Can any horse really be described as 100% safe ???

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I dont think they can, a living animal, especially one that relies on their flight instinct, always has the occasional moment when that instinct takes over. This may result in a major bolt, with possibly tragic consequences, or just a minor indiscretion and a bit of a scare for the rider/handler.
100% is a rather misused term, often used by sellers hoping to impress a buyer, horses are described as 100% in traffic, again most can be almost perfect but can they ever be totally oblivious to everything they may meet on the roads.
I have sold and bought a fair amount of horses and ponies over the years and never put in an advert 100% about anything, because I do not believe I can use a term that I cannot totally justify.
A young horse that is still unproven in many situations can certainly not be described as safe, let alone 100% . In the case of the driving horse I hope it has found a good home that will continue with its education and that he will prove to be a super horse in the future.
So is your horse 100% safe? not just at times or in some situations, would you say,if you put it up for sale, that it is 100% in traffic or 100% perfect in every way??
You are very lucky if you own a perfect horse:D
 
Fair point, the only horse that is truly safe would be a stuffed horse. Or maybe a hobbyhorse. Provided you didn't trip over the stick.

Also I find that horses react differently depending on the confidence level of the rider on their backs. (I have had to learn to lie with my seat).
 
I can honestly say YES my one

He doesn't react to anything - well gun shots he don't llike much but doesn't do anything naughty.

I was in school last night windy as anything and one of the horses got loose being led in from field and was running round right by the school where I was and he just stood still watching her as if to say.... what are you doing there love.... I was expecting some fireworks but nope!!

Happily say he is as safe as houses he's an angel!!!
 
I agree with you, no horse is 100% safe. Fany is around 99% there must be something that scares her we have just not found it yet! Cappy is strange, he is almost 100% when driven and no where near when ridden. But I genuinely believe that no horse can be 100% because of their flight instinct, they can react fast and without thinking.
FDC
 
My first pony was 200% safe!! Honest! We regularly had to hack past a working quarry, where they had this kind of turbine thing right next to the road which churned up and broke down rocks & every so often they'd put water on it to cool it down and all this steam used to come out!!! (and you never knew when that would happen, but always seemed to be when you were passing); PLUS there was an overhead gantry which carried the broken bits of rock and every so often the whole thing would jam up and then shimmer and shake and quite often you'd get bits of pebble, water etc dropping down!!! It wouldn't be allowed nowadays.

AND while all this was going on there was the most intense racket, you couldn't hear yourself speak let alone think, and additionally there was all the hubbub of a working quarry such as huge lorries, men with machines, etc etc.

All of which he'd go past without turning a hair, bless him.

And then, after him, my old boy was another who I'd have trusted to put a toddler on and slap him on the rump and let him get on with it.

Both of these lovely sweet boys I'd describe as 200% safe without any ifs or buts whatsoever.

WHY oh WHY don't they make horses like that anymore .....??? (leastways not when I'm lukin!)
 
The term "100% safe" shouldn't be used as an absolute, but rather as a relative term. My mare was 100% safe. Yes, she was a horse and sometimes things made her jump, like a pheasant flying out from under her feet. That's how I knew she was alive ;) But I completely, absolutely and totally trusted her. I remember meeting a tractor and large, empty, rattling trailer speeding along the road once - she really, honestly didn't flinch. And I'll always remember our last hack together - two combines, three tractors and trailers, a bloke with a gun (firing), a load of pheasants and a small herd of deer. Yes, Maiden was on her toes, but totally controllable and an absolute saint - relative to what most other horses would do.

So in that sense, yes she was 100% safe. If you wanted to use the term literally, of course she wouldn't be 100%! But I'm not the idiot who is going to sit down and devise a study to prove how "safe" a horse really is :p
 
I used to think of my old boy, back in the 1970s, as 100% safe. He was lively with a competent rider, but very cautious if the rider was unbalanced, an absolute angel with beginners.

But in truth, living horses can't be 100% safe can they? They can all shy at the wrong moment, they all make mistakes. Isn't that one of the reasons we love them? :)
 
I am glad that there are safe horses out there and yes I agree that there can be relative views on what is safe, a horse is alive and can think for itself, but the less experienced person can be misled by the use of the term 100% they do take it literally, until they learn otherwise.
The safe horses are also now usually owned and ridden by experienced people that give confidence in what could be a difficult situation,thereby the horse becomes more confident and even "safer" a nervous rider may not instil that confidence so a "safe" horse can become less so as time goes on, a situation that is often posted about on here.
 
