Emotional horses. Just how much are they capable of?

When you mentioned poo picking it reminded me of a habit some horses have of walking up to you when you are doing it and pooing right by you. We have a couple on the yard who always do that. It's as though they recognise what you are doing and are either showing you that they understand, or they are actually trying to help you out.
 
Wagtail said:
When you mentioned poo picking it reminded me of a habit some horses have of walking up to you when you are doing it and pooing right by you. We have a couple on the yard who always do that. It's as though they recognise what you are doing and are either showing you that they understand, or they are actually trying to help you out.
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mine just comes up to me and poos before wandering off again like 'you can pick that one up too' :p
 
Definitely have a 'connection' with my stallion and my old boy, but more so in my stallion. My old boy is now nearly 20 and we've owned him for nearly 11 years. I think with him it is just time that has built the bond, he gets jealous of the other horses if I make a fuss of them and I KNOW he will always look after me.

With my stallion...it was rather odd. He wasn't for sale when we first went to the stud to purchase a horse for my hubby, but immediately he latched onto me and wouldn't leave me alone. Every time we went to see hubby's horse, there he was. In the end I asked if I could buy him and I was so happy when they said yes. I've known him from not even 2 months old and he is now rising 4. He is quiet, calm and all he did when I first sat on him was turn his head to my feet and look up at me as if to say 'oh, you are up there mum'. He lives with my old boy and he just knows how to be with me. If I need a hug, he is there, and literally wraps his head around me. When we go out for walks in hand every now and then he just turns to me and touches my arm 'are you ok?'.

I'm now pregnant and he is even more gentle around me although he literally has not a BAD bone in his body. Hubby's mare was poorly with colic/choke and to get her to the yard quickly we had to walk through his field. He didn't pay the blindest bit of notice until she went down and we couldn't get her up for love nor money. He walked over, nudged her gently just behind the ears and ushered to her to get up - she did. She was literally giving up the ghost and I am convinced he saved her life. She was accidentally pregnant with his baby at the time. We left them together after that until his son was born, he was in the field for the birth, he was keeping my old boy away from Philly as she was foaling and he even helped her to clean the baby up, and helped to get him to his feet. Once baby arrived we put them in a secure field within sight so he could keep his eye on them. I really think he is a proud dad. :)

To hubby's mare I am very much the 'other woman' and she will come along and plonk herself between us if she thinks I'm getting too much attention!
 
LaurenBay said:
This didn't happen to me, but someone that was at my old yard. We had the police come round to all the local yards. Telling us not to ride alone anymore as there had been a string of rapes. Girls being dragged of their Horses and then assulted. The woman rode out alone (not sure if she had heard the warning or not) a man jumped out the bush and grabbed the Horses reins, he then drug the woman of her Horse and tried to undress her. Horse bit the man and pratically threw him away from his owner. Horse then charged the man. Man run off and the woman re mounted and came home. If it wasn't for her Horse I dread to think what probably would have happened.
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Was it this case?

http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/4629951.EPPING_FOREST__Female_horserider_attacked_by_man/
 
Talking of poo-picking..I couldnt help but laugh the other day..I have just started helping to look after some ponies and the other day I picked up some poo from one of them thatwas tied up...she watched me go all the way to the muck heap with it and still looking at me....promptly did another one!!! i just had to laugh!! cheeky mare!
She is also the one who calls loudest to me in the morning!
I had forgotten how naughty ponies can be...I have mostly been with horses for years now...but the ponies are just wonderful and I just love seeing them in the morning.
 
Not emotional really, but my old boy one morning I found on 3 legs in the stable. I panicked and didn't know what to do so I dragged a straw bale over to him. He rested his leg (one that he couldn't weight bear on) and stood perfectly still until the vet came. Usually he would have freaked at me dragging things around him
The night before he was PTS, I slept in the stable with him, and I was absolutely sobbing in the corner. He just put his head on my head and stood with me. But then I had him PTS because he looked me in the eye and told me it was his time
 
LaurenBay said:
This didn't happen to me, but someone that was at my old yard. We had the police come round to all the local yards. Telling us not to ride alone anymore as there had been a string of rapes. Girls being dragged of their Horses and then assulted. The woman rode out alone (not sure if she had heard the warning or not) a man jumped out the bush and grabbed the Horses reins, he then drug the woman of her Horse and tried to undress her. Horse bit the man and pratically threw him away from his owner. Horse then charged the man. Man run off and the woman re mounted and came home. If it wasn't for her Horse I dread to think what probably would have happened.
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There was a very similar report in the Leicester Mercury a few years ago about an attempted assault on the Great Central way. After warnings of a man trying to pull women riders from there horses, a woman was pulled off her horse and the horse attacked the man enabling the woman to remount and escape.
 
What beautiful stories.
I think you cant beat that bond with your horse, they can be very empathetic and gentle. I think they have a larger array of emotions than some people think, wonderful creatures
 
The other week I was walking round the boys field looking for a lost shoe, my big boy left the herd and walked with me, whilst we was walking there was a loud noise and a light aircraft flew over the field, my boy turned his head towards me and circled me,keeping me close the his shoulder until the plane had gone, as soon as it had he let me out and carried on walking beside me ( that's the best I can describe it :)
It was like he was protecting me :)
 
My lad also showed not long ago his feeling about our vet. Fany was having her yearly vacs. I said to our vet to give Captain one of his favourite ginger biscuits because the vet would be sedating him in the oct. half term. Called Cappy over and he came, looked the vet up and down, turned his nose up at the biscuit and walked to the other side of the stable. My vet said "I don't think he likes me!" He refused to come back until the vet had gone, then came and ate the biscuit from where it had been left on his gate. A horse clearly showing emotion, he hates the vet!
FDc
 
i've known a few horses with a real conscience.
my first horse, Queenie, was a big IDxTB mare, who i evented and hunted, she had plenty about her. my mother borrowed her once for a ride with her friends to the pub. mum hadn't ridden for years and i had my doubts... sure enough, her friends got very drunk at the pub and decided to come home at a flat out gallop down the old railway line. mum tried to hold Q back but she got more and more excited, so mum decided to let her canter slowly in pursuit... of course, the moment she gave her her head Q took off after them. mum totally lost her balance and swears she was holding on with both hands to the back of the saddle to try to stay on, having given up on the reins completely... at which point Q realised she was in trouble and slowed right down and carefully brought her home. they arrived about 20 mins after the others, the mare white from head to foot with sweat, but with mum still in the plate...
tbh i am still amazed that Q didn't just buck off her useless rider and give in to herd instinct, as most horses would have...!
more typically:
i used to look after an RDA pony who was utterly saintly with the children, no matter how difficult they were, but actually quite fun and lively to ride when he realised you could cope. he changed his behaviour depending on the competence of the rider.
 
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