Again, IF you feel the horse is aggressively attacking you with bite or kick (a kick out may just be nothing more than a "warning"... but if the horse is coming after you with its hind feet, then you KNOW it's an all out attack) ... then by all means, do what you HAVE to do to protect yourself as well as letting the horse know that it is unacceptable behavior.
When working with horses it's important to understand the "language" of the horse and its intent with its language. This way we can use no more pressure than what is needed for the particular behavior. Remember - aggression breeds aggression. If the horse is merely "playing" with the biting or kicking and we react with aggression, we're inviting the horse to aggress us; we're setting up a fight. That's not the point we're after. We're after letting him know that that type of behavior is NOT acceptable. So we "assert" our position within our herd and do just as much as necessary to get our point across - no more. We do this assertively and not aggressively.
You are, in a sense, correct about not inflicting physical harm to the horse by a puny human (it was mentioned by another writer that a "puny" human would do no harm with physical reactions to the horse) - although that's a wide open subject. Obviously if we kick with pointed cowboy boots in the gut, we CAN and DO inflict physical pain and harm. Hooves are flat - broader area of contact, less pointed infliction. Horses that kick each other are well aware of where and with how much pressure to kick for a particular need. Horses instinctively know that a well placed, hard kick to the forehead of another horse will kill it. They also instinctively know that a kick to the hiney end will not do too much more than give a bruise - kicks to the hind end of a horse by another are not intended to kill. Kicks or blows to the face are. However, the harm we do when we overreact is harm to the psyche of the horse and our relationship with that horse. Sure, we'll win "respect" of that horse ... a respect born from fear. Personally, that's not the type of "respect" I want from my horses. I want to be able to establish respect that is earned from exhibiting excellence in leadership skills -- that breeds trust and comfort.
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