Whats the strangest thing your horse has ever spooked at?

M

Murphy3

Well-Known Member
Joined
23 May 2007
Messages
300
Visit site
I went for a hack up the road last night - haven't gone out on the road (a quiet country road) in a few months as haven't had anyone to go out with and just got lazy as horse can be a bit spooky on his own. So yesterday evening was nice and quiet and I decided to get moving again, covered myself in flourescent and set off.

I thought the boy might object to leaving his friend but he was fine. First we had to pass my neighbour's new 6 foot high fountain(!) - expected an objection there but he didn't flinch. Then we passed a field full of bullocks who came galloping over to see us - no problems. Saw a plastic bag and a 7 up bottle - no worries. Met someone long reining a 3 year old - said hello. We were passed by white van, boy racer in noisy car, saw the huge creamery lorry coming down a farm track and trotted briskly past them all - not a spook or a nap in sight. The boy was a hero until ...

We reached a pile of grass clippings thrown in the hedgerow - he scooted sideways and looked at them as if 10 hungry tigers were going to rise up out of them. Then there was another pile - same thing. He pulled himself together and marched on (so brave) but coming back did it all over again.

I just don't get it. I know they see the world differently to us but it was just a few little piles of grass clippings - the same colour as the long grass in the hedge??? Sometimes I just don't know what's in his mind!

Anyone else had a horse objecting to something you'd expect them not to notice?
 
My shetland is spooked by her own shadow, literally!!

The newfie will walk down he middle of the M6, as long as there are no grids or manholes!!
 
The strangest thing was a rag doll that was hanging from a gate, that was just a bit creepy
tongue.gif
.
A little while ago though he had a tantrum at a bit of the ground that was a slightly different colour than the ground around it.
 
My horse, Jerry, is so good when hacking out alone. He doesn't mind big rattly tractors and trailers or the steam train that passes us or the clay pigeon shooters in a field 20 yards from the road.
However, we were cantering along a bridleway when he suddenly stopped (nearly catapulting me out the front door!). What was the scary object - tigers? herd of elephants? horse-eating monster? NO - a clump of ox-eye daisies!
Well they weren't there last week mum when we came down here!
 
lol, man holes or the drains with the holes in them (look like mini cattlegrids)

i get a neddy that walks sideways while staring at them just to make sure they dont move!
 
absolutely sodding nothing. Tractors, planes, steam trains - she's super. It's the things that don't exist that scare her....
 
White flowers are particularly dangerous, apparently, and large dock leaves. But not large earth-moving machines that pass by within an inch us us. Horses!
 
Big stones - usually ones I want to use to get on outside the yard. Especially if theyre white!

And definately drains! But is dependant on how hes feeling on the day.

And lambs or calves.....once a small dog laying in the lane that would twitch an ear as we approached. Could feel horse waiting for the dog to move slightly so he could spook.

All that being said hes actually very good to hack!
 
the very pretty purple flowers that someone has lovingly planted at the entrance to their little yard
shocked.gif
Shellee has to pass them on the other side of the road
crazy.gif

And a random glove which someone had thoughtfully put on a branch along the bridle track
grin.gif
bless her though she does try to be big and brave but mostly she is just a big scardey pants
tongue.gif
 
Ben walked over 8 lanes of the M25 like a star, then spooked at a dock leaf among the grass on the other side.

He has also had a plane fly over the top of him, coming in to land in the field next to the road (plane was about twenty foot above us) - didn't bat an eyelid. Then spooked at a gateway.

He has had an ambulance roar past sirens blaring, then spooked at a coke can at the side of the road.

We used to go on this hack where we lived in Sussex, and at one stage it passed a farm with an old VW Beetle parked at the end of the drive. He was terrified of that car - no rational reason whatsoever! When the car wasn't there, he walked past the spot fine, but if the car was there it took ages to get him past! Other VW Beetles he has been fine with, just that particular one. Not sure why he hated it, there were never any dogs or scary things inside. Just really did not like it.
 
Over the years, out hacking, we have encountered every motorised vehicle imaginable, all types of heavy machinery, wind turbines, flapping sheets, people hiding in hedges, weve been chased by orny teenage boys in cars and savage badgers, had helicopters and jets go overhead, we ride alongside the runway at EMA and nothing has come close to those well known killer plants.......................................
The Snowdrop!!!!!!
We have also nearly been savaged by an potentially armed and dangerous leaf, which had the cheek to blow right towards us!!!
 
