Do horses 'try it on' ?

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lynsey1808

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I've been thinking about this for a few days now as i have had issues with my new horse which we have overcome. I was led to believe that horses don't have the mental capacity to deliberately try it on as such and yet I hear this expression used frequently. So what do you think? Do they try it on or is it just natural herd behaviour that has to be dealt with?
 
Definately. My horse was a sweety for the first few weeks, found his feet, turned into devil horse and then settled down once we overcome what I thought was trying it on. It was like he was testing me. Ive heard other people have the same problems.
 
Yep,Yep and Yep,(and had mine 12yrs)lol!!!My lad not done any school work since oct last yr and he sure as hell let me know he dosnt like it today,lol,he will get better but soooooo frustrating!!!
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And i have lost count of the neds that no when somebody unconfident is dealing with them,buggers they far from stupid!!
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My horse was a sh1t when I had him from a young girl who couldnt handle him. Set him up for life in trying things on and getting away with things. Having known his history since he was 5/6 I believe- he only turned out the way he did after her. Shame really- he could of been a super horse but his mind was totally wasted. If they an get away with it- they will- aslong as they are smart enough
 
Absolutely they will try it on. Our absolutely bomb-proof, anybodies ride would pretend to be lame with my then OH. She would imediately stop it when either me or my sister got on, she knew he was a soft touch and that we knew better.
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errr yep, theres nothing daft about my lot. Usually the smaller they are the worse they are, we had a welsh sec a who used to do anything to get out of work. When jumping with the small kids he'd trot up to jumps, stop, paw the pole off then trot over it but jumped nicely for anyone a little bigger, clever little swine.
 
definitely, my 15yo (and should know better!) has a 12 year old girl sharing him, he's very laid back and confidence giving but can go up a notch for the more advanced rider so is a great allrounder. She was exhausted after 10 minutes on him, he plodded around happily and made her work incredibly hard! As soon as I got in he knew he had to work properly and went forwards!
 
lol the number of debates ive had with people that try to tell me horses 'can't think like that does my head in! I have one in particualr that tries it on with everyone everyday! He knows exactly when im not paying attention and so can do something naughty, but the best bit is watching him with other people... First thing he does, before theyve even got the head collar on is test them ot see whether hes got to be good or not! lol
 
I think it depends on the horse. Me and my mum had one, and OMG was he a little shite!!!! He didn't agree with hacking/schooling/lessons but would normally go and win BSJA or BE. He had it all sussed. Or at least he thought he did until he got killed in a RTA when he was being a naught boy.
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Definatelly! A horse I was schooling was 'terrified' of cows unless a feed or a treat was shoved in front of her face. She'd figured out that her owners would cut short her hack and take her home if they met a field full of cows. Lazy minx! Her fear went away pretty suddenly one day after a good telling off mind!

My NF also tries it on when in lunging/ long reining him. He's also very lazy so as soon as he is warmed up and has to do some real work he starts squeeling his head off trying to convince whoever is listening that im torturing him!!
 
I don't think horses try it on at all. But if they don't have confidence in someone as a leader who can keep them safe in an emergency then they are going to make the decisions, not you. And when they make the decision and take charge then you are going to be on the back foot.

They are so tuned into body language that we can just as easily teach them the wrong thing as the right thing, without even realising it.

This is only my opinion, and believe me I get it wrong far more times than I get it right. But I have never thought my horse was "trying it on", I just figured that somehow I wasn't explaining exactly what it was that I wanted. And when I get it right, surprise surprise, so do they. Was a long and tough lesson to learn, and I'm still learning. Every day...
 
Definitely! The 28 yo I ride is always trying it on! She pretends to spook at things all the time but you know she's pnly messing as other days she will walk past without a second look but if she decides I'm not paying enough attention she'll bounce away from it snorting and rolling her eyes. It's really quite funny.
 
Yes they do, was very obvious at the weekend when one of our liveries was having a lesson, first instructor rode and horse was fine, then livery rode and horse didn't want to leave the gate and kept turning its bum round!!
 
Yes they do! I went for a hack on my boy on Sunday. It was like riding with the handbrake on. He just would not go forward, quite happy to be a plod. I was really starting to think there was something wrong with him.

Got home, turned him out and quess what, airs above the ground, bucking squealing and farting all round the field. Little monster.
 
ooooh yes. My mare has a whole book of evasions when asked to work correctly. Trick one, head up and crawl. Trick two, go behind the bit and low also right on the forehand, then charge. There are about five others that are harder to explain. She doesn't ever bother with me any more but will with other people who don't/can't stop her.

