Obelisk - Queen's Guard Horse

[Fjord]

Savage.

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

Jesus I know that photo is chosen on purpose, but he even has a look in his eye like he's got a streak... I wonder if that's the same one that likes taking chunks out of people?!

 

[conniegirl]

Cobbus (my pony) will chase and stomp on rats, or small dogs that are yapping under his feet.

I don’t think it is that unusual

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

Cobbus (my pony) will chase and stomp on rats, or small dogs that are yapping under his feet.

I don’t think it is that unusual

but to entice them over with oats is a whole new level of prior planning

 

[MidChristmasCrisis]

My mare stomps on bees…very entertaining if we re cantering along and one flies close, she lifts her front leg high to stomp down on it….

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

omg! I mean, Beau used to try and stamp on any dogs that came near him, the groom had a terrible time stopping him one day and they decided to keep the dogs locked up when they were going to catch in, but that’s cunning! Dropping oats to lure them in?! Machivellian!

 

[I'm Dun]

Leo killed a baby goat never bothered anything else, so no idea what made him do it.

 

[planete]

Sounds like a very bored and clever horse making his own amusement.

 

[ThreeFurs]

Fascinating.

Using a tool [the oats] and thinking ahead, is confirmed behaviour, although its not common. See link below from equine magazine I am proud to say I spent four years writing for [I did the bi-monthly horses in art column] before it halted print publication, in 2022?

Tool Use Confirmed in Horses

Resarchers have recently confirmed that horses do use tools, however they say this is a rare phenomenon. The study crowdsourced videos sent in by horse owners.

horsesandpeople.com.au

ps: my little bay warmblood dressage schoolmaster, now retired, is a confirmed pigeon stomper. Although I don't think he lures them, I think they lure themselves, as he's a very messy eater!

 

[Fjord]

That's a really interesting article, thanks for posting it!

 

[scruffyponies]

Years ago our Shetland pony murdered 'Tatty-head' the pet chicken. It was unprovoked, and the pony is of otherwise good character.

 

[JFTDWS]

I semi-frequently have to remove dead rats from Daemon’s vicinity.

I once found him using a dead pheasant as a squeaky toy, and I strongly suspect he killed it first. It was definitely dead after

Luring them in with oats is properly sneaky though.

 

[Fjord]

Its clearly more common than I though!

 

[Beausmate]

Years ago our Shetland pony murdered 'Tatty-head' the pet chicken. It was unprovoked, and the pony is of otherwise good character.

Can a Shetland be described as being of good character? They're characters alright, but....