starryeyed
Well-Known Member
These stories are really lovely, aren't horses incredible?!! Amazing how they are able to sense when people are up to no good / have bad intentions as well.
When I was younger, I was out on my pony and coming home down some narrow twisty lanes - it had suddenly got really windy so I was trying to get back as soon as I could. Met a few cars, got to the side / nearest layby, let them pass as usual. Carried on going, when suddenly without any warning, my perfectly happy pony threw his head up, and the only way I can think of to describe it is him 'bolting' backwards - he didn't spin, just ran backwards at such a speed and threw us into the hedgerow! - and he wasn't one to run backwards or spook, ever!
Took me completely by surprise, and straight after that, a car shot round the corner really fast on the wrong side of the lane - and would have hit us if he hadn't moved like he did. It had been so windy & the engine had been so quiet I hadn't heard it coming, but he obviously had and was thinking "well if she's not going to get me out the way then I'd better do something about it!" Clever little man.
Dottie's story reminded me of something he did too - not saving me but saving another horse. It was when we were keeping ours at livery, I was up there in the evening doing the stables / feeds etc before getting them in, when he came galloping up from the bottom fields neighing his head off, throwing his head up and down and just generally getting my attention any way he could. Now he's very attention seeking but there was something about the way he was doing it that made me realise something wasn't right, so I went into the field and he grabbed my coat and started pulling me down the fields! I made him get off thinking he was being cheeky (not unusual) but he kept nudging me and pushing me down the fields, would not let me turn back. I finally just went with it and he kept trotting alongside me, nudging me if i slowed, right down until we'd got to the stream at the bottom of the field, out of sight from the yard - and he dragged me over to the deep fenced off bit at the end, turns out the elderly horse had slipped through the tape and fallen upside down into the ditch and was stuck there. If it wasnt for him, nobody would have known until the next day.
My loan horse has previously "protected" me from everyone else in the field while I've been leading her, which isn't always a great thing as it turns into complete chaos.
I've always said that my "main" horse would sacrifice me to save himself at any given opportunity (and has done many-a-time), but he recently really surprised me! Got in a bit of an awkward situation where I was trying to get him through the gate but somehow ended up getting run into, knocked to the floor and trampled/rolled over by our usually polite-and-calm other horse. It all happened very fast so not a very clear story to tell, but whilst I was falling/tangled between this horses legs, I had my arms over my head (whilst still holding my boys leadrope) to try and protect it and saw my lad lunge aggressively at the other horse and then immediately after he pulled me back fast, at an angle to get me out from under the horse & out of harms way. Very, very grateful to him, as I was very battered/dazed and couldn't have moved myself that fast.
When I was younger, I was out on my pony and coming home down some narrow twisty lanes - it had suddenly got really windy so I was trying to get back as soon as I could. Met a few cars, got to the side / nearest layby, let them pass as usual. Carried on going, when suddenly without any warning, my perfectly happy pony threw his head up, and the only way I can think of to describe it is him 'bolting' backwards - he didn't spin, just ran backwards at such a speed and threw us into the hedgerow! - and he wasn't one to run backwards or spook, ever!
Took me completely by surprise, and straight after that, a car shot round the corner really fast on the wrong side of the lane - and would have hit us if he hadn't moved like he did. It had been so windy & the engine had been so quiet I hadn't heard it coming, but he obviously had and was thinking "well if she's not going to get me out the way then I'd better do something about it!" Clever little man.
Dottie's story reminded me of something he did too - not saving me but saving another horse. It was when we were keeping ours at livery, I was up there in the evening doing the stables / feeds etc before getting them in, when he came galloping up from the bottom fields neighing his head off, throwing his head up and down and just generally getting my attention any way he could. Now he's very attention seeking but there was something about the way he was doing it that made me realise something wasn't right, so I went into the field and he grabbed my coat and started pulling me down the fields! I made him get off thinking he was being cheeky (not unusual) but he kept nudging me and pushing me down the fields, would not let me turn back. I finally just went with it and he kept trotting alongside me, nudging me if i slowed, right down until we'd got to the stream at the bottom of the field, out of sight from the yard - and he dragged me over to the deep fenced off bit at the end, turns out the elderly horse had slipped through the tape and fallen upside down into the ditch and was stuck there. If it wasnt for him, nobody would have known until the next day.
My loan horse has previously "protected" me from everyone else in the field while I've been leading her, which isn't always a great thing as it turns into complete chaos.
I've always said that my "main" horse would sacrifice me to save himself at any given opportunity (and has done many-a-time), but he recently really surprised me! Got in a bit of an awkward situation where I was trying to get him through the gate but somehow ended up getting run into, knocked to the floor and trampled/rolled over by our usually polite-and-calm other horse. It all happened very fast so not a very clear story to tell, but whilst I was falling/tangled between this horses legs, I had my arms over my head (whilst still holding my boys leadrope) to try and protect it and saw my lad lunge aggressively at the other horse and then immediately after he pulled me back fast, at an angle to get me out from under the horse & out of harms way. Very, very grateful to him, as I was very battered/dazed and couldn't have moved myself that fast.
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). If the horse gave in and carried on walking the two of them would have been flattened to death within seconds!