What's your horse's tantrum style?

[Daffodil]

Interesting you should ask this tonight, when my boy (the little sod) threw a major strop. He is expert at the 180 deg spin with absolutely no warning. One second you're looking forward, the next, if you're still on board, you're facing the opposite way and going backwards. He's never actually reared with me though I've seen him do so in the field, and not keen on testing him! Can do the shoulder-drop too!

Mind you, reading all the others posts on this, perhaps he's not as bad as I thought!!!

 

[RachelB]

Berlin bucks (BIG), Kit bolts (well, with her it goes from trying to bolt, to rearing and plunging, then she just says "**** you, I'm off!" and disappears!

) and Maiden... piaffes

Her evasion to the whip is to kick out sideways, but if I wind her up enough she can produce a half decent piaffe even if it isn't very elevated. I made her stand today at the entrance to a large open field where we usually go fast, and she spent the entire time I was adjusting my stirrups piaffing, then passaging sideways, then more piaffe... there's life in the old girl yet!

 

[hadfos]

Honestly???

Bone idle

...if he thinks its boring,and knows i havnt got hold of the schooling cane

,however if i have he just spends 20mins refusing to bend either way...but that is it

I have had this guy since he was 6 month old and do you know(he is 14 in july),he has NEVER bucked/half reared or anything

,and i put it down to his upbringing and me doing everything with him,we trust each other,should do after 13yrs

 

[cokelly]

mine sulks....

like literally turns away from you and hangs his head and no amount of petting/apologies makes a blind bit of difference!!

until the spillers meadowherb treats come out- think he'd forgive me for anything when Ive got them!!

 

[Noodlejaffa]

My grey gelding - mini rears and a lot of foot stamping. If that doesn't work then breaking into canter at every opportunity and then finally will give in and work beautifully!

My chestnut mare (nearly 4!) - if she's had enough she tries to turn away on her favourite rein, knowing full well that she's bigger than me. Full cheek bit has helped immensely!

 

[MrsMozart]

Weeeelllllll:

The Dizzy One - backwards, at high speed (down ditches, into posts/walls/trees/vans

); spins; if tap her bum she bucks and if tap her shoulder she rears; head goes all over the shop. Had a stonker of one the other day, daughter said it looked like two mares arguing lol. Once she's stood when and when she is meant to, I have to stroke her neck and talk to her softly to get her head down (and her ears out of my nostrils lol).

Little Cob - refuses to move, at all, in any direction - have tried absolutely everything (short of small bomb under ar&e). He's getting better

.

Little Lad - bucks (handstands); drops a shoulder; head up and twists; head down and twists; bogs off at high speed; reared six inches once (on hack on own, had his one and only real hissy fit about that). The firmer and more confiden the rider, the less likely he is to do it.

 

[tabithakat64]

Fudge stamps his feet, jumps up and down and shakes his head true toddler style

Lady does this horrid twisty buck that crunches your spine.

 

[martlin]

Grumps - head up and tries to p!ss off, that doesn't work so he paws the ground, bounces for a bit and then throws himself on the floor
Trapez - canters on the spot or goes backawards
Grace - rearing whilst spinning and bouncing in all directions, running backwards, sideways, forwards and grunting, if all else fails a series of few massive bucks has me on the floor and then she looks very sheepish
Mabel - when everything in life becomes to much she just goes frantic, stomping, head shaking and panicking
Melly doesn't have tantrums.
Holly used to go backwards whilst bucking and if I tried to push forward she would rear and jump through the bit, then proceed to run backwards whilst bucking, nowadays she doesn't have tantrums.

 

[PapaFrita]

The only one of my ponies that 'does' tantrums is the Little Cigar; he'll stand stock still and refuse to move, do Spanish Walk as slooooowly as possible (me still leading him). Then, if he's STILL cross at me, he'll aim a buck my way when I let him off the leadrope. Little ****!!

 

[somethingorother]

Of the two i've shared in the past one was a lovely but extremely excitable (overfed) hyperactive mare who would either buck, sometimes leap off all fours, but more often would just do a lovely piaffe and sometimes backwards. As far as tantrums go, staying mostly on the spot and having people admire her looking beautiful isn't too bad. She didn't have a bad bone in her body

The other made up for it though, his favourite daily trick was to see a leaf or some equally invisible and stupid monster, and without a moments notice rear, spin 180, drop shoulder, buck, rear, buck rear. Repeat. Or if he just didn't want to do something, just keep spinning and rearing until he forgot why he was doing it. I suppose he did probably look handsome, but no one admired his tantrums

Oh and the one before them that i shared with a friend started out by just planting feet in summer when out 24/7, and by winter on an hour t/o every other day he was running through fences and rearing up against telegraph poles with rider still on, and when the fancy took him bolting blindly. On the ground he would squash you, kick, bite, rear at you and keep coming, or spin and knock you to the