NO........ any police horse training establishment will tell you that a 100% bomb proof horse does not exist.

All horses, no matter how well trained, have the fright & flight instinct & there will always be something that they will spook at. True, some horses are better than others, but it can happen to any horse.
 
I think a horse can be described as 100% safe but should also be followed with "to the best of my knowledge". In relation to the driving horse (if it's the same 1 I read today) then the horse should never have been described as 100% safe, especially not to drive! Any horse who has caused a serious injury or a fatality should be found a very very knowledgable home and the new owner should be informed of any situation that has occured.
I was told a horse was safe to do in all ways including ridden (described as 100% safe and bombproof), it ended up with a serious injury and a few more minor injuries. However, this is more because the owner hadn't told me the full story. All horses should be sold with their full story-regardless of whether it has ever done something with the new owner or an old owner IMO.
 
Even if the horse is safe, accidents happen. The horse could stumble, trip over a fence, get hit by a car, bitten by a dog!! Even if it's not their fault, it's still dangerous.

All horses are capable of acting silly. The old plod (RIP) was 99.9% perfect, but even he had a spook now and again!
 
My Clydie is very laid back but I would never consider her 100% safe - she has her moments of being silly. She's great with guns - the gun club was at the end of the driveway to their paddock. She's not overly happy with vehicles, will tolerate them so long as they behave.

I'd definately never advertise anything 100% safe.
 
Im gonna definetly say No Way doesnt matter what horse or what age horses should always be handled with care.We have a horse that is about 29 and he still jumps at the occasional bird or plastic bag any horse that is frightened or disturbed could kick out and harm a person so if someone is saying that a horse is 100% safe they are out of this world.:rolleyes::D
 
I would agree with Silmarillion, my horse is now just like that. He really genuinely doesn't flinch at the most awful traffic and we do see a lot living in a tourist area. Motorbikes, caravans, tractors, combines, buses, cyclists etc, he can cope with all of them so I would say he is 100% in traffic. However he will spook at the odd strange thing in a hedge or some cows in a field. Just a gentle spook though, nothing violent enough to unseat. He will also jump at sudden noises. Actually so will I!

The difference is that I trust him and do believe he is safe (after 3 years of teaching him to be!) because he doesn't bolt off or get uncontrollable when something scares him. We will have a few seconds of being on his toes then he will calm down provided his rider takes control of the situation. So he is safe but fun... he is certainly not a plod and gets quite excited when we do fun things.

So I would describe mine as 100% in traffic and pretty much safe BUT only with an experienced rider! If he wasn't safe I wouldn't be still riding and hacking him at 18 weeks pregnant.
 
My lad would go anywhere do anything without any bother or fuss, heavy traffic no problem. Then one day we were riding out with a friend and he reared up and I came off and he ran home. Dont know way, we think he might have been stung. Never done it again!
 
LaurenM said:
I also dislike the use of 100% - should a horse be stung/bitten by a hornet I wouldn't have thought they'd just stand there :)
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My boy has on a few occasions, he's also brought me home when I was unconscious once after an accident (I was stupidly watching the scenery and managed to nearly decapitate myself on a tree!), we've roidden out and he's managed to stand in a wasps nest and carry most of them home with him without a flicker, I can honestly hand on heart say I have not found a thing that scares him yet (and it's been nearly 14 years since I bought him!). He's passed all kinds of traffic (thorugh the years we've liveried in rural places with loads of farm machinery etc and also city places right next to motorways and having to cross busy A roads so he's seen it all), factories, building sites, wind turbines and road works he just doesn't bother. He'll happily keep walking even if the horse in front makes a run for it and he won't accellerate unless asked to do so. He truly is a little Gem!
 
rhino said:
I have actually changed my mind as I truly believe this pony is 100% safe. And he's for sale.

;) :D
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He would be a perfect first pony, cheap to keep, no mucking out, no vets bills and when the kids get bored just stop riding it with no risk of laminitis.
I am a bit worried about the removable ears though:D
 
No, they are still horses and are NEVER 100% safe, ok they may be reliable, trustworthy, kind etc etc but how can one ever say a big flighty creature is safe?
 
mrsdoubtfire said:
No, they are still horses and are NEVER 100% safe, ok they may be reliable, trustworthy, kind etc etc but how can one ever say a big flighty creature is safe?
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This was exactly my point, so why do people describe them as 100% when advertising for sale? Apart from rhinos of course:D
 
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