horse faking injury? over rugging?? lol

NeverSayNever

NeverSayNever

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has anyone had an instance of their horse faking an injury? Id really not have believed it possible although I know some birds fake a broken wing to lead predators away from their chicks.

My Section D is out with access to her stable when she wants as a shelter and ad lb haylage, she is is a HW rug with no neck, looking very well and fully clipped.

Now in the last couple of days it has got a bit colder, but not that much tbh. We have had a few little flurries of snow but it hasnt come to anything. Ive known it to get a lot lot colder and I was confident she was fine.

However this morning I got a terrible fright as I looked out of the window to see her standing looking in from the gate and holding a hind up in the air while shaking quite violently! Of course I rushed straight out, fearing the worst. Close examination showed nothing however and by the time I had hosed off the leg and looked at her, she was weight bearing again and trotted up fine. However the shaking continued. A check over revealed nothing else and she felt warm under her rug and at the base of her ears - warm but not really toastie. Fearing there might be something more going on I thought I just try getting her warmer incase she was just feeling cold. So whacked a liner under the HW rug and put on the hw neck for her. I swear to God inside 10 minutes she was 100% fine and looked at me as if to say, thank you very much thats done the trick! I am now convinced I was duped by a very clever girl who feigned injury to get me out there to look at her as she was cold!!!
 
Lol....our old pony used to go 'lame' to get out of work. We had vet out and everything then after third visit vet went right trot him away from me so we did.....then trot back....with vet shacking a bucket of nuts......pony was completely sound trotting towards the shacking bucket while he was 2ths lame trotting away!!!:D cheaky s.o.d
 
Many will disagree with me, but I don't think horses 'reason' in the way you suggest your mare may have done.

They are creatures of habit and learn by repetition but I have yet to be convinced they are capable of 'faking' something to gain something else.

A more likely answer would be your mare had trodden on herself and was holding the leg for a moment, you just happened to look at her at that moment.
 
AdorableAlice said:
Many will disagree with me, but I don't think horses 'reason' in the way you suggest your mare may have done.

They are creatures of habit and learn by repetition but I have yet to be convinced they are capable of 'faking' something to gain something else.

A more likely answer would be your mare had trodden on herself and was holding the leg for a moment, you just happened to look at her at that moment.
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id honestly have thought the same, Im not one for humanising. However there are birds who feign injury so perhaps it is possible?
 
Not sure if she was exactly faking it but a mare I had on loan used to walk the first few 100 metres of a hack literally hobbling, resulting a number of times in me getting of and leading her home panicking that she was broken. After miraculously becoming sound when we got to the yard we started to think she was having us on so continued to (through gritted teeth) make her walk on while she hobbled out, she would "walk it off" and once she realised she wasn't going home she would walk out nicely.
 
Birds certainly fake injury - I've seen a sparrowhawk take a baby pigeon just outside our window, all of a sudden about 8 adult pigeons flew down and started flapping about on the floor like they had been shot! this went on for 15 mins until it was clear the sparrowhawk wasn't going to be destracted - they just flew off

I also have a parrot (very clever birds!) who pretends his leg is trapped in his cage so you rush over - at which point he moves so you can stroke his neck (which he loves)

Parrots certainly clever enought to rationalise like that - I wouldn't have said pigeons were - until I saw it.
 
Remember when I was learning to ride many moons ago instructor put excercise bandage on RS pony's front leg so that I could see which leg was leading in canter. Soon as bandage was on pony limped. She took it off, pony was fine. Put in on the other leg, pony limped on that leg. Dunno whether she thought she must be lame if wearing a bandage?! Looking back, I guess it could be that the bandages were put on too tight or something tho.
 
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