Horse kick injuries tend to be severe, because the transfer of energy from the end of the hoof, with a small cross‐sectional area, to a small field, leads to internal organic injuries that are more severe than predicted, similar to a handlebar injury.
Emergency room personnel have likened the destructive potential of an equine kick to that of the impact of a small automobile moving at 20 miles per hour. A kick can shatter bones and traumatize soft tissue. In fact, medical journals document people going into cardiac arrest after sustaining a kick to the chest.
At the speed of 200 mph, a horse can kick with a force of 1,200 pounds per square inch. Some horses can kick with a force of up to 2,000 pounds. That's much stronger than a punch of any professional boxer on the planet. Horse kicks are naturally strong because of their size.
A horse's kick is extremely powerful and can cause severe, even fatal injuries. Many riders have experienced broken bones, deep lacerations from a hoof, and even cardiac arrest if the kick landed on their chest. It is also extremely possible to suffer from head injuries that can be fatal if the impact was extreme.
In 1 retrospective study of 47 radial fractures, the most frequently reported cause was a kick from another horse. Comminuted fractures were most common, accounting for 21 of the 47 fractures (6).
In addition, a horse's kick can transfer a force of more than 10 000 Newtons to the body, causing fractures of the skull or other bones as well as devastating damage to the intestines.
“Kicks by other horses remain the leading cause of fractures to long bones, such as the tibia and radius,” shared Catherine Whitehouse, M.S., of Kentucky Equine Research (KER). Kicks are also to blame for orbital fractures, coronary band wounds, and hematomas.
It absolutely can, especially if you're struck in a vulnerable area such as your skull. The horse kick is powerful enough to snap your neck or break your skull in a split second, especially if the horse is wearing shoes. The potential for blunt force trauma lessens a little bit if a horse is barefoot, but not by much.
Strongest Kick: Zebra — Kicks With About 3,000 Pounds of Force. Due to the power of its kick, a fully grown zebra is able to kill an adult male African lion with one blow. Between the well-known force behind the kick of a red kangaroo and a giraffe, you might be surprised to read that the zebra beats them both.
Punishing a horse that acts out by kicking or biting does nothing to ameliorate the situation. Instead, find a centered place in yourself and teach the horse to respond to you by controlling their feet. It might be a bit challenging at first, but this is the simple and easy way to turn distrust into trust.
A horse has more weight behind his kick than the kangaroo. However, that said, the kangaroo has velocity and inertia that the horse doesn't have. Neither one would be good. Being kicked by a kangaroo can open you up the same way a deer's hoof will because of its sharp edges.
Message: “I feel threatened.”
At its most primal level, the equine kick is a defensive weapon. Horses in the wild can and often do repel predators by lashing out with their hooves. This response is instinctive so, depending on the situation, you may see it with even the most placid and agreeable horses.
So a horse bite is more likely to be a crush injury than a puncture. A horse's jaw is so strong that it can press down with a force of about 500 pounds on a square inch! Compare that with 200 psi for human bites and 235 for Pit Bull dog breed.
As horses age, they will also suffer from arthritis in the same way humans do. Young or small-sized horses can also experience pain from riders who are too heavy for them. Most riders say that a horse should carry a rider no more than 20% of their weight.
The study found there was “no significant difference between the epidermal nerve counts of humans and horses”, meaning that humans and horses had a similar sensitivity to pain.
Equinophobia is a fear of horses. A scary experience with a horse — such as falling off a horse, or being stepped on, kicked or bitten by a horse — may cause this phobia. You may also have a fear of donkeys, mules and ponies. Psychotherapies like exposure therapy can help you gradually overcome a fear of horses.
Why tardigrades are so damn tough. It's important to note: Tardigrades are basically indestructible only when they enter a special state called cryptobiosis. In harsh environments, the animals tuck in their legs and expel all moisture from their bodies. In this state, they're called tuns.
Even if he's not inclined to worry about the "feelings" of the animals - punching a horse in the head can cause serious injury (they're not as prone to head injuries as some animals because of the shape of their skull, but horses absolutely CAN get a concussion if you hit them hard enough or in the wrong place) and the ...
Zebras With a Deadly Kick
They defend themselves by using their powerful hind limbs to kick back at predators. It is thought that they can deliver up to 3,000 psi and that they have the most powerful kick in the animal kingdom.
Because horses can not stay off their feet for long periods, broken bones do not have a chance to heal, and so often sadly the kindest way to help a horse with a broken limb is to put it down.
Even a draft horse can't generate much more than a hard shove abou a foot behind it. If they can get full extension of its legs though, they can kick much, much harder. horses also kick much higher than a cow.
Standing behind a horse is also unsafe, as they have a blind spot there as well. When standing close to the horse, standing next to the horse's body is the safest.