Do you consider your horse to be well behaved?

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EmmaJaneWilliams

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Following from an earlier post - just wondered how many people consider their horses to be well behaved. Mine are by no means perfect but they can lead, walk, trot and stand in hand on command, tie up quietly, not bargy or pushy. When I am away anyone on the yard is happy to look after them as quote "they are well mannered, so no trouble" - Not such a pretty picture in the dressage arena thou...!!
 
no.. but were working on it, he has his good and bad days. good days we get compliments, bad days people run for cover :s :)
 
I consider all my horses to be well behaved...others do not agree! :( :p
In all fairness they are well behaved for me and I have witnessed the bad behaviour with others so we are all correct in our thinking! Why all my horses seem totally incapable of behaving for others I do not know, I can only assume its something to do with the way I handle them/treat them, if I knew how to stop doing whatever it is, I would as it gets a bit wearing having horses no one else wants to touch!
 
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Yes ours are well behaved, can't stand rude horses, so all are good in hand, learn to stand still under saddle (can't be doing with horses that fidget a t junctions etc, or when mounting) We have had problem when other people have 'done' them for a few days together, if they have allowed bad behaviour to creep in, such as not having them stand still with the stable door open, so they think it is ok to walk out when they please, we then have to re-establish the rules. We can't always guarantee such good behaviour on the roads, but that is mainly due to spookiesness on the part of the Appy, as she does have good manners under saddle as well.
 
my boy (bless him) bites kicks, throws the odd buck, rears if you take him out on his own, not bargy but very grumpy in stable, hides with butt towards you if he sees his tack (not an option now) and i love him totally. people wonder why i get nervous sometimes- and did i mention he is very spooky?
he only has a few days left due to arthritis (vet instructions) but i woldnt change him for the world. i sneak in the odd cuddle when he is not expecting it lol x
friends horses are a complete dawddle x
each to their own i say
 
Yes, both of mine are very well mannered. I had to have someone looking after Charlie when i had a serious car crash and he was a perfect gentleman. Una is exactly the same, she went through a bargey phase for all of 2 days!! We soon put a stop to that. She has the most wonderful ground manners and even better ridden. She had to spend some time at the vets recently and they actually commented to me on her wonderful behaviour and that they couldnt believe she was only 4, which is always lovely to hear :D
 
My mare I consider well behaved, but a total chancer. I could have her standing tied anywhere, could let small children climb about her with out fear of mauling, trampling etc. It took her a while to learn to stand to be mounted, but got it in the end. She could be rude while being schooled, but for the most part very well mannered hacking/showing etc. However, she always always always looked for weakness, even if she thought she had the smallest chance...ie, she was at my RI's for a bit of boot camp. The first morning she came out of the stable and bowled her over barging out. She had never ever done that to me and I'm a lot smaller (shorter). She took a stable door down before. And she would frequently jump from one paddock to the next on a whim. Liked to test eleccy fences. So maybe only half well behaved! :/ LOL

I have a gelding on loan. He's super -- but has his scary moments when get gets animated. But otherwise a star. But I wouldn't put it past him to take the mick either.
 
I cannot stand bad manners, so yes I think my horses are well behaved! Compared to some of the other horses on the yard who drag their owners around and are bargy etc most definately. G will follow you on a long leadrope and it won't occur to her to dive for the nearest grass/haynet/pocket. Milly's pretty good, but I only get her today so plenty of time!
 
I am pleased to say that yes, mine is well behaved and can be handled by anyone.
She can get a little uptight if all the horses in the fields around her are being brought in but once you get to her, she clips up and leads in beautifully.
She is the same under saddle and in 2 years has given me no trouble.

Her only downfall? She doesn't tie up without fidgeting, which although not out and out naughty, does grate on me. I get over this by cross tying her in the wash bay and she's getting better.
 
I wish i could say both of my horses were well behaved but I have two extremes! One of my mares is a totally sweetie, never puts a foot out of line, anyone can look after her and she always behaves! :) My other mare is however a little monkey! She bites and kicks, is a nightmare to turnout as she barges and then tries to gallop off, just generally quite naughty. Have tried to correct her rude behavior but she is just one of those mares who is stuck in her ways!!
 
