Is your horse scared of...

[only_me]

mini horses and ponies?

Merlin(16.2) finds shetlands (10hh app. ) very scary as ovbiously no horse can be as small as that

I had to pass 4

on way to show ring today - and we had to get a lead from another "normal" sized horse as he stood frozen in shock/terror (he is normally hard to get going anyways!!) It took several attempts to get him to pass 80% normally - he still wasnt sure about the shetland on the end which kept making threatening noises at merlin (it was a stallion i found out) - merlin appeared to be feeling threatned

And then in the show ring, there were minature horses being shown in a ajoining ring - he kept one ear on them and one ear on the judges in the middle

Are your horses scared of mini horses?

 

[ForeverBroke_]

Yep! Theres a tiny 8hh falabella at the farm atm, and he's very scary

 

[LadyRascasse]

yep my geldind petrified of shetties and smaller my mare on the other hand is in love with the miniture colt we have on the yard, the tart

 

[milliepops]

Yes! Went for a lesson on Monday and almost didn't make it up to my trainer's school because there was a small pony next to a field gate that we had to go past.

What a wimp.

She tends to get over phobias when she figures out she can chase things - e.g. sheep, donkeys, geese...

So perhaps I need to find someone with a small pony that needs more exercise!

 

[Abbeygale]

Hmmm - I don't think I have come across any really ickle neddies with my girl - but she is absolutely terrified of sheep? Obviously I can see why, they are quite scary animals....

 

[clairefeekerry1]

yes. my mare is about 14.3h and had a very embarrising situation at a show . a lovely little mini shet was in my class and she continued to spook and snort at it the whole way thru the class. very awkward!!

 

[Slinkyunicorn]

No - we have a mini shetland here and my cob loves her

(just a smaller hairier version of her!!

) and my boy is fascinated by her!! Want to get a piccy of the big grey lump and her touching noses - very sweet!!

 

[china]

yes funnily enough. but he is also scared of sheep so maybe he sees a comparison!!

 

[toomanyhorses26]

yep mine is an ex racer and foundour two evil welsh sec a sooo scary hen he first arrived but they are mean and even now have the upper hand

 

[k1963]

Mine wasn't - I don't thionk he was afraid of anything ( he believed that vehicles would stop & admire him , rather than hit him ! )

Sorry , a bit off - topic , but your post made me smile as horses seem prone to allsorts of weird phobias

Frustrating for you though

 

[f_s_]

Initially, the big mare was!!! Now they all except him!!

Did take him to a show where, half the horses were terrified and the others all were doey eyed over him!!!

I don't blame them being scared of sheep though!! As I am too!!!

Blasted cotton wool on legs!!!

 

[only_me]

oh no, i found it funny, as it is just SO stupid

Like out hacking one day, and came across a small field full of sheep and donkeys (which he LOVES - he cant wait to get to donkeys on one of our hacks

) and there was a little grey thelwell pony in there as well, little thing was soo pleased to see company that it cantered over, merlin didnt see it until 10 feet away- this little monster coming for him - so he was completly terrified at this "thing" and tried to take off down the road!! I was in hysterics, probably not good for his male ego

This is the horse that has hacked up and down a dual carriageway when he was 4/5

 

[Ezme]

Mag adores shetlands, falls in love with them on sight. Apperently he lived with one as a baby/

Barney on the other hand was terrified! When I shire/ID/TB grows a hand you sure know about it!

 

[k1963]

[ QUOTE ]
oh no, i found it funny, as it is just SO stupid

Like out hacking one day, and came across a small field full of sheep and donkeys (which he LOVES - he cant wait to get to donkeys on one of our hacks

) and there was a little grey thelwell pony in there as well, little thing was soo pleased to see company that it cantered over, merlin didnt see it until 10 feet away- this little monster coming for him - so he was completly terrified at this "thing" and tried to take off down the road!! I was in hysterics, probably not good for his male ego

This is the horse that has hacked up and down a dual carriageway when he was 4/5

[/ QUOTE ]

Glad you took my remarks as I intended them - thought I might be in trouble

 

[OneInAMillion]

yes
i have a 15hh and he will not go near any small pony yet a dog or cat he loves

 

[Ali2]

Not scared but unable to believe that such a thing could exist! We went CR SJ at the end of last year and there was a pony that must've been about 11hh, my boy, while not being actually scared, was horrified at it!

