What do you put up with?

[TicTac]

Lets face it. We would all love to own the perfect horse, and some of you out there may allready! Now my new mare is sweet natured and I can't fault her to handle as she is excellent in all the usual respects like being caught etc etc and works well in the school, however the thing I put up with is her nappy behaviour if I try to hack her out alone. Although I am over comming this problem with a patient approach. so if I work on her problem she could be my perfect horse (ha ha, ducks as flying pig goes over))

What behaviour issues do your horses have that you put up with and why?

 

[merlinsquest]

Merlin is a complete sloth inhand...... even the vet has to have a lunge whip if we need to trot him up!!!

I put up with this as he is a darling in every other way..... Oh except that he hates being at the back of the ride

 

[Eira]

My horse breaking herself as soon as we get things together

 

[LOZHUG]

His self harming problems
Pooping all the time
Oh and deciding he doesnt like his name

Apart from that he is perfect lol

 

[frb]

Ha! Where do i begin?!

 

[Moggy in Manolos]

my mare has had a tendency to be a little nappy, but i have never accepted a minute of it, if she stands and wont move i simply jump off and get her walking, has worked for me the last decade and more, she does'nt often do it but will try occasionally, but she knows i wont give up as i know she can go out alone perfectly well and she knows this
she can spook a little but its not much of a reaction to be fair and as long as i convince her its safe she tends to believe me

she is a bit lazy but i accept this too
thats it really, she is a little star overall and i would not change her for the world
on a scale of how horses can be she is excellent really, i could not ask for more

 

[PnO]

Umm well the horse has some jumping problems that i believe stem from how he's been jumped in the past, so i have to work with other peoples mistakes, and at the age of 18 he dosen't see why it should be done any other way! He's a darling most of the time but also poops alot and can be very whimpy just in general, if he was a human he would be a stereotypical gay!!

The baby..don't even go there...shes two now and has firmly attached herself to her real granny who she lives in the field with and another mare. She is quite nice when doing things she wants but not things she dosen't want to do! I think she's going to be a slow learner!! x

 

[hadfos]

[ QUOTE ]
My horse breaking herself as soon as we get things together

[/ QUOTE ]
i will second above

,things started going well now he is broken

 

[TicTac]

Sounds like a good solution to me astipussy. Do you get back on her again half way up the road? I would have a bit of trouble getting back on due to inability to mount from ground ( Old lady with dodgy knees lol)

 

[SO1]

Mine is perfect darling in every way expect he refuses to stable - jumps out or if he has a grill up rears and throws himself against the walls.

Other than he is exceptional in every other way. He loads and travels fine so not caustrophobic just likes living out I guess.

 

[0ldmare]

Hmmm where to start!

My big pet that I love and adore is rubbish in traffic, spooky, loathes water and will go to extreme lengths not to get her feet wet, won't under any circumstances go in the school (completely sickened of it with previous owner). But has many many good points I won't bore you with!

Young horse: pretty hard to think of anything bad really other than having the most irritating girly whinney combined with an amazing knowledge of when its time for me to get up and feed her. Oh and she is beyond greedy.

Companion loan horse: can't catch the s0d, eats the fences, bangs on the stable door til I want to scream. Oh and he 'has it away' with the young girly horse above. And is not rideable.

Good lord reading this I must be mad to keep them all!

 

[YorksG]

The current Appy is a bit spooky and has a huge tendancy to be fat (resulting in having to buy a new saddle!). The old Appy, was spooky, nappy, terrified of any traffic larger than a transit van, would not do 'school' work, bolshy BUT was so much of a character and had more affection than could fit into her very loud skin. She had a sense of humour and would have saved me from any wolves! She was a monster to ride, but in all the 25 years we had her I did not fall off once.