On the ground - yes.
Undersaddle - hmmmmm

She's a bit of a 'Get on with it' cob, so resents standing still at anytime whilst out hacking. and hey, why trot when you can canter, and why bother with canter in the first place :D

But she makes up for it by being rock solid in traffic. However, she's another who is always looking for an opening. Give her an inch, and she'll take many, many miles!
 
I find Shadow can be quite typically welsh!!

Generally, he is very well mannered....BUT...he can be bolshy and use his size & strength against you. Oh and you see him at his worst with the farriers apprentice, I think he enjoys testing them as he doesn't do it with the farrier :o
 
She is very well behaved in some situations (great to catch, good loading, good with farrier and vet and usually ok under saddle). However she has some bad habits which are mainly food related! She likes to snatch at the grass verges when being led down to the field and she can be a bit of a door kicker but only when I'm around and might provide food. When I'm not there she is apparently as quiet as a lamb. Today she stole a haynet out of someone's wheelbarrow as I was leading her past it! I freely admit I only have myself to blame for most of her bad behaviour.
 
yup - my horse is an absolute star. He's very people orientated, think he's figured out that if he makes everyone fall in love with him he will get more treats! It works every time :)
 
roo2012 said:
yup - my horse is an absolute star. He's very people orientated, think he's figured out that if he makes everyone fall in love with him he will get more treats! It works every time :)
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That is the approach that my girly has taken too.
 
My mare is very well behaved in hand and everyone at yard loves her....but to ride she is a different story haha. She is unpredictable and very spooky. I wouldn't change her for the world though. She's with me to the end. :)
 
Dizz is learning to be good :). With the odd reminder, she will stand still to be groomed, rugged, tacked up, feet done, and all with the door partially open :).

She's re-learning to stand still when being mounted and at junctions.... :D
 
Teddi is imaculatly behaved, and has never put a foot wrong.

Snowflake however I would say he has good manners (well they are alot better from when he first arrived)

However he will on occasion rear (usually when doing something new) and will fidget when tied, and will paw the ground when tied if he gets bored, which i tend to ignore.
 
I would say my 3 year old is well mannered, she's respectful of space, stands and waits when asked, never barges, doesn't snatch at grass, happily puts up with kids, pushchairs, dogs, bikes and everything else we encounter on our walks (she's miffed if no one stops to pat her) and seems to know when someone is non horsey and is very patient with them.

The 2 yearlings are a different story though and are still learning their manners!
 
My chap is generally very well behaved. He has a habit of pulling me to a bit of tasty grass when leading, but not very often now. He saves it up for special occasions!! Other than that, he is fab.
 
Yes most definitely, being an ex comp horse he has been trained very well to respect space etc. Whilst he can be excitable on hacks, he is always good to canter in front/behing/alongside and never races. He doesn't tank off and is as good on the ground as ridden - bar the odd nose scratch on me as he reacts to pollen.

Too many people I know have naughty horses because they put up with the naughty behaviour, canter in the same places on hacks, let the horse drag them on the leadrope...
 
I think my three year old is a bit too well behaved........until this evening, when he had a tantrum cos he's in love with a girlie in the next door field. All feathers flying, mini rears, calling frantically..........must admit I absolutley loved it, and just wish hubs had videoed it - a gypsy vanner up to no good, total bliss! sm x
 
Mine is very well behaved, he's so quiet. He is ridiculously well mannered and always has been! My last horse was quite difficult, he was hell when I first got him as a VERY bolshy 3yo. He improved a lot in the time I had him but it took a lot of work and even then he'd occassionally 'test' me and he'd seriously take the piss if someone nervous / novice handled him! I now very much appreciate my quiet horse...!

I do think peoples ideas of manners are different though. I watched a girl the other day at an event trying to wash her horse down, it literally stepped sideways a tiny bit and she'd wack it with her hand and shout at it, which of course then made the horse move about even more - that's weird IMO, I personally don't mind if mine moves about a tiny bit when I'm throwing cold water over him!
 
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