Skye is generally pretty bombproof but the strangest thing she has spooked at was a horse drawn hearse coming up behind us at a trot and no gateways or anything to pull into to let it past, we ended up cantering sideways down the road in front of it till it turned into the local buriel ground, i was soooo embaressed. She also hates with a passion that huge leafed wild ruhbarb but will go past blowing tarpaulins, tractors buses, fire engine with sirens going, cant figure it myself.
 
mine spooked at her own shadow today as well, couldn't care less about the fire engine with lights a flashing 200yds later?
 
I used to have a Fell Pony who was 100% bomb proof, you could go anywhere with her.....one day we were put on a hack and passing a field with some bullocks in, the farmer had come to give them some silage and they started 'lollopping'(you know the way they do) across the field, well she totally freaked out, doing mini rears in the road, bouncing about everywhere! I got off to calm her down but she wouldn't let me back on because she was so worked up and I had to walk her home! From that day she was petrified of cows!! Daft thing is, when she was younger she was in a field with 15 of those big horned angus cows!!!
 
Where to start.....
crazy.gif


I think the strangest thing has to be POO
blush.gif
blush.gif
blush.gif


One of his own in the school is quite scary (esp if its still a bit steamy
blush.gif
), and cow pats in the field that we use for canter work make for a very interesting ride
wink.gif
wink.gif


He also has an aversion to xc jumps that he has to gallop passed....which wastes no end of time
tongue.gif


Plus the usual....drains, plastic bags, big dock leaves (they are real horse killers!!!)

I could go on all night but won't bore you all!!!
wink.gif
 
not spooking as such but yesterday while out on a hack we went passed a man mowing his lawn which soph thought was absolutely fasinating and while turning herself inside out to have a snout at him promptly forgot her feet and nearly went splat!!
 
Mine will go past bags, and bottles generally fine in traffic, this is all in company btw, but even without company goes past bags nd things, but once we were on the gallops, and some sand had been kicked onto the grass, and she went mad almost had me off, we now live by the beach and she hates the ripples in the sand. My other horse is brilliant complety brave and non spooky goes past anything, dosnt mind HUGE lorries but hates those signs to show there is a a bend the black and white arrow type things she will not go past we have to go the other side of the road, which is dangerous as we're on a bend!
 
Alfie loves spooking, but i think the strangest thing he has ever spooked at has to be a man wearing motorbike leathers standing in the middle of a field whilst i was trying to warm up for a dressage competition. Alfie hadn't been warming up long when he spotted this poor guy amongst the other spectators. He then proceeded to stare at him, snort and generally make a big song and dance about it. I was a bit miffed at the time but now can see the funny side! I think at the time, poor Alfie thought that the chap was an alien or spaceman that had just landed from another planet.
grin.gif
 
weirdest one mine has spooked at it a old leaf on the ground... yes just the 1 leaf lol and it made tht crunchy noise and omg up and down he went wouldnt walk foward unless we was on other side of road ... lol... so now he spoooks at everything small like tht
 
Chortle, a man re-pointing his garden wall, visible for 200 yards but when we got to him cleared the road and a 3 ft bank nearly taking out a cyclist who'd come up behind us. Bless...all in the most comfortable way
 
Gertie was going beautifully in the indoor school the other day til she sneezed and did a WHOPPER of a fart... scared the crap out of her (literally!!) and we did a lap of the school snorting and bucking then proceeded to do the most beautiful piaffe for the next 5 minutes heheheh
 
I had tied one of mine upon the yard while I mucked out the other day when the pony tied opposite decided to have a wee. Well my poor horse was mystified as if he'd never seen it before? Don't know if it was because it was on concrete and splashing? He doesn't spook at water so I thought that was a very strange thing to spook at!
 
The first time we met a tank... yes tank... complete with orange flashy light, gun and little green man in helmet waving from the hatch at the top, I was a bit concerned, but he didn't bat an eye. The car about 2 minutes later, with a small take-your-rubbish-to-the-tip type trailer (3'x3' max), that went over a bump and rattled well, that was the most frightening thing ever! Huge spook!

Garden gnomes in a garden have also produced unexpected spooks in the past!!

Not so spooky however was going past one of the barracks when I first got him. He used to be fascinated with the barrier that cars had to go under. If someone was going into the barracks, or coming out, we would have to wait whilst he stared in awe at this barrier going up and coming down again.... It had a slight squeak and he thought it was great!
confused.gif
 
I've passed artics, cranes, man cutting stone with an angle grinder, motorbikes, cars speeding passed me and some skiding passed us. She'll passed most things but OMG should the grass grow a bit taller or a new weed grow up were there was no weed before - OMG it's going to kill her!
tongue.gif
 
Ok, one of mine very rarely spooks at much.... except his own feet!! god, if you look down they are terrifying things i swear!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top