What do you think about using kicking chains for stall kickers?

Kicking chains — weighted chains attached around the horse's pastern that swing and strike the cannon bone when the leg is kicked out — are one of the older remedies for stall kicking, and honest assessment of them requires separating what they actually accomplish from what they are intended to accomplish. They can reduce the frequency of stall kicking in some horses, but they address the symptom rather than the cause, and their use without addressing the underlying reason the horse is kicking is a management patch rather than a solution. The mechanism is aversive conditioning — the chain's impact on the cannon bone when the leg is swung back creates an unpleasant consequence that the horse associates with the kicking motion, which reduces the frequency of the behavior in horses sensitive enough to the stimulus to modify their behavior in response. In horses for whom this works, the reduction in kicking and stall damage is genuine. In horses that are highly motivated stall kickers — particularly those driven by pain, herd separation anxiety, or deeply established habit — the chain often has minimal effect because the drive to kick is stronger than the discomfort the chain produces. The more important question is why the horse is kicking in the first place, because that answer determines both whether the chain is likely to help and whether it is the appropriate response. A horse kicking from boredom and insufficient movement benefits more from turnout, more forage, and more environmental stimulation than from a chain. A horse kicking from hind limb pain or gastric discomfort needs veterinary evaluation rather than an aversive device. A horse kicking in anticipation of feeding is best managed through changing the feeding routine. When kicking chains are used they should be fitted snugly enough to produce the intended consequence without being so loose that they become a tripping hazard or so tight that they restrict circulation. They should be removed during exercise and checked regularly for skin irritation at the pastern. Kicking chains are not cruel when used correctly on an appropriate candidate, but they are frequently applied without the prior investigation of cause that would determine whether they are the right tool for the specific horse and the specific situation.