Do I have the stupidest horse in the world? I suspect I know the answer

J

Jesstickle

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BH forgot his canter leads tonight! It took me forever to teach them to him and even now if you ask him to do anything other than canter (tonight I was asking him to trot reasonably sensibly and not like a giraffe) he'll lose the plot. Tonight we couldn't canter left. Last time he forgot he couldn't canter right :rolleyes: He has also totally forgotten how to leg yield because he hasn't done it for a couple of weeks. We did, eventually, remember thankfully.

I do love him, and he is ever so willing, but sometimes I wish we didn't have to go through so many repetitions for him to grasp something, and sometimes I wish he could remember his lessons for more than a couple of days.

Will just have to make sure I ride more often I suppose. Poor BH. He isn't a bright boy love his heart!
 
Must be an ex racehorse........they are wonderful beasts, but so conditioned to not think for themselves - that it is a bit like dealing with a person with repititive amnesia - ala Ground Hog day - I have one who I have been haking out along the same piece of road for almost 10 years now - and still has a fit at the same sign post.........
 
I wish I had that excuse for him! :D

It must be my fault as I rebacked him after he was turned away as a 4yo and no one else has ever really had anything to do with him since. I clearly just don't know how to teach him an effective lesson!

Very frustrating as Nitty already does all the things he still struggles with on the ground, waits for her haynet, moves back from the door when you open it etc. He gets the same lessons and despite the fact she is 3 she is beating him hands down. I just don't seem to get the message through effectively with him. He learns eventually but if you don't constantly reinforce the lesson it is gone within a week! Either he is a bit thick or I am a terrible teacher. Probably the latter I guess :o
 
Ah yes, the oh so slightly dim ex-racehorse! I adore my boy but bright, he is not! Really love trying to get him eventing fit when every hack (same route) is just as terrifying as the first. Not to mention the chunks missing from his head from putting it somewhere no normal horse would. I swear his Hanoverian field mate looks at him in despair most days!
 
Sounds just like my share horse... he's adorable and I love him but oh dear he's thick. Never remembers anything for more than about twenty seconds. When you open his door he looks at you as if to say "hello! Do I need to do anything now?" and you have to move him back one leg at a time. I did 25 mins of reminding him to go off the leg the other day, but if his long rein breaks were too long he forgot what he was supposed to be doing... and he's not a baby (not anymore, that excuse doesn't work now ;)). Dropped on his bonce as a foal, maybe...
Funnily enough, he also has a 3yo stablemate who is outstripping him in every way already, including under saddle, almost, and he's only been under saddle 3 weeks. You've gotta love them... :)
 
I always say BH was dropped on his head as a foal too :D :D

Poor special horse.

I have thought of another one. My field is halved with fencing. One half has been grazed all summer, one hasn't and is longer. At night now they are allowed on the grassy half and every morning I take them their breakfast straight to the grazed half and shut them back in. Nitty sees me coming and immediately trots to the right half of the field for her brekkie. BH just looks at her with a confused face. I get there and put her breakfast down and call him and wave the bucket and he finally works out what is going on and charges over all affronted that she got her breakfast first :rolleyes:

Daft horse
 
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