My Horse is an Idiot

[StowfordPress]

And I know I can’t be the only one! Don’t get me wrong, I love all his quirks as he’s such a genuine lad really. But despite having show-jumped over a metre, he finds ground poles unbelievably stressful. He’s getting there but his brain just shuts down looking at them?

Apart from that is the most random spooking. A horse turned out next to the school stood on a stone or something and it made a funny noise, and since he has been very suspicious of passing said horse. He also likes to pick things up and swing them around in his mouth if he can get to them, then spook when they move, among many other things.

I just needed a rant I think, and to know that someone else out there has a horse that’s a little bit special; I’ve never met a horse as odd as him. Do they ever grow out of it?

 

[Annagain]

My old boy wasn't special as such, just ridiculously excitable. He calmed down when he got to 17 but started to go the other way again from about 20. You might get 3 sane years in if you're lucky!

 

[EngageDressage]

Mine is 22. No, they don’t grow out of it. He is still an idiot. Scared of his own bags of feed, his own rugs, his own fly fringe, other horses, especially if they’re black or coloured.....

 

[doodle]

Hacking out with a new person riding a 6 yo. 6yo behaving beautifully. Robin doing his usual spooking, snorting and doing his star jumps. “Is he just young!” “Erm no he is 13”. Today he was chilling in his stable eating hay. A bird fluttered off from the next stable window ledge. He just about jumped out of his stable in fright! Maybe he will grow out of it in 10 years time?

 

[Dreamer515]

My 18 year old is near enough unflappable to ride, but if there is anything different in his field or stable then it WILL eat him! I once changed his salt lick over in the stable as the old one was nearly gone, he left his feed and shot to the back of the stable snorting as if he thought I was going to throw it at him or beat him with it. 10 mins later he decided it wasn't going to hurt him so he crept back to his feed and kept an eye on it for a few mins before deciding he actually really liked his salt lick and thought it was fantastic.

The other day I bought a new feed bowl for him as his old black rubber one was really heavy and not really suitable for carrying it up to the field (quarter mile up a steep slope) new bucket is red and plastic. would he go near it! he saw me at the gate and rushed over and then he saw the monster of death and started snorting and prancing about, I put it on the ground and put a bit of feed on the floor near it, eventually he realised that this was fine and all was well. My other horse didn't care that the bucket had changed and started pigging out before I had even set his bucket down!

I have known this hose all his life and he is the most genuine horse I have ever met and wouldn't hurt a fly (they are his best friends and how dare I try to put a fly mask on him to stop them seeing him!!) but anything upsets him in his territory and it is WW3!

 

[Green Bean]

My darling does not like big leaves on plants blowing in the wind, anything that isn’t exactly where it was yesterday. Poles are also a concern as they weren’t there yesterday. If she is ‘scared’ of something she literally feels like she is walking eggshells. This is all if she is being ridden alone. Put another horse with her and she switches off to all possible dangers and is content (except for the pig, the spooky yard the pig lives in and any and vehicles bigger than a white van). She is 13 so I assume this is our lot in life now

 

[Cob Life]

Yep!
wheel barrows are only scare if the human is not babysitting it
the cats he’s lived with for years will eat him but the neighbours using chainsaws and tractors hedge cutting are fine!
any sort of bus, motorbikes etc he’s fine with, a cyclist or walker? Terrifying

he’s had 2 spooks that Ive been like fair enough that was scary; a metal water trough blew across the yard in front of the arena and the neighbours flew a drone over while we were riding.

 

[dorsetladette]

Mine is welsh so you have to give some allowances for breed LOL. He won't load for toffee - you know the proper embarrassing one that everyone crowds around to watch at a show and a round of applause when the ramp finally goes up. Hates going through narrow gates, between trees out hacking, but will happily get thru a small gateway into the sheep pen to eat there feed and squeeze himself into the feed room, past the hay stack to get to a feed bin given half a chance. (Yes I did have to remove the hay in order to get him out as he couldn't possibly fit back past it!)

He also farted in a dressage test and spooked at it! I think they thought he was the entertainment

 

[Auslander]

I've got one who has decided that she's scared of her bed. It started when we out her on paper, and I could understand that, as it is very white and was extremely fluffy. Changed her to shavings, as pellets are too dusty, and she is still scared. She has a half bed - and at present all her droppings are on the matted half, she lies down on the mats, and if I try to tempt her onto the bed, she would rather stand with her feet just touching the shavings, and stretch her neck as far she can, so that she can get close enough to take a treat off me.
She's very silly, but I love her anyway!