 

[CastleMouse]

Not really... Castle (12.2hh) was mini in comparison to Ali (16.1hh)

 

[Lolo]

My horse isn't that great with anything under 14.2! Until they're about 13.2 he beats them up (not badly, just bites their bottoms), and then once they're smaller than tht he is quite scraed. However, he is horrendous- he has a real vendetta about little cobs, and coloured horses. Silly old man- must be his age? Lol!

When we went to the Norfolk Show last year he had to walk past the donkeys, at which point he nearly ollapsed, especially when they called to him! Then when he was being inspected, all the heavy horses in they're 'armoury' (dunno the real name!) lined up nearby and jangled away merrily. By the time the team got in the ring, he was a jibbering wreck!

 

[brighteyes]

Terrified. And if they also have longer ears than your regular pony...

 

[YorksG]

The old Appy liked little ponies, but hated donkeys with a passion! One walked on the road by her field (the field was down a four foot drop thankfully) and she went bonkers! Had she been able to get at it I think she would have done it some serious harm.

 

[Starbucks]

Yep - and donky's

 

[Lobelia_Overhill]

Don seems to be! When I rode the other day, I didn't realise a lesson was starting at 3.30 (they usually start at 4!) and the kids came into the school on their ponies, Don's eyes came out on stalks, and as I was leading him out of the door (he had to walk passed them) he acted like he thought they were going to jump up and eat him!

what a gobshite!

 

[Enfys]

Um No, absolutely not scared of them

The appy just likes to try to kill them.

My QH stallion and the yearling quite like my mini, the mares flatten their ears and make "Go AWAY, or else..." faces, mind, they do that to the goat and the dogs too, so I conclude that they actually don't like smallish creatures anyway. I did have one big appy that absolutely adored the mini and they lived happily together.

 

[ElliePippa]

No, pippa lives with them. However if she sees one on a hack, she'll flirt outrageously with them

 

[Festive_Felicitations]

Beau is terrfied of donkeys! I took him to a friends for a 'holiday' and she has donkeys next door. He had to run and hide behind the trailer, didnt really eat for 4 days and lost about 10kg. If we meet any about riding we get away as fast as I will let him (in hand gallop / extended trot...).

He is also terrified of anything under 10hh (he is 16.3). If they are really hairy or weaing a rug it is even worse!

The only exception is one day XC schooling, when I came round a corner and Beau locked onto the next fence and a kid on a 9/10 hh pony suddenly walked in front and then stopped...we came so close to jumping over his back! The stupid little boy didn't seem to notice but his father and I were having heart attacks! Sorry off topic..

He is also terrified of orange cones, a single flower on a stalk, iguanas, pieces of bark, rocks and some road signs (there is no pattern to which ones).

 

[checkmate1]

No! My horse LOVES shetties!!!!!! WHen she unbacked I showed her in coloured classes inhand, I'd always try and get behind a shetty becuase she would arch her neck, prance and generally do the sort of thing they are meant to to in a show ring!

 

[RachelB]

We have a tiny fluffy black Shetland next door to work - have to ride past it to get to the road and out hacking - and half of the horses HATE him! We've nick-named him "the Terrorist" as some of the liveries have had rather an amusing time trying to persuade their horses to walk past

Maiden... well, she is 99.9% bombproof but she does hate (hate hate hate) sheep so I imagine a sheep-sized fluffy Shetland would be a tad scary for her. We borrowed a small grey Shettie for a week a while back and she was a bit suspicious but soon got over it. If we met one out hacking I imagine there would be a bit of snorting but she'd go past anyway!

 

[Coffee_Bean]

Not usually but I just went into the school today and the shetland in the next field came cantering over to greet us and B nearly had a heart attack as she thought the field was empty

 

[Chumsmum]

When I moved my mini Shets to a new yard one of the horses literally fell over with surprise when he saw them (he was okay)

I usually find that once they get over their initial shock they all love them, especially Norman, all the girls want to mother him

My 14hh pony finds them rubbish for neck scratches though - too small - so he just rubs his face on their back when he gets an itch