, making sure I connected. Both horses learnt who's the boss and have never kicked again.

So sorry for the girls family, but suggesting the horse needs the butcher is not right IMO

This is why I have a dislike of all things Equine. My wife owns a horse and I refuse to ride/feed/stand-cerca it. I was horse riding in the mountains once when I was younger, and one of the other horses in the group was in heat, so mine decided to try and mount. It and I, received a swift kick and I was knocked to the ground. Never again I said, and still refuse to go near the creatures.

I also have the impression that they are moody/irrational creatures, and I don't buy the whole "you have to develop a relationship with them, treating them with respect, and yet be stern" argument that my wife keeps trying to sell me. I've seen experienced riders being kicked, and thrown off their horses. I feel sorry for that little girl, when you're that young you might not forget how dangerous standing horse-hinter is.

I'll stick to Golden Retrievers thank you very much, sure you can't ride them, but I never had one bite/kick/attack me, and their happy faces do a lot more for me.

The parents of the victim see this as an accident and are not blaming anyone. So far I haven't read anything that says the horse will be destroyed and I don't see what destroying the pony would do except that he would no longer be a visual reminder of the tragedy. Is the horse a danger to humans? This is not the same as a dog that is responsible for a vicious attack.

If I had a farm, I'd take the pony...actually you need 2 because they have to be kept in pairs, but I am sure an exception might be made here, particularly if the pony is a kicker.

I agree
Horses dont kick with the intention of killing. A horse that charges is a far greater danger, and they are the savage ones (as with dogs, usually from being treated badly).. not the kickers.




A lot of viciousness.. everyone was mortified at her. And the thing is that this was many months after he had kicked her, so it was just a random beating for him who wouldnt really have put the two together.

And of course if my old horse had've ever kicked me or tried to he would have copped it back. But I would never have used a baseball bat. I'm not against smacking horses - kicking and biting is how they communicate, and humans can do a lot less damage to a horse than another horse ever could.
At one of the places I ride at (its not a riding school, its like a farm stay run by hard working country folk) if one of the horses kicks or is nasty another one while theyre in the paddock, someone will throw a stone as hard as they can at its rump.. the horse always skoots away wondering who got them and seem to learn their lesson.


Err I dont mean to sound like a bad animal owner.. but I'm not sure I show them a hell of a lot of respect. You have the be the alpha and thats all. And I'm like this with horses that I have a relationship with and horses that I dont..

According to Pat Parelli, in the "wild" a heard of horses is protected by the stallion, but actually lead and controlled by a dominant mare. If horses are misbehaving or causing problems she will chase them from the herd and they will either come back all submissive or wander around without a herd. And that mare is who you really need to imitate.. I doubt she shows much respect to any of them..



Anyway, I'm not meaning to sound like I think I know everything.
But horses are dangerous I guess. Personally I find them 100% worth the risk because I'm in love.. hopefully the little girl felt the same and wouldnt have wanted to be without the ponies.

You have obviously never been around horses!

Yes horses kick out and they bite but as Lucy..TotallyLost has stated that is how they communicate with one another in the wild. It is an occupational hazard that when you are around horses you may get hurt. They are large animals and what seems like a little kick to them can be life threatening to us. Obviously non of us horsey people like to hear about these tragic accidents but they do occasionally happen. If a horse I had been riding for a number of years kicked me and I died I would certainly not want the horse to be killed as "retribution".

As someone who loves horses I really am
1) appalled by your suggestion and
2) quite upset that you feel it's OK to kill a horse because it has kicked out and caused an accidental death. I wonder if you would be suggesting the same thing if the offender was another human rather than a horse

My guess would be that Fenixs hasnt been around horses much at all, because I think all people who know about horses would realise that one kick is not an attack but usually more of a reaction (obviously usually out of fright, but horses all have different sized "personal space"s and some will kick out just to tell you to get out of theirs).
I also think the statement that all the other horses from the same "farm" should be "cleaned up" shows Fenixs lack of experience.. if the horse was particularly nasty the others are more likely to be submissive than nasty also..

How does this work then as if your hand is vertical the food falls off, don't you mean horizontal ?

Not sure horses can taste with their hind feet......


I think i'll stick to having my horse with chips, sounds safer

Way to live on the edge
Ahh I cannot believe people here eat horses. Theyre pets! Owrr.

And no I dont expect horses can taste with their hooves either.. but surely you all get what I mean..

what's wrong with eating animals and also keeping them as pets?

Ah lets not get into a meat eating debate..
Just eating horse in Australia isnt really heard of (except we hear they do it in Europe!) so bear with me while I get used to it