Does your horse have a strange neigh...?

Hoof_Prints

Hoof_Prints

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Weird thread title, but my horses seem to have strange neighs. I have one pony who has a perfect neigh, she should be recorded for the fake neighs in films so she is my comparison pony. I have one gelding who just does a soft "huuhuhhhhuhhh" most of the time (or failing that, a shrill girly whinny that's embarrassing), one who sounds really goofy and does a yuh-yuyuhuh-yuh, another who's neigh is so deep she is probably picked up on the Richter scale, one that seems to do perfect scales up and down, and then there's our latest one who sounds like something from Jurassic park.. honestly it scares people.

Is this normal or do I just have weird horses? I might have to record them!
 
Your descriptions are hilarious! :D :D

My pony has a textbook, proper trumpeting neigh. It's quite high, and very very loud! The bigger mare has a much deeper, hoarser neigh, and the companion pony mare makes a sort of whuffling nickering sound; not sure I've ever heard her properly neigh.
 
Poor old Bob the notacob used to have a very squeaky neigh but was mocked unmercifully for it. They even used to call him Flipper after that squeaky dolphin. He clearly took elocution lessons and now sounds like a cross between Elvis and someone starting a chainsaw. As for volume, out hacking ,if one of his field "subjects" is within half a mile of "the king" ,he shouts the place down .The only time he reduces the volume is if I am hacking in the dark ,when it reduces to a token whisper so as not to attract the lions.
 
Boghoss sounds like a five year old girl shrieking which considering his size is pathetic! Then immediately looks around as though it wasn't him.
 
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Jay had a whole vocabulary of neighs. He has an up and down the scales one when I go out to feed, I guess that is a sort of welcome.

He has a shrill, extremely loud one if I try to have a lay in, sort of "Get your sorry a$$ out of bed and come out."

He has a shorter, still quite powerful, mid tone one when he has been left in the lorry when I walk the course on "Thank goodness you are back."

He has a calling to his girlfriend one, loud and low pitch.

Most suspiciously of all, if I come home he greets me, and it is an ominous low pitch, slow whinney. On first appearance it is welcoming, but TBH there seems to be some emotion to it, and if you go near while it is happening he can be nippy. He will follow me up the driveway doing the low, slow whinney, I am not sure if he is a bit cross when he does it, although if you recorded it you would think it was nice, it is not!
 
Hunky WB Caspar sounds like a little girl, and big rangy sweet TB Reg sounds like a fog horn :) Odd that neither of mine are normal....................
 
My mare has a bass neigh. It's huggable. The sort of neigh that if it were a laugh, you couldn't help but laugh along. I love it! Most of her noises sound like versions of laughs.

I know a gelding who squinnies. A cross between a squeal and whinny but that's not his only noise. He emits a whole cacophony of things verging on frog screams :D
 
I don't think ours are strange but they're very distinctive, I could definitely pick my mare out of a crowd with here whinny. She's got a deep, husky whinny, sounds like she's been smoking 60 a day, while the gelding sounds like a little girl :p
 
2 of mine are fairly normal, my other mostly just makes the 'huuhhuhuuhuh' noise at meal times but if he's calling to other horses he has a very deep neigh, making him sound rather impressive, and if he's calling to me it's a high pitched wavering scream sort of thing, making him sound like a scared mummy's boy!
 
I've got one here with a very odd voice. He was hobdayed years ago, so shouldn't have a voice at all, but he managed to hang on to it. He makes a weird roaring noise, which the other horses find very confusing!
 
Tiger has an ear bleeding neigh, it's horrendous! He almost sneaks up to you, puts his nose to your ear and shrieks, it's truly frightening!

My old lad had been hobdayed and just used to vibrate noisily. Everyone used to think there was something terribly wrong with him!
 
Hoof_Prints said:
I have one gelding who just does a soft "huuhuhhhhuhhh" most of the time (or failing that, a shrill girly whinny that's embarrassing),
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This^ and coming from a big, stonky, full of attitude ISH it's hilarious. Definitely matches his wussy-pants character!
 
