What are your horses quirks?

W

Woodland

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 February 2005
Messages
86
Location
Essex
Visit site
To get my mare in the trailer I have to spray her with water from a fly spray bottle! and to get on I literally have to run and jump, she wont stand still even with 2 people holding her. But when Im out competing shes the best ive ever rode and can out trot any arab (we do endurance). Ive found the quirkiest ones are the best!
 
archie rears when he gets mad like when we are hunting and he has to wait, and when i ride out and there are builders he gets all bossy like saty away from my rider.. snorting and grunting stamping his feet and swishing his tail.... rest of the time he is a gem!
 
May buck (v badly) on grass but nowhere else.

Sulks like mad if he isn't my number 1 priority.
 
My old mare will sometimes not let my other two come in from the field. She will guard the gate and run backwards to kick when she feels like it. Generally she always wants to be last in and will wait her turn, but when she has got it on her, all hell lets loose.
 
i had one who rolled under gates,we watched her doing it one day
laugh.gif


jay is fine if we take him away from fizz but goes mad if we take fizz away from him,big 17hh tb x id jessy needs a 11.hh welshy to protect him
smirk.gif
 
I was always told by top SJ er, that anything that is good in the ring will have its hang ups outside the ring or at home.

I have indeed found this to be true with titch! He is a sod to handle at home, kicks, tries to nip and always grumpy!! As soon as he has tack on he is a happy willing to please boy and very cuddly!

Freddie...quirks....would be quicker to say what he hasnt got lol!!! Does this odd racer thing tilting his head sideways when being cheeky on a hack, had the dentist and vet out twice before I was happy that he didnt have something wrong with him!!
 
herbie has a little leap when he doesnt want to go in front on a hack, neighs like crazy out on his own on a hack!! lol and sniffs peoples ears when they are standing near his stable!!

zeus has this head shaking thing and his mane goes all swishy, he tells me very nicely when hes unsure about jump, and sort of judders as he goes up to it, bless him! he will jump almost anything from a stand still, and squeals like a mare!!
 
One of the biggest horses at my stables (16.3hh) is absolutely terrified of shetlands and small ponies. Out on a hack that we do there is a shettie in a field and every time Ben (the horse) goes near he will stand still, frozen, snort loudly and his eyes almost pop out of head. He will then jog past, with his body as far away from the shetland as possible but with his head reaching towards it in fascination.

It's bizarre.
 
LOL - My mare is terrified of shetlands (worest still with minatures), literally turns tail and runs (no stopping even with double) this can make showing in coloured classes a little interesting at times.
grin.gif
grin.gif
grin.gif
 
Mine isnt keen on either shetlands or small ponies either. Ive had a few incidents when one of the kids has been in the school with us and he's spun and ran off when they come anywhere near him. He's also terrified of cows after a very heavily in calf cow got into his field last year and proceeded to beat him up - not joking
frown.gif


Hmmmm mine is pretty damn quirky to be fair, mainly because he's ridiculously smart for a horse...

His best party trick has to be switching canter leads every stride when he's feeling particularly foul. He obviously knows that they can be a tad unseating for me if Im not expecting them and it's damn hard to stop him doing them. Of course... when i actually *want* one time changes, I struggle to get more than a few clean changes in one go. When I dont want them, we can manage them the full way round the arena
frown.gif


Aside from that he's very vocal. He whinnies alot to people on the yard and he snorts at everything (including things like... his dinner.... his head collar that is hung opposite his stable every day.... his water bucket when he's brought in.... even been known to snort at the ground on occasions). He never *does* anything and he's not particularly spooky, but I've never met a horse that snorts so much

All that said, he's such a cheerful boy and an absolute pleasure to have around, just very very cheeky to ride! Wouldn't swap him for anything though
laugh.gif
 
Hmmmmm, not a quirk as such but the painted pony LOVES having her bum scratched, she will reverse, everso carefully, into position and if you move backwards away from her she'll just keep coming. If you sidestep, she'll turn her head to check where you are and then, terribly deliberately, gently swing round back into position
smile.gif
Reminds me of a large ship coming about.
 
Mine doesn't "do" muddy gateways and has to be lead right into the field (down the long track)or he stands at the gate all day!!!
 
my gelding acts like a puppy, he is absolutely ridiculous! He looks almost wild on the ground and acts like a complete nutter, has a tendency to chew and nip, and is so food orientated its untrue, but he's so quiet and laid back when ridden its like a different horse!

