List of things your horse DIDN'T spook at?

[Tinsel Trouble]

on the way out we passed a tractor with sprayer unit, so close we could touch it, not a problem. On the way back said tractor with sprayer unit working in the field and repeatedly going behind a rise on the land and out of view- Terrifying!!

It defies all logic!

Just remembered when my old Welsh D and I came across a young rape field with a bridleway running on the edge of it. One of those exploring hacks. We were cantering along, about 15m away a huge inflatable carrot popped up with a bang and then the Muzak started (I kid you not! proper lift music!) and it was waving in the wind! Not even a flinch! Log on the ground.... shoulders back!!!

 

[luckyoldme]

mine walked past about a hundred sheep then spooked at the last one.
He did the same with a particuarly terrifying daffodil...for some reason the other hundred or so weren t evan worth a glance.
he amused some workmen who thought the digger picking up stones and dropping them was an issue, when in fact it was the one huge rock lying beside them.
his best yet was strolling past a huge tree harvester which was grabbing trees , stripping branches and chopping them up then did a runner when he saw a cat.
He s 24 now .... and not far off his full retirement ( as opposed to his very nearly full time retirement) so i don t see him changing!.......im quite glad he s still got the energy to spook!

 

[LillyBeth]

My loan horse was so busy spooking at a mounting block in the driveway of a yard that I pulled her into to move out of the way of an oncoming dustbin lorry, that she didn't notice the dustbin lorry at all haha.

 

[dogatemysalad]

We ARE the small pony, complete with cart and quite frequently cause issues! I always stop and ask if riders want me to pass them or let them get their horse past us.

That made me laugh. Out riding with several other people, we met a horse and cart. All our horses stopped dead and refused to budge at the sight of a riderless horse -except the horse I was riding. She was the newly backed baby and far too daft to know she was supposed to be worried.

 

[lhotse]

Yesterday's quiet sunday hack was anything but...
Things she didn't spook at:
Cows running around on common
Foal running around in paddock
Three tractors pulling silage trailers
Vintage tractor with harrow, which passed us, then we had to pass it with engine running
Hundreds of sheep being sheared just over the hedge, complete with loud music, lots of people, dogs, loads of bleating and a generator.

Things she decided were going to eat her:
Cow parsley
Campion
A gate
A shetland pony being led
And a cyclist who had got off his bike to have a drink was the devil himself!!

They are strange.

Was speaking this morning to someone who's horse went round Badminton two weeks ago, a multitude of fences and decorations, crowds, tannoys, tents...yet he took umbridge to the new SLOW sign that has been painted on the road at the end of our lane and decided it was at least as big as the Outlander Bank and to be treated as such!!

 

[*sprinkles*]

My ridiculous warmblood has a complete meltdown over jump wings in the corner of the school, bales of hay in the yard and rocks. Yep - rocks. But take him to the beach and he'll happily wander past kites flying, motorised scooters buzzing along and dogs in fluorescent jackets yapping at him. On a recent hack he peed his pants about a hedge. A hedge !! But calmly waited for a crop sprayer complete with flashing lights and moving parts to pass us on a narrow country road. He is a strange creature.

 

[pansymouse]

Just out of interest, I have an old sepia photo of my grandfather taken on Salisbury Plain in 1916 when he was conscripted for WWI in full cavalry uniform on a lovely army horse. Whenever I feel I'm losing my confidence in riding I look at it and tell myself that if he was brave enough to ride a horse in a battle I can do whatever it is I'm worrying about.

The young officers still ride on the Plain

 

[Char0901]

I moved my yearling to another field the other day. Had to walk down a country lane. Young cows either side of us going crazy, not bothered. Cars not slowing down (he's obviously only a baby being led! Maybe that's only obvious to us horsey people!) Anyway, not bothered. Motor bikes, not bothered.
However, the tarmac changing colour obviously warranted a huge jump over it.
And it was hilarious seeing him freak at his own reflection in a car window.
Still, not bad going for a baby!