 

[Chex]

I don't think he does anything bad. After 10 years together I either don't notice them anymore or he just doesn't do them anymore. Although his most recent trick of not getting up if I find him sleeping in the field is a bit frustrating

 

[Hippona]

OMG - I have a horse with issues- box walking/weaving if kept in on his own - so you can imagine how stressfull a 12w stint of boxrest was last year....he gets stressed easily, naps on occasions- (although he doesnt get away with this)... he is very sharp/spooky and is prone to stopping dead from canter and throwing himself sideways if a stick on the floor looks scary ( teaches you to have a secure seat at least!).
He is a schoolmaster in the sense that if you don't ask or give an aid absolutely textbook, then it doesnt happen, but when I get it right then its bloody rewarding. He is a one-person horse- loyal, loving- very demanding but exciting to ride, and has taught me such a lot.

Love him to bits, although he drives me mad and is very high maintainence!! Typical hotblood!


I quite like hacking OH mare out now and again for a change,( ie no spooking)....but its just not the same......

 

[Governor]

He's a complete pansy.
(Have tried numerous times to leave him out 24hrs and he invariably becomes very ill - he also stands by the gate, or on a concreted part of the field if it is wet/muddy).

He has no spatial awareness and doesn't know where he begins or ends.

 

[cazmoreton]

Bruno- Doesnt really think dragging his big old body around at a walk is much fun but you say the C(anter) word and the 25yo turns into a 4 year old.
He's amazing apart from that and the canter bit is just funny

Capella - Had outdoor hot taps at her old yard(where she was bred) so is impossible to do anything with cold water, Wont be sprayed, doesnt load, will jump a max of 3 jumps then completely flip rearing and bucking, maybe abit of a plunge- she cant cope with excitement, and before you thik she's young she's 9!

Comet - Has just moved onto a bigger yard and now wont let me pick his feet out, but he's getting better already

prefer's to hack out alone, naps to the gate(whick he doesnt get away with) in the school.

i love their problemss

 

[clipclop]

I can honestly say my big man is perfect for me. Mind you I bred him and he is now 13 so he knows exactly what I expect of him. He is the best horse in the world (To someone else he could be a total pain).
He was a total sh1t when he was a youngster and bronced and others off quite a few times. He did worry me a few times.

My youngster,,,,well,,,,,she is lovely but we have a few issues to sort out!! Hahahahahaaa!! But that just isn't fair as she is only two and isn't supposed to know everything yet. She is just entering her "teens". Typical, just as I have sent a glowing report email to her Breeder.

My old mare is just such a lady. So gentle, so helpful and polite. I can't take any credit for her behaviour though as she retired with me with those beautiful traits.

Oh gawd, I sound like one if those bloody awful "My horses are perfect" kind of posters.

 

[Halfpass]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
My horse breaking herself as soon as we get things together

[/ QUOTE ]
i will second above

,things started going well now he is broken

[/ QUOTE ]

And i'll third it

 

[Riverboy]

well other than him being broken (for coming up for a year now...) he has a tendancy to refuse to do something and then decide that walking backwards/doing pathetic baby rears is a much better idea than walking forwards. Give him half an inch and all of a sudden you've lost two miles... Oh and he often verges on anorexic - slightest change in routine and he'll refuse to eat for days - lost many an hour hand feeding him his whole dinner as it has medicine in it...

However take him out on a hack and he would carry you for hours with an expression of joy running all over him. he is very loving (though he does like to share - even if that includes his dinner in your hair). wouldn't change him, except for maybe giving him new legs so he wasn't broken anymore!

x

 

[mintaka04]

Mine is a nightmare scoffer. Has little respect for me at times (God knows I've tried to fix this) and drags me off my feet to get at some tasty grass when I'm leading her up to the field. Snatches at grass at every opportunity, actually.

 

[westernriderH]

where do i start..

Sapo is a grumpy horse, spends all the time waiting at the gate if it's raining, if it's windy he'll bully my other horse and chase him around the field and fight with him. He drags my mother out to the field every morning and tries to nip her to hurry her along. He's lazy to ride except when you're jumpinh, spooks at cows, is generally a wuss out hacking, sometimes rears for the farrier, vet and dentist, eats the fences and doesn't stand still.