My mare is the grumpiest cow I have ever come across, the faces she pulls are just horrible and she looks like she is hell bent on killing you, when she believes something is her foal she gets horribly protective and will attack to stop you going near it, charging with teeth bared, rearing up and kicking out at you, when she was kept with a shettie you couldnt get near him. Now her foalie is a bramble patch in the field. She can also be so sweet and gentle tho! Complete speed freak to ride tho, used to throw herself on the floor like a toddler if you interfered with what she wanted to do. Both are such characters
 
My old show hack had a real sense of humour. Because she was more like a dog than a horse we used to let her get herself in. If all the stable doors were open she would deliberately go into each one and have a wee in one, a poo in the next, maybe a roll in the next and then put herself in her own stable! Very funny to watch.

She also knew she got 2 extra strong mints when she came in and would scream her head off if she only got 1. Once she had her 2 mints peace would descend!
 
Ty winnies and stamps his feet if I pay another horse too much attention!

Also stamps his feet and swishes tail when he gets impatient and bucks to get out of something (although that's getting better I think).

Even though he's an idiot sometimes he is loved by most people who handle him as he's a soppy git! x
 
un doing his own rugs in the stable and taking them off! getting hold of your zip and trying to take your coat off and for some reason, he will stand there in hi stable biting his bottom lip (like he's thinking!)
 
our little lad hates the rain and cold. He'll stand at the gate and shout no matter how rugged up he is.

He won't go out if one of the others goes hunting. He will nap on the way out to the field and spend the whole time in the field galloping round screaming. When he's brought back down to the yard he'll literally park himself in the stable.

And he has huge tantrums. Will literally throw himself on the floor if something's not to his liking. If he's being led (he only does this with me) if you turn your back on him he'll rear up and grab the back of your coat or bite your bum. He'll then curl his lip and shake his head asif he's laughing.
 
Mine has two...

First - at shows if I'm not at the trailer, he will escape and come looking for me, calling. Despite hubby & groom being left babysitting him and other horse!

Second - if he ever chucks me off, he stops, and no word of a lie, turns around to check I'm ok... the minute I get up, he buggers off. Once I was hurt quite bad and couldn't get up - he came over and I had to use the stirrups to pull me up to standing position... god knows how I got on (he's 16.3, I'm 5ft) and rode back to stables.. I had fractured my hip and had a serious concussion.. I don't remember getting on or the ride back... at all, but he must have been good because I was in no position to stay on and usually he fights me the whole way home coz he wants to bolt.

At least he cares eh?
 
My mare grinds her teeth when she's stressed. OHs mare can put very big bucks in when she feels the need. Neither of them will walk though mud or puddles.
 
Mine absolutely HATES being smacked with the stick. I don't even dare carry a schooling whip because she will buck for Britain if I touch her with it. If I tap her on the shoulder with a regular whip she will throw her head up, flatten her ears, dive sideways and zctually grunt/growl in fury.

She also hates to stand still while hacking and will lift one leg in the air and paw the air, while leaping up and down on the other leg. Kind like wierd mini-rear things... apparently it looks very silly
crazy.gif
grin.gif
 
Pretty tame, but George insists on sucking his headcollar (on a webbing bit) before it's put on in a morning!
crazy.gif
He's done it since he was 3 and I was told he'd grow out of it but he hasn't !
smile.gif


It makes me smile anyway
laugh.gif
 
Murphy doesnt like mud much and will try and walk round rather than through. Also if he's ina bad mood he'll try and bite you and before youve had chance to act, he'll throw his head up like you batter him lol
 
If i ignore him when hes on the yard he will chuck anything in vacinity at me...usually the bucket!
He likes to protect me, if he gets into a situation instead of freaking out he just waits for me to help him - like today at BSJA he got stuck in a jump and just waited for me to tell him what to do - very sweet.

My favourite though is he knows i get claustrophobic when loading, so he'll get in far enough to tie him up, then wait for me to get out the way, then move on over without being asked as soon as im out the way
smile.gif
 
Axey has loads, he is the grumpiest horse ever and looks quite evil sometimes, he never does anything tho just pulls faces! He nibbles your shoulder when you're doing his front straps up on his rug. He bites his headcollar when you're trying to put it on and it ends up in his mouth like a bit!

When he's tied up he is soo nosey looking at everything, chewing things, knocking stuff over etc

He stretches his back legs out like a ballerina when you pick his back feet out.
And he also stretches his front legs out and sinks down to about 10 hands, quite amusing when you put his saddle on and he disappears
smile.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top