What has your horse done which supprised you

ILuvCowparsely

ILuvCowparsely

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I had to share this

Most horses here come in on their own ie: not led and go straight to their stables.

Tonight I let my boy come in first (who comes in on his own) and instead of leading my new mare by halter and shutting the gate before the next old boy (who is one that comes in on his own). I decided to let my new mare follow my boy and let the old horse follow my mare(which they do no problem). I stayed to shut the gate behind all three, I then turned round only to come face to face with my new mare who had turned round in the strip which is about about 8ft wide by 50 ft long let horse number 3 pass and turn round so she stood beside me and then proceeded to walk beside me right across back yard round to stable. I thought wow!! how sweet she wanted to walk beside me. I feel so proud when I have only had her 8 months it really was a AHHHHHHHHH moment.

I never expected her to do this I thought she would just follow my boy in instead of wanting to wait for me and walk beside me.

Any of you got any special moments like this, when your horse did something really touching???
 
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Yes. My little mare is notorious for being a bit...distant. She can be very sweet and loves a sniff and scratch, and will scratch back, but its all on her terms. I don't think she would care if i dropped down dead in front of her.

One time she was in one of her moods and i was trying to groom with her loose. I must have been stressed, cause she managed to push me over i fell to the floor (bare in mind shes 8hh) and i just sat there about to cry. She then shuffled back over to me and put her nose to my ear and just nuzzled me and then licked my face. Shes never licked any part of me before or since - so i genuinely believe she was saying sorry to me for being a horrible corned beef destined animal.
 
Yes... When loose schooling he 'joined up' -a phrase if you want to commercialise it.

And then followed me closely , in walk or trot - and followed me over jumps (I am a little worried he may land on me, so I have to run fast and keep glancing behind me lol)!
 
HGA-12 said:
I had to share this

Most horses here come in on their own ie: not led and go straight to their stables.

Tonight I let my boy come in first (who comes in on his own) and instead of leading my new mare by halter and shutting the gate before the next old boy (who is one that comes in on his own). I decided to let my new mare follow my boy and let the old horse follow my mare(which they do no problem). I stayed to shut the gate behind all three, I then turned round only to come face to face with my new mare who had turned round in the strip which is about about 8ft wide by 50 ft long let horse number 3 pass and turn round so she stood beside me and then proceeded to walk beside me right across back yard round to stable. I thought wow!! how sweet she wanted to walk beside me. I feel so proud when I have only had her 8 months it really was a AHHHHHHHHH moment.

I never expected her to do this I thought she would just follow my boy in instead of wanting to wait for me and walk beside me.

Any of you got any special moments like this, when your horse did something really touching???
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Aaaaw that's lovely!
 
GemG said:
Yes... When loose schooling he 'joined up' -a phrase if you want to commercialise it.

And then followed me closely , in walk or trot - and followed me over jumps (I am a little worried he may land on me, so I have to run fast and keep glancing behind me lol)!
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Ah yeah my little mare did that too. She had got to the point i could not catch her in the field..she veryyyyyyy hormonal in summer...and a few joinups and she was catchable again.
 
My donkey is quite nervous and in her previous home she was basically abandoned, the other day I was sat on the feed trough watching them. She came over and just poked her nose in my face and sniffed me all over, then very gently she took my plait into her mouth! Luckily I quickly took it out again
 
Stable herd of three horses, all owned by me. The youngest turned his bum towards me, not in a threatening manner but enough that I felt a little uncomfortable in a small 20' barn. Tinner calmly put himself in between me and the youngster. It was a very obvious move, he had to gently push past me to get into place, and he is a polite horse.
 
HGA-12 said:
I had to share this

Most horses here come in on their own ie: not led and go straight to their stables.

