Grrrrrrr! It's neither cute nor funny ........

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Allie5

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To allow my 18 month old gelding to rear on the way to the field!!!!
*deep breath*
I keep my youngster on DIY and have an arrangement with another livery whereby I turn both horses out am and she brings them both in pm. Our weather has been shocking (regularly -15 at night, freezing fog during the day etc) so the boys haven't been getting out as much as I'd like but we make do. I was away at the weekend so other livery did my boy for me. Went to put him out this morning and he behaved like an absolute tit! Even when he was on box rest for 5 weeks he bucked a bit and danced but that was it. This morning he reared, boxed at me and the other horse, threw himself about, bit the other horses rug and tried to drag him about. Once I finally got them in the field I text the other livery to ask if he had behaved like that for her. Conversation goes
Allie5 "Hey N, when did the boys last go out because T was a total tit?"
N " oh they were out on sat and he was rearing and biting C all the way to the field"
Allie5 "Oh lord I'm really sorry he was being an idiot, if you need to use his control halter then do".
( he has one because he is a young event bred horse and can be an idiot from time to time but I work hard on keeping it under control)
N "Oh no it's fine, it was really cute!"

CUTE??? Maybe now when he's 14hh, 400kg and has a girly squeal. Will it still be cute when he's 16.2hh, 900kg and has an attitude problem? Oh Lordy!
I'm really gratefull for her help but I think from now on when there is any chance he will play up I'll handle him myself. I can't take the risk that he learns that's acceptable behaviour!
Just wanted to blow off some steam!
 
Oh I feel your pain! I've stopped inviting friends over to meet my foal. It MAY be cute now, but its NOT going to be cute when she's fully grown and flattening people!
 
Maybe she wasn't that bothered about his behaviour and as it was a one off favour she was trying to make you feel better that he misbehaved for her? It's your horse so if it's misbehaving it's up to you to handle him and not complain when others don't handle him the way you'd want.
 
This is why I like DIY...at my old yard the YO used to turn out for me during the week and i'd do at weekends. Yard had an inner and outer yard area. At weekends my boy started planting himself in the outer yard and we'd have right old argument each weekend about going to the field.

I mentioned it to the YO and they said 'oh yes....we tie him up in the outer yard in the mornings if he doesn't fancy going out just yet'..... i was speachless!!
 
cobgirlie said:
Maybe she wasn't that bothered about his behaviour and as it was a one off favour she was trying to make you feel better that he misbehaved for her? It's your horse so if it's misbehaving it's up to you to handle him and not complain when others don't handle him the way you'd want.
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I said I was gratefull for her help and I'm not complaining about how she handled him. I work very hard at maintaining his behaviour and was mortified that he had given someone else trouble. What I'm complaining about is anyone thinking it's cute and funny when a horse behaves like that. What's cute, funny and ignored when he is a year old could kill someone when he is ten years old.
 
I would say she was trying to make you feel better by saying it was cute, is it its ok he is a baby so i made allowances, rather than he was a bl00dy nightmare and dont ever ask me to do them again/
Have you thought about it in that way, rather than she really was letting him away with muder as it was cute, because in all honesty no one in their right mind really finds a horse on the end of a leadrope dancing on his hindlegs and biting the other horse cute.
 
Allie5 said:
CUTE??? Maybe now when he's 14hh, 400kg and has a girly squeal. Will it still be cute when he's 16.2hh, 900kg and has an attitude problem? Oh Lordy!
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Not very! I have the exact horse you describe in that scenario. He doesn't rear but he does pull away when ever he feels like it as he had no boundaries as a 2yo and was allowed to be a total tit. He is learning to be good now aged nearly six but it has been a long old process! If they're going to get big then they need manners!
 
I do think maybe she just didnt want to make you feel terrible that he had been naughty. maybe she should have chosen her words a bit better!! They do need manners though especially when they are going to be big, but generally only the owner will discipline as its your place, my 24yo tends to get stroppy when he is in more over winter but everyone else lets him get away with barging out of his stable, I make him stand with the door open until i let him out!! Same with our dog she was going to be huge so taken to training and introduced to everything and is now much better behaved than many small dogs!!
 
Don't you think your going a bit OTT by posting it on here? She clearly was trying to make you not feel so bad for the fact he misbehaved. She could have done the opposite and said yeah he was a total idiot, really p*ssed me off. Blimey.
 
I think it was a stupid thing to say and as a friend if he was really being challenging she should have said.

The people that help me with my youngster know to tell me if shes been naughty - even if its something I'm not going to like to hear, because it may be funny now but it sure won't be when she's 16.3 and pure muscle!
 
Omarkiam said:
Don't you think your going a bit OTT by posting it on here? She clearly was trying to make you not feel so bad for the fact he misbehaved. She could have done the opposite and said yeah he was a total idiot, really p*ssed me off. Blimey.
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I have to agree :confused:
 
I am thinking that maybe she might have been a bit shocked, and who knows....a little un-nerved by the whole thing, so saying it was cute is her way of dealing with it, so you don't think she unable to cope with it!
 