The two 'big ones' on the private yard I'm on have proper thundering neighs that make me jump! The Welsh C gelding has quite a girly neigh, but has a lovely low grumble neigh when he knows it's dinner time. As for my boy - he's actually pretty quiet, and I don't think in the year I've had him, have I heard him properly neigh! He grumbles a bit, and squeals when excited, but when it's dinner time he just stands and stares in silence.
 
My daughters little Welsh pony has the most ear-splitting, blood-curdling neigh I have ever heard! She rarely neighs apart from when she's in season, when it never seems to stop!! It drags on forever and sounds like a chipmunk on helium! My mare has some odd neighs! Yesterday, we walked up to a blue barrel we were about to jump and she sort of nuzzled it and let out a half neigh, half squeal with a huhuhuhhh at the end of it. My instructor nearly fell over laughing. It was as if she was declaring her undying love for this blue barrel! A week ago she wouldn't go near it.
 
My mare has a really high-pitched and hysterical sounding neigh..she's fond of neighing in your ear, when you're on the phone, and when you're hacking out. Her whole body shakes with the force of it.
My old boy was less vocal but when he did neigh, it was much deeper and sounded annoyed all the time!
 
Millie sounds like an opera singer, it's loud, proud and very tuneful.
Kira is a bit more squawky, poor lamb. Love the descriptions above :)
 
I can tell all my horses neighs/voices apart, just like all dogs barks they are different. I have two that I would say standard neighs but my little traditional has a squeal rather then a neigh its a real WEE Wee Wee, when he talks. He sounds like your annoying younger brother.......
 
I'm really enjoying this thread, they're such individuals aren't they?!

My Basil has a lovely soft whinny and my big husky cob gelding of uncertain (but possibly Welsh or Irish) origin has a right girly little whinny. If you had your back to him and just heard his whinny you would expect to see a ickle spotty Falabella wearing a princess crown and frilly tutu when you turned around
 
Damnation said:
In nearly 6 years I have never heard Buffy neigh properly.

She does the wickering "huhuhuuhuhuhhuuhhh" at tea time but thats it..
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I'd honestly forgotten that some horses don't speak much. My current mare starts the minute I reach the yard (before I've got out of the car!), chats with me much of the time I'm there and doesn't stop until I'm halfway down the drive. It's not all whinnying. She chatters along using a variety of whickers - fortunately all of it is in her big bass tone, so not grating at all :D

The number of gelded castratos here seems to show a common link between gelding and high voices, as with humans!
 
My gelding used to be very vocal, with a "proper" neigh.
Now he tends to start it, then seems to get distracted, snorts and makes a weird squeaking noise. Will occasionally get the proper neigh, either when hacking solo and he can hear someone in the distance, or when we're in the arena and his buddies are being turned out.

When we're out at events he'll "huhuhuuhuhuhhuuhhh" at horses.
 
Orca said:
I'd honestly forgotten that some horses don't speak much. My current mare starts the minute I reach the yard (before I've got out of the car!), chats with me much of the time I'm there and doesn't stop until I'm halfway down the drive. It's not all whinnying. She chatters along using a variety of whickers - fortunately all of it is in her big bass tone, so not grating at all :D

The number of gelded castratos here seems to show a common link between gelding and high voices, as with humans!
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I have to say I just have never had a "gobby" or "chatty horse! Even my last mare wasn't vocal even when you took all her field friends away and she was out on her own.. she just looked around and then started eating!

The stallion I used to work with always "chatted" but then had the loudest, deep, booming whinny I have ever known!
 
I've heard Moo neigh once I think and it shocked me because she is so quiet all the time I do get a little growling cough like sound when She sees I'm brining dinner and gets excited but that's about it. I would love if she was more vocal but she isn't a very expressive lady and keeps to herself a lot but I've only had her 9 months so still not fully out of her shell.
 
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