Anyone else's horse freak out at ... people?!

dibbin

dibbin

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Took Dylan out for a nice quiet hack this afternoon. Well, that was the plan anyway, but while we were out we met the 2 most terrifying things he'd ever seen.

1) A Man Tying His Shoes. Had stopped to let a car pass, asked Dylan to walk on, he spun round and tried to leg it home, because he could see a guy tying his shoes (well, that's what he was staring and snorting at, anyway)

2) A Man Out For A Walk. Had been round the glen and heading for the road that takes you through the horses' field. Dylan was sauntering along on a loose rein with his neck all stretched out, nice and relaxed, then we turned a corner, and there was a man walking along about 50 yards ahead of us. I have NEVER seeen Dylan this tense in my life, his neck was vertical, snorting, eyes on stalks, and every muscle in his body was bunched up like he was getting ready to turn round and run! And he stayed like that until we turned off the main estate road and he couldn't see him anymore!

To cap it all off, we were coming down the field to the yard, and there was a man rustling about in the grass with a big black bin bag and one of those rubbish-picking-up sticks. Did Dylan bat an eyelid? Did he hell.

:confused: Sometimes I am completely at a loss as to how this horse's mind works. Or, in fact, if it actually works at all lol.
 
We met some very scary people wearing rucksacks today, then every human was scary, too much spring grass comes to mind!
 
Had a conversation with someone the other day about their horse not liking people wearing rucksacks. The third person with us said it's because the rucksack changes the shape of the person.

As her own horse has freaked at two people holding hands...., and a person carrying a baby....she thinks the same reason. That the one unit of person has become 2, and therefore the shape is different.

This would explain why your horse didn't like the person bending down.... because of their shape! They didn't recognise this thing as a person!
 
Hehe, fair point about shoe tying man ... but what about walking man?! He does normally have a good look if we meet people out hacking, but he's never reacted like that.

These are the kind of things I wonder about Dylan, I mean, normally he's as bright as a button, but sometimes he's just ... dense :p maybe it's a gelding thing LOL.
 
My boy can deal with pretty much anything, i.e. hacks out over road bridges with traffic whizzing beneath his feet; helicopters flying overhead (no problem), etc etc., but if he spooks at anything, its people.

I suspect he hasn't always been treated terribly well, and people doing funny things bring back some unhelpful memories for him. He can't deal with children shrieking or running around; football matches terrify him coz he thinks its an exocet missile gonna hit him; men in flourescent jackets are a no-no (probably reminds him of when he was probably chased around the markets, poor chappie).

And yes, babies in buggies are a monster gonna jump out at him. I think perhaps because its something moving and they can't figure what it is?

And kids on scateboards - OMG don't even think about it, major freak-out time.
 
Yep, mine isn't great with people out on a ride. Have had her since she was 2, so no bad experiences (lovely home prior to me as well) but people coming towards her are eyeballs-on-stalks worthy! Getting better now though as she's getting a bit older.
 
my boy can be similar. he wont bat an eyelid at trucks, lorries, helicopters etc. he will hve small spooks at birds in bushes and dogs jumping out of nowhere. but if he sees a person that look slightly different, he'll give them a very wide berth! we saw a council worker carrying a strimmer, we ended up on the path the otherside of the road. today, a woman was standing in her garden, with a black sack next to her, and we had to walk past it sideways and staring. but normal people, no probs. yet, bikes and buggies are all fine.
 
Scariest thing ever? A man wearing a camo jacket and trousers. We had snorting, strutting, eyes out on stalks, the works.

To be fair, he had never seen a walking bush before, so I have to give him that. :D
 
NeilM said:
Scariest thing ever? A man wearing a camo jacket and trousers. We had snorting, strutting, eyes out on stalks, the works.

To be fair, he had never seen a walking bush before, so I have to give him that. :D
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Lmao, Dylan's like that during the pheasant season, he's very offended by large groups of people wearing tweed lol.
 
i agree to horses people can be quite scary but my horse is scared if he hears you ready for this other horses :confused: :D completely strange he spooks and canters away from the noise!!!!! such a weirdo..... he has only just gone 5 thou bless him!! :)
 
ha ha my boy does this too!

a family out walking was megga scarey today.. he sees people every time we go out!

double decker bus was all fine and dandy... we see about 3 busses a year

more than one when I have been out people have seen him gawking at them and think they are being helpfull by hiding behind the nearest bush/hedge:eek::D .....
 