No I don't think I'm being OTT posting here. It's an open forum and everybody posts weird and wonderfull things about their life and their horses. If my post offended you so much why bother replying?
To be honest it never even occurred to me that she might have been trying to make me feel better! I just know I have dealt with a lot of people who have "cute" foals that turn into downright dangerous young horses!
 
Blimey! Some people are tetchy this evening.

I can understand your frustration Allie, hopefully you can nip it in the bud now that you're back up there. :)
 
There was a colt foal (he was gelded eventually) at the yard I used to ride at, he liked to rear when being led, and/or try to bite, people thought it was hilarious as he was lickle and cute. Wasn't so funny when he was a strapping 15hh + yearling with teeth ...

This was over 25 years ago, so obviously things haven't changed much!!
 
Jeeeeez


We are all young once!!! It IS cute when you see foals do things like that, although that may not make it okay to do so!!

Why should everything be so ruled and strict, a little bit of humour goes a long way!

Just because it rears when being lead currently, some training and leadwork will correct it well before it reaches its mature height!

So much controversy on something so simple!
 
Nothing wrong with blowing off some steam...perhaps explain to her why this sort of behaviour is so unacceptable in a youngster, even if you feel you are stating the bleedin obvious.
One of my livery clients was dreadful for titbitting my youngsters because of course they would come to her and she liked them to do that. The bit that she missed was the bad habits she was (even though it was unintetional) establishing. Getting her to stop doing it without causing major offence was a skilled excercise in tact, deplomacy and a bit of low cunning. Not bad for an evil YO;)
 
youngsters should be led individually esp in this bad weather! and sorry if he is 14 hh now at 18 months i doubt he will make 16.2. and if he makes 16.2 and 900 kgs i guess he will be too heavy to event and make the times. sorry but youngsters will blow occaisionally and snow/cold is an excellent excuse. if you want the job done well do it yourself.........
 
I would say by 18mths they should have some manners anyway, why wait till he's older and bigger, having said that if I locked my teenager up in his bedroom for days then maybe he would go a little off the wall when let out.;)
 
ofcourseyoucan said:
youngsters should be led individually esp in this bad weather! and sorry if he is 14 hh now at 18 months i doubt he will make 16.2. and if he makes 16.2 and 900 kgs i guess he will be too heavy to event and make the times. sorry but youngsters will blow occaisionally and snow/cold is an excellent excuse. if you want the job done well do it yourself.........
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Agree 100%
 
I stopped finding it cute when an 11hh clydesdale foal punched me in the boob whilst rearing.

I absolutely do NOT find rearing cute. Seen people "play" with rearing and it's like no, not funny.

But from a foal, all I can hear is a line from a book, I think it's follyfoot, about a foal who was "played" with, until it got too big and then no one wanted to know.
They shut it's tail in a stable door and broke it, if it helps anyone recall the book!
 
ofcourseyoucan said:
youngsters should be led individually esp in this bad weather! and sorry if he is 14 hh now at 18 months i doubt he will make 16.2. and if he makes 16.2 and 900 kgs i guess he will be too heavy to event and make the times. sorry but youngsters will blow occaisionally and snow/cold is an excellent excuse. if you want the job done well do it yourself.........
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I was making a point about when he is fully grown it won't be cute. He is expected to make 15.2hh and as a British Warmblood from Fleetwater Opposition lines I don't think he will struggle with times thanks.
I said in my original post I do take responsibility for his training and I work damm hard at it. I don't always lead him on his own because I don't see any need to, I expect good manners from him and yes a young horse is allowed a blow out from time to time. But NOT while being led. I would not allow an older horse to do it so why my immpressionable youngster? The point I'm trying to make which people seem to be missing/ignoring is that it is not amusing for a horse of any age to mess about like that while being led. I would never have asked my friend to handle him if I thought there would be the slightest problem, nor will I ask her to do
so again. I won't put anyone at risk for my sake
 
If you exaggerate about parts of your post how are we to know & why should we take the rest of what you say seriously? My initial reaction was the same as ofcourseyoucan's, the difference was I thought "numpty" & didn't bother to reply!
 
Nari said:
If you exaggerate about parts of your post how are we to know & why should we take the rest of what you say seriously? My initial reaction was the same as ofcourseyoucan's, the difference was I thought "numpty" & didn't bother to reply!
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so why get involved now? If I'm such a numpty? Just to cause trouble? And what does his ability to make eventing times have to
do with his manners anyway?
 
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Allie5 I can fully understand where you are coming from! I to have a 18mth old 14.2 and somethimes he can be a sod, I work long and hard on him as its his grounding manners that will make him who is is when he is older - i would not let my kids treat me like a tit so why should my horse. Gain respect by giving - anyway mine has decided he wants to escape and go through fences - ive rebuilt and put up elec etc etc etc well a woman said roughly same to me as he was barging at fence . . its so frustrating.. they are quick learners and it can send them back wards in their training. She may not have ment it literally but its annoying the same. But I am new on here and some of the replies have taken me aback . . everyone has a right to their own opinion but im sure as horse owners/people we can all see the big picture.:D
 
I posted because your post came across as snappy when someone pointed out that some of what you'd put originally seemed unlikely. And no-one is saying his eventing times would be affected by his manners, the comment on times related to you saying he'd mature at 900kg!
 
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