 

[Madam Min]

The YO OH was driving the tractor round the back field a few weeks ago towing some harrowing contraception, did we spook? No! Leaf blowing on the floor! OMG! Its going to eat me!

 

[RockinRudolph]

I assumed my horse would freak at some telegraph poles that have recently appeared on our hacking route, but nope he didn't bat an eyelid.
He did, however, have a melt down at some horse poo (!) on the path, a pile of grass cuttings, a rock and birds in the trees! I had hoped for a nice summers evening hack, but instead we had a fair bit of sideways dancing, jogging on the spot and general panic!

 

[Captain Bridget]

He won't spook at tractor spraying over the hedge from the school.
The tractor in his own field rolling or harrowing.
Bird scarers right next to him.
People shooting very close by.
Cows cantering across the field to him. In fact he loves cows and will stop to chat with them, except they're scared of him!
He purposefully follows the deer.
He barely noticed when I made a 'ditch' out of bedding bags, and he's previously worn a bedding bag on his head!
He doesn't care a jot about cars, motorbikes, noisy trailers, tractors, lorries.

But the killer purple flowers were everywhere at one point and those big clumps of grass are deadly. Also piles of dirt are evil!

 

[Ceriann]

Mine didnt spook at a motor bike coming toward us on what was a v small lane and we'd only just come round the corner off a junction (so literally round corner and bike was there). She did however run slightly into the hedge when said bike pulled off from junction making a sound not dissimilar to a hair dryer (it was a learner bike!).

She also didnt spook at bikers, joggers, escaped lambs or a 4x4 towing a trailer laden with very noisy construction bits (metals etc) but she found the little scotty walking past the menage at our lesson (on the other side of the road) quite difficult to cope with!

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

It's a standing joke with GrayMo that he doesn't need protected from traffic he just needs protected from the rest of the world! The dozy it would actually put you under a double decker bus if a leaf rustled the wrong way next to him!

 

[Polar Bear9]

A helicopter landing in the field next to us during a lesson = Fine.
Traffic, tractors, diggers, quad bikes, bags in hedges etc= Fine

The only thing she ever gets pent up about is people carrying things. In the 8 years I've had her shes only done anything properly scary twice
First one was a lady carrying a dog- Bombed off down a busy road with my (novice) mum on top
Other one was a woman carrying a small child- Bombed down a busy road with me on board
Shes also not hugely keen on people carrying things on the yard. I think she thinks they're some kind of deformed monster :/

 

[Polar Bear9]

I also had a strange one with my old mare. She was just backed so we decided to take her on her first hack on the roads christmas morning so it would be quiet. Cue a MASSIVE lorry coming past very close, I was terrified, she was fine, not even an ear flick. It got nearly past us and she spooked at a tree on the other side, we nearly ended up under the lorry due to the horse eating terror of a leaf moving :/

 

[Flicker]

Children jumping on a trampoline on the other side of a high hedge.

 

[Hippona]

Has not spooked at....

A helicopter hovering at tree top height.
Train passing approx 20 feet away.
Gang of small children on scooters
White plastic bag blowing down street towards his head.
Bright yellow digger.
Selection of speeding cyclists passing us from behind on a motorway foot bridge.

He HAS spooked at....

A dandelion
A small patch of grass in a stubble field.

Expect the unexpected

 

[pennyturner]

Yesterday I took both freshly broken 3yo colts into town. One has only been ridden 3 times previously

They both went quietly past all the normal busy small town stuff, plus an articulated drainage tanker, huge tractor at close range, tree surgeon with chainsaw, bus etc.

What they were most interested in was their reflections in the shop windows - not a spook, but some very loud whinneying. "Hello, who'se this sexy fellow?".

 

[Ranyhyn]

My horse was not scared of a motorbike. She is a just turned 5yo.