Wow - I cannot beleive this thread - I swear I thought my horse was the only one! He is genuinely afraid of people, won't catch, won't take treats, doesn't like people in his stable etc etc (fine with me - eventually) but people are the one thing guaranteed to scare him on a hack. I can literally feel his heart beat through my legs and he starts to feel a bit scary! Went a new hack last week and he started to panic as we passed by a park full of people, but relaxed right afterwards when we passed the park and headed for roundabout with bus! Strange beasts! :rolleyes:
 
Weird thing is that Dylan is the first to try and mug people for treats if they pass his stable, and if he's in the little paddock he follows people up and down the fence ... only seem to freak him out when we're hacking lmao.

As for people hiding behind bushes/trees "so they don't scare the horse" ... I'd much rather you stood where he can see you, thanks, so he doesn't have heart failure when you suddenly materialise beside him!
 
Oh yes, my horse thinks everybody is out to ambush him - especially mountain bikers!

Most embarassing experience was when walking OH's normally placid mare in the wood when we came across a man being er-hum...............orally pleasured by a lady (how romantic????). Tried to sneak past unawares but horsey did the snorty dance and interrupted procedures.

I just looked down and pretended not to notice...............probably making myself look even more silly............
 
My pony thinks people who are bending down are scary, also if they stop walking and move out of the way as we go by! He also hates people who are wearing hats, any kind of flappy clothing such as a long coat or a skirt and if they are wearing a backpack! :red face:
 
What about walkers with....MAP CASES?

I got a full on spin and bolt out of my lad the first time he encountered a pony eating map case :D

He's also not keen on dogs. Some he takes no notice of, some he quite likes (Jack Russels?) and some get the head up, ears up, giraffe necked, snorting treatment. I'm pretty convinced he thinks every different shaped or coloured dog he sees is a totally new breed of potential predator :confused:

Of course, hacks would just be plain boring without all the reactions / spooks / snorts et all.

Oh I nearly forgot, bright coloured waterproof saddle covers. My boy nearly came out of his skin when my OH pulled one from the back of the car yesterday. It scared him so much he had to do a great big smelly fart....just as I was picking one of his back feet out :mad:

Someone remind me why we put up with this.
 
On my fourth ever hack out alone on my new horse...who is by the way exactly like this...we had to go past a train station and didnt bat an eye when train came hurtling past...ten mins later we passed a sponsored dog walk, 40 people walking towards us...well they were for ten seconds until she spun and headed in the opposite direction lol... and she especially hates mobility scooters and kids.
 
NeilM said:
Oh I nearly forgot, bright coloured waterproof saddle covers. My boy nearly came out of his skin when my OH pulled one from the back of the car yesterday. It scared him so much he had to do a great big smelly fart....just as I was picking one of his back feet out :mad:

Someone remind me why we put up with this.
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my OH is going to tell me off for snorting coffee all over his laptop... thanks. :D
 
My horse is usually fine with people out walking but what scared the pants off her was a group of about 8 serious runners who were bunched close together running towards us. I think she saw them as a single many- legged very fast horse eating creature. Poor sods had to slow to a walk and come past us one at a time otherwise I'd have been decked for sure!
 
Yes, sometimes people are apparently scary monsters! Depends on the situation, but sometimes I wonder about her eyesight, though I had that checked not all that long ago and it was fine!
Generally she is fine, when she realises it is just a person! On those days that is...*sigh*
 
madhossy said:
Had a conversation with someone the other day about their horse not liking people wearing rucksacks. The third person with us said it's because the rucksack changes the shape of the person.

As her own horse has freaked at two people holding hands...., and a person carrying a baby....she thinks the same reason. That the one unit of person has become 2, and therefore the shape is different.

This would explain why your horse didn't like the person bending down.... because of their shape! They didn't recognise this thing as a person!
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Horses have poor 'shape' vision - their vision for moving things is amazing but they have trouble with shape recognision. If it doesn't move they find it hard to see. So when it DOES then move they get a fright.

My horse LOVES people and will drive onto the pavement to say hi if allowed. But he often spooks at 'funny shaped' people - so those with rucksacks, bending down, carry things etc. Until they're close enough to smell he doesn't recognise them as 'people' because they're not the right shape.

He also worries about people who (usually trying to be helpful) stand really still and don't move - he can't work out what they are. Once they've moved he's fine (after a little spook) and you can see him visiable relax and think 'pheww, just a person'.

It also explains why big rocks and similar bother them, but a car whizzing past at 40 is ignored.
 
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