Colorado is cheeky, sometimes he'll try and nip the air around you like it's a game, he watches till you're not looking. He used to rear and shake his head about when you led him out in the mornings, but he hasn't done that for a while now. He's lovely to ride though, tries his little heart out but can be a bit spooky of random things, and you can't help but love him because he's so full of character and always has big puppydog eyes.

Well they sound good on paper... :S

 

[MizElz]

I dont think I 'put up' with anything, really! Ellie can be a grumpy moo, but I love her for it - I only have to show her a Polo for her ears to prick up

She kicks her door, she will weave without her bars up, she is inclined to spin and buck in the gateway when I let her go in the field, she always bucks three times at the beginning of a gallop, and she hates the top six inches of her mane being pulled

But if 'putting up with' = 'would change if I could', then I wouldnt change a thing!

 

[nikkiportia]

I consider Slim to be pretty much my perfect horse. But he's not 'perfect'

Spooky
Naps when alone
Bucks in canter sometimes
Bargy when turning out
Greedy pig! Tries to get his head down all the time, or snatch a bit of 'fast food' from the hedges on hacks

Fat! Looks at a blade of grass and puts on a stone!!!

 

[Mithras]

Have to say napping isn't something I can put up with and my horse did used to be a bit nappy. It took the form of bucking and little half rears when she didn't want to go and excessive shying and spooking. Basically all manifestations of an unwillingness to go forward. I have a zero tolerance policy towards this and its taken a year of hard work just not allowing napping of any form but I now have a pretty forward going horse that will go anywhere, virtually never stops at a fence and is a joy to ride. I found strong leg aids, backed up by a smack if necessary, voice aids, strong praise and anticipation worked. It shouldn't be the horse telling you what to do, it should be the horse doing what you tell it.

 

[Nic74]

Bob weaves badly if left in on his own and he naps if he doesn't want to go out hacking, and he'll do it regardless of whether he has company or not, mostly it involves him rooting to the spot or running backwards or mini rear and spin. He can always be driven forwards though so it's just a case of not letting him get away with it.

Mowgli can be bargy, we've had him from 5 months old and he's always been taught good manners, and most of the time he is perfect but on the odd occassion he'll tank off, and then we go back to square one with leading lessons but really it isn't a case of him not knowing any better, it's a case of him being wilful. He does it less to OH who can hang on to him better than me.

Khan - the only downside to him is that from day one he has hated being alone, he has to get used to it, and we can do this in the field but not the stable as he has actually kicked the stable door and frame out of the brick wall! So it's too dangerous to leave him in on his own.

 

[jnet]

My pony has lots of issues, she had more but they've dwindled over the years through hard work and effort.

We are now just left with bucking, fly bucking mainly, she will stick her bum under her, pick up speed and then launch off the floor into a big buck and then land and stop dead, she can also be spooky but she uses that as an evasion as she is not that spooky on a hack, she does it in the school and she's seen that school surround for the last three years in all weathers so she should know better.

She will also barge off sometimes if she's being led in a headcollar, there's no stopping her, I've tried everything and I'm a big strong girl too, so if we're going to a show, she gets led in her bridle, if she does it at home she gets the pressure halter on for a couple of days and then we're ok till the mood next takes her.

And doesn't like hacking alone, although she is now getting better at this and has been a few times, I've had her for seven years though, so its taken some time!

Apart from that, she is good, she's always placed showing, WH, she's at Elementary level dressage and gets placed there too in good company, she's a 13.2hh welsh type too, so not your usual long legged DR beastie.

I bought her to sell on as a kids pony but after seeing her dump my son at least six times in half an hour for the first few months I decided against it and started to ride her myself, now I have a brave young girl who shares her and she does all the riding, she's been decked a few times too, plus the other night got knocked to the floor and trampled on by said pony.

I'd never sell her now though, she's an expensive pet but I love her.lol. We have just got used to her and just put it down to Thelwell antics. If she was 16.2hh she would probably have been "down the road" by now, and I dont mean we'd have solved the hacking problem!!