Kicking the stable door!

[AnnoyingHabbit]

Like the title says, my horse always kicks the stable door down when she wants to go out! Its every morning and sometimes when she is just in for the farrier for a few hours!
We put some carpet at the bottom of the stable door and that did absloutly nothing!!
I'm thinking maybe foam or sponge?
PLease help, it is such a rude habbit

[pencaedu]

Try stuffing straw between the carpet & the door to reduce the noise. Ignore her when she does it, as giving attention rewards the behaviour.

[AnnoyingHabbit]

Thanks, I will try that.
I normally try and walk away from her or stand there until she stops.
I think maybe if i put foam there it might tear?

[honeybees]

Mine does this at feeding time.
He learnt he doesn't get fed until he stops now:)

[DUB]

Put a grill up, they might not be able to see out but they cant get close enough to bang at door...

[pennypoo]

one of mine did this, i use a chain across the door when in for longer periods and close the top part of the door if he starts anyother time!! he hates this so learning not to do it!!
tried carpet stuffed with straw and also don the brush head nailed to door, he just kicked higher lol xx

[smiggs]

What about a duvet nailed to the door....a colleague of mine did it and it worked for her :-)

[Fiontar]

Gosh I feel mean, we had persistent door kicker/pusher so I devised a portable metal square that could hang over the door like a manger is hung and I strung a length of electric rope around it which went out over the door through a piece of hose to the electric fencer unit. The top and bottom bar was just the right height to sting his chest or knees (he was 16.1) and it allowed him to look out but he soon learnt to be polite and not kick! Also meant we could take it to stay away shows to use on the temporary stable doors! Got us a few funny looks but it meant he stayed where he was put!

[auntiebarb]

Be careful of this, an old gelding of mine used to do it if left alone and we thought he would get fed up eventually but what he did get was a big knee, in spite of having carpet on the door. If I had another one who did this, I would fit a chain or a webbing net across and leave bottom door open so he couldn't hurt his knee.

It never crossed my mind he would permanently damage himself.

[hilsdenhuns12]

we had a youngster once that did this and every time it did it we would tie him up at the back of the stable he soon learnt that if he kicked he was left at the back of the stable for a while!!

[watchbank]

alot of youngsters do it as a form of attention seeking, ignore it, walk away they soon get bored when they realise no one is interested!

[thecremellosociety]

if you are there try a water spray bottle, if he kicks zap him, if hes doing it while not there thats harder, mare next to me did it and with my youngster and a youngster next door, we didnt want them doing it, the bottle now stays hung on the door and she only needs you to shake it now to distract her x (not all will agree but this worked for us, and also works for barky puppies too)

[wannierocket]

I have heard that 'quitkick' is very successful. It is a box that is attached to the outside of the stables door, and sensors when it is being kicked, once kick it sends water shooting up with a zapping noise. Although this may be an expensive option, it has worked for eveyone i know who has used it. hope this helps.
www.quitkick.com/

[whp94]

I had one who did that, so every time she did it she was squirted with water in a bottle she learned very quickly! But only trouble is you got to catch them in the act and squirt them straight away or they won't understand why they've been squirted otherwise

[snssmn]

Here's a heads up on all the positive posts about Quitkick. I bought one for my horse last year--$500! I found that if you put the sensors too close to where the horse kicks, he'll kick the sensors and break them ($100 a piece). If you move them too far away from where he kicks, they don't work. The US Quitkick rep installed these sensors herself, so this is not just a matter of an inexperienced horse owner installing them incorrectly. Additionally, the actual Quitkick unit--not the sensors--no longer works even though it's less than a year old. I'm currently sending it back to the US rep to fix. I've probably spent 10 to 20 hours of my own time trying to get this thing to work and then eventually paid someone to hang mats all over my horse's stall. (For those of you who go this route, we hung the mats on 2 X 4's so that they stuck out 2" or so from the stall wall--gave my horse's feet additional cushioning before they hit the wall .and deadens the sound even better.). We are currently at a new barn and so I am trying the Quitkick again, but only because I already bought it. As far as I can tell, this company is the only one who makes this type of system--maybe if they had some competition, they'd see that this very expensive machine was more reliable. It certainly should be effective and humane--when it works.

[gillwales]

I used grills on my stable doors, all of my boxes were indoors and large, the girls could see eachother as there was metal mesh for the top half, it saved many bad habbits; they could not bite eachother when you lead them through the alleyways, the blocks stayed cleaner and therefore safer, it also saved time from constant cleaning, prevented crib-bitters, weaving over a door and door bangers

[splash30]

I have brought a quitkick and it's the best amount of money I have spent.
2 days and he was sorted, every now and then he gets a bit above himself and on it goes and voila stopped.
They are not cheap but definitely work.