One of the Shetlands when being groomed looked very carefully, moved backwards and gently placed a front hoof on my mums foot. She then leaned all her weight on it and kept glancing at the hoof and my mum. Thing is my mum didn't notice until she tried to walk away as she had steel toe caps on (pony is tiny). She then just pushed pony off and wondered away. Pony looked most put out. I watched all this PMSL for Kings stable
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OMG do they ever! I think it is a natural thing for them to constantly try and be near the top of the pecking order especially with youngsters who will challenge your authority same as they do to their herd mates. I don't think it's based on intelligence level but it pays to treat them as you would a small child ie make everything very black or white for them.
 
Yes they do, but I also think that if a rider is hesitant or doesn't make it clear what they are asking it can appear to some people that they are 'trying it on' because they lack confidence.

However my old Welsh D new every trick and evasion in the book and when he was being ridden by an inexperienced sharer he literally refused to move off the yard, until I came up and told him to 'walk on' ! Then in the school he would just do what he felt like and make all the decisions because he knew he could.
 
I 100% believe they do! My cob is impecably behaved for people who she knows won't stand for any messing but can be a nightmare whilst she is "testing out" new people.

Up until last year I had a sharer for her, and I was tacking the other mare up and could hear a commotion next door- looked over the wall and my poor sharer was trying to get Tess's headcollar on whilst Tess was spinning round like a dog chasing its tail! I opened the stable door Tess saw me and stood stock still while my sharer put the headcollar on!

Whilst on a hack when my sharer was relatively new, we were on a very quiet perfectly straight and open single track lane with no traffic about and absolutely nothing spooky, we were chattin away, when Tess just veered off sideways (still in walk) went through all the bushes and into a ditch and just stood there as if to say "lets see how you get me out of that one!". She soon learnt that my sharer was infact a reasonably good rider and that she was confident around her and wouldn't stand for any naughtyness and after about 2 or 3 weeks, Tess returned to her usual very well behaved self!

But I think its all part of her character that she likes to test people out every now and again and is one of the many reasons I love her to bits!!!
 
They definately do!!! With a new horse I think there is a window of about two weeks when they seem too shocked by the changes in owner/yard and are usually well behaved and then comes the test! They seem to try boundaries to see what happens and if they find 'a soft spot' they will exploit it!
 
Without a doubt. I'm not able to do my mare on my own at the mo (had some stuff done on Monday and I'm on strict rest order!) DH took my up on Tuesday eve to see her and for him to do her and she was a total cow-bag. She wouldn't stand still for her rugs, she span and span, gave him the evil eye and basically took the pi$$ at every availabler opportunity. He was quite nervous and she knew it. Wednesday morning he took a more assertive attitude, took no crap from her and she's been as good as gold since. I think that horses are far more intelligent than we give them credit for!!
 
Definately! My mare spent 2 hours today playing in the field with me as one of the grooms had turned her out without her headcollar on. She was clearly having a great time letting me walk up to her before cantering off. I think the funniest thing was the way she walked to the muddiest part of the field, looked at me and then rolled. Then as soon as I left the field she would run to the gate neighing for me to come back, until I did come back of course, and then the game started all over again. You could tell by the look on her face that she was clearly enjoying this little game she'd invented! lol
 
Yes, my friends Welsh Cob tests her the whole time (hacking out he is a diamond) when she's schooling or lunging. He's very much an I don't want to and you can't make me type of horse, I've also seen him throw a rider he didn't like but he's very gentle with children a a perfect hack for even a nervous or novice person in company..
I think most horses will test a new owner/rider/handler out but I can't remember my friesian ever being very testing... Maybe some breeds are more challenging than others.
 
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I don't think horses try it on at all. But if they don't have confidence in someone as a leader who can keep them safe in an emergency then they are going to make the decisions, not you. And when they make the decision and take charge then you are going to be on the back foot.

They are so tuned into body language that we can just as easily teach them the wrong thing as the right thing, without even realising it.

This is only my opinion, and believe me I get it wrong far more times than I get it right. But I have never thought my horse was "trying it on", I just figured that somehow I wasn't explaining exactly what it was that I wanted. And when I get it right, surprise surprise, so do they. Was a long and tough lesson to learn, and I'm still learning. Every day...

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Spot on!

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