Does anyone else find their horse a bit of an enigma?

[Jesstickle]

I clipped BH tonight. He hates it. And I don't mean he is his knobberish self and makes a fuss just for the sake of it, I mean he actually is scared/upset by it. There is no reason for him to be upset by it, he's never been clipped by anyone but me and he's never had a hard time of it. So why would it be, that my basically sane, sensible horse, should be so perturbed by it?

Sometimes he'll be enraged for no reason I can fathom and will have a phase of pulling away whenever possible and face pulling. Sometimes he'll appear to really be in the doldrums and will be quiet for days at a time. Sometimes he'll appear reasonably chipper. I really can not work out what makes him tick or what causes these apparent mood swings (and I really don't like to anthropomorphise but that is what they seem like to me ).

Does anyone else ever feel like they don't really 'know' their horse at all sometimes?

Here he is sporting his new do anyway. Because despite his funny ways I do love him really (sorry, only had rubbish phone camera with me!)

 

[Moomin1]

I was wondering myself today why my horse seems to always start going to sleep whilst gripping the tap in her teeth when I am grooming her?!!!

She also has an obsession with wheelbarrows and nearly sits in them and presses her head against the handle and shuts her eyes?!

 

[Shooting Star]

yep, i seem to have ended up with one ... although i have worked out that carrots can be used for praise and apples for punishment - rushes to greet me v's runs to the back of the stable snorting

 

[Montyforever]

Yep, she's all sweet and in my pocket practically one second and the next she's turned around and threatening to kick. One day you will lunge her and she's in a perfect outline and really listening even though she's only in a headcollar the next day she's bucking and pretending to be deaf .. Its frustrating that I can never predict her reaction/mood

 

[Littlelegs]

My 23 year old hates having her ears touched. There is no fear or explanation, has always disliked it. She is well mannered enough to have them clipped & groomed, but is not impressed in the slightest. Know her so well but have never figured out why she hates it. She's always been a one to one horse too, anyone can handle her, she likes people, but will politely move away if they try to pat her. She's also the same with other horses. She isn't a loner & likes the others, but with the exception of the 3 friends she's had at different times in her life, i'm pretty sure she wouldn't care less if the rest of her herd disappeared, as long as her current 'adopted' baby stayed. Again, gets on with anything & jumps out if alone, likes to be in charge of her little herd, just couldn't care less who's in it. Conversely when her old friend died she fretted for weeks.

 

[Puppy]

Ahh, dear Brown Horse is a complex soul. Maybe you should get him a psychologist?!

 

[Jesstickle]

Perhaps I should Puppy.

I've had 'quirky' horses before but I've always been able to pin down (eventually) what it is that they like and don't like. With BH it seems totally random as to whether he is in a good mood or not. I also can't predict the things he'll react badly to, my others I've always known, more or less, what will be a problem and what won't. He takes me totally be surprise quite often. O well, not much that can be done. I just sometimes wish I could work him out so I could make his life a little bit nicer. I'd like to see him properly bouncing with happiness more often.


At least I'm not alone and other people have funny ones too!

 

[Puppy]

I'd say my current horses are quite simple souls, but dear old Star took me many years to get to know and she definitely suffered from mood swings; hence some days she would demand attention as soon as you stepped in the field and others she'd quite happily tell you to s*d off and simply would not be caught.

I know what you mean about wishing you understood more, so you could make them happier. I would say that when I moved to where I am now (and have been for 9 years) Star became far more content, and that's probably because it is such a quiet yard, rather than livery, so there was less to trigger her grumps.