Tonight I let my boy come in first (who comes in on his own) and instead of leading my new mare by halter and shutting the gate before the next old boy (who is one that comes in on his own). I decided to let my new mare follow my boy and let the old horse follow my mare(which they do no problem). I stayed to shut the gate behind all three, I then turned round only to come face to face with my new mare who had turned round in the strip which is about about 8ft wide by 50 ft long let horse number 3 pass and turn round so she stood beside me and then proceeded to walk beside me right across back yard round to stable. I thought wow!! how sweet she wanted to walk beside me. I feel so proud when I have only had her 8 months it really was a AHHHHHHHHH moment.

I never expected her to do this I thought she would just follow my boy in instead of wanting to wait for me and walk beside me.

Any of you got any special moments like this, when your horse did something really touching???
Click to expand...

Thats lovely, I love those quiet moments when you can enjoy the company of your horse

I have a three year old who trusts me in new situations and I find that oddly touching
 
He puts himself between me and other horses who get too close in the field.

He liked to jump the 5 feet ditch every day until the YO fenced it off. It was meant to keep the horses in the field.

He spooked at a carrot tonight, I'd just wormed him, maybe he thought it was round2!

He was being a fuss a$$ in his stable one night. Eventually, I stopped trying to groom him. Turns out, all he wanted was to lay his head on my shoulder and go to sleep. Definite 'aah' moment!
 
I met Orca as a relatively unhandled, unbroken 6 year old, with a fear of people. On meeting, she rested her head in my chest as if she'd known and trusted me forever. She's remained that way every since, will follow me anywhere (but would run from everyone else initially) and I've never performed join up with her. She just decided we were herd and that was that. Although barely halter broken at the start, she has come straight to me from turnout since day one, calls to me often and always, always whickers at the sound of my laugh. It honestly sounds like she's laughing too ��.
 
My little companion mare wasn't very trusting at all when she came home last year. She'd been passed from home to home to home, and jumped a mile high if you raised a hand near her, as though she thought you were going to smack her, rather than push your hair out of your face or whatever you were actually doing. After she foaled (unexpectedly!) we couldn't get near her for 5 days.

The other day young Graham managed to get halfway under the electric fence before he noticed it, and then ripped most of it up and left it strewn across the field. When I got there, all three of them were on the wrong side of the tape, and were convinced they couldn't possibly get back over it to the right side. China was the only one who would follow me as far as the tape on the floor, and then she stopped as if there was an invisible force field.

I didn't have anything with me to lead with, so all I could think to do was step back and forth over the tape while looking hopefully at her. She watched me very closely, I could nearly see the cogs turning in her brain, then she very deliberately stepped over the tape and came and stood next to me. Once she'd done it the other two followed (both leaping over as though it was about 3ft!) and I was able to get the fence back up.

It's not much, but considering how nervy and distrustful she used to be, it made me feel like she really trusted me at last. I didn't make her take that step, I just tried to convey to her that it was safe (and that I could really really do with her help!), and she did it.
 
My younger son was about six when I first had old cob, about eleven years ago now. Old cob used to gently but definitely move my son away from the other horses and always place himself between my son and the herd. They still get on tremedously well though my son is now a grown-up seventeen year old.

Young cob is a total one-horse circus. Yesterday we were out for a short hack. My friend's horse was in front and spooked slightly at a woman who was bent over tidying up in her front garden next to the road. As we drew level young cob did not bat an eyelid but did the most perfect trot to halt transition and then stood staring intently at the woman, obviously trying to make sense of what she was doing. He also finds workmen totally fascinating! Today I left him standing loose in the school near to our trainer while I went to get the mounting block - he was watching some cattle in the field next door. However, he very sweetly followed me down the school and then waited calmly at the block for me to get on.
 
The thing that comes to mind is when I felt like I had got my bond with Pinto - it came when I was turning him out after a hack up to the field to join the herd. Prior to this he'd leg it away from me, desperate to go and greet his friends, but for the first time after I untacked him and turned him loose he just stood there and rested his head again my torso for a hug (no treats lurking in pockets!). This was late summer last year, about 5 months after I took him on loan.
 
