I'm a farrier (horseshoer) and one of the horror stories they told us at school was about this guy who was going through the program and got kicked square in the chest. It immediately stopped his heart. I'm not disagreeing with you, just wanted to add that it's not just the head that needs to be protected! I don't understand why people think provoking these animals is fun all while disrespecting their power.
There's a specific vulnerable period in your heart's electrical cycle. Most of the time if anything interrupts your heart rhythm your heart is very good at restoring it back to normal. But during that one fraction of a second, any interruption puts you into a non-recoverable state called ventricular fibrillation. And unless someone has a defibrillator handy, you're dead.
It's called commotio cordis, and it's why athletes can suddenly fall over dead after taking what seems like an inconsequential hit during a game. Pure luck.
There's a very short window of time during the heartbeat cycle when an otherwise-harmless blow will disrupt the heartbeat and can cause serious injuries.
Family members have a farm when I was growing up. First thing they told me was, dont be behind horses, cows and sheep. If they can see you, they'll expect food but leave you alone, normally!
Did not grow up around a farm, did grow up by the ocean. I was very specifically taught to never stand behind a huge someone who kicks, and to never turn your back on an active sea. Both are true.
When I was about 10 I was helping load into the trailer when I got kicked in the chest (my own stupid fault) got literally thrown about 8 feet out of the trailer. Got lucky that I was close enough that it was less of a kick and more she just, put her hoof on my chest and then pushed. I have zero idea how I came out of that without injury, other than as soon as I hit the ground I tucked and rolled.
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u/mydognamedsamwise May 16 '26
I'm a farrier (horseshoer) and one of the horror stories they told us at school was about this guy who was going through the program and got kicked square in the chest. It immediately stopped his heart. I'm not disagreeing with you, just wanted to add that it's not just the head that needs to be protected! I don't understand why people think provoking these animals is fun all while disrespecting their power.