Last night my boy was in a mood and me and my mum just groomed him instead of riding him. I tried trimming his mane again too as my dad did a poor job of it which the horse didn't like so once I was done I just stroked him and he eventually tucked his head around me to cuddle me while I stroked his head. Best bit was when my mum tried stroking him too and he threw his head at her to get her to stop then went back to cuddling me. Was an awwwww moment he only wanted his mummy comforting him after the horror of a hair cut. :p
 
I was quite impressed to learn that mine escaped from her field with her companion and thoroughly enjoyed herself in a hundred acre sheep field before being rounded up by a quad bike :p. Glad to know she's getting naughtier with age!

And I remember being really delighted when I realised that I really did have a special bond with my favourite horse at work, and it wasn't just in my head. He could be very difficult even to get out of the stable, to the extent that for a long time only myself and the other female groom could get him out - he would spin round and go to kick if anyone else tried. But what made me realise that he really did prefer me to anyone else was when I went round to the field to find him giving the other female groom, who he generally liked quite a lot, the run around. She couldn't get anywhere near him. After a while I asked if she wanted me to try - as soon as I was in the field he walked straight up to me and practically put his headcollar on himself! I love that horse, if I ever win the lottery he's the first thing I'd buy. In fact, I'd give away the rest if it meant I could have him! I go back to visit when I can and it doesn't take him long to remember and start chewing my hair again.
 
Mine surprises me all the time with how sweet she can be nowadays - it only took 2.5 years for her to take an interest! :P

She's is very low in the pecking order and below everybody else in the field more or less. Awhile back there was a very bolshy young mare at the yard who, for whatever reason, treated people who went in the field like toys; walking across us, pushing us, trying to shove her nose in our pockets. One day I didn't see the youngster outside (who had been on box rest) so I just popped in the field to pay my mare a visit and give her a quick brush and a scratch. I got halfway out when the beastie emerged from inside the field shelter and spotted me and came hustling over. I didn't have a leadrope or anything with me except a brush so I was thinking of what I could do to keep the little **** off me, when my mare picked her head up off the grass and came galloping over. She just planted herself between me and the other horse, who kept trying to barge around her to get to me, but my mare just pushed her away every time or swung her rear end in the way, and guarded me all the way out of the field.

My husband had gotten out of the car and was watching. Hubby doesn't have a clue about horses and hadn't been the least bit interested, but he said "she was protecting you" when I got back in the car, and I said yup. Since then, hubby had been a lot more fond of mine and is even willing to help out or hold her leadrope sometimes when necessary. He has even *gasp* held her front hoof up off the ground for me while I was using a monkey wrench to fix one of her studs, when before I couldn't get him within three meters of her. So I remember this day very fondly :D
 
I used to work with driving horses. There was one who was a bit of a pain, kicking out with his front legs when you holding him in front, squashing you in his stable when grooming. One day they were all out in the field, a herd of about 12 adult horses and someone decided to turn out a 6 month old youngster with the herd (not a good idea). Anyway all hell let loose when the herd kept picking on the youngster, poor thing was terrified. Along came this horse who put himself between the herd and the youngster and kept shooing the others away. I was amazed and from that moment I fell in love with him. Needless to say the youngster was removed from the field and kept somewhere more appropriate!
 
H has, on two occasions, jumped a five-bar gate because he decided he preferred the field companions in the next field over. Given he's a 13.1hh Highland who took a very long time to figure jumping out, I was quite impressed.
 
my old cob many years ago, popped a 5 bar gate to go and introduce himself to the "surprise" foal that had appeared over night in the field next door. stood guard protecting mare an foal, until the owner could separate them from the rest of the herd
 
At the age of 27, after living happily in electric fenced fields for most of his life, the little beast has learnt how to pull up the posts by getting hold of he base in his teeth. He now, if he gets the chance, will pull up every post he sees and let everyone through. Pest! He's now penned in to the only part with no electric fences, will need to sort something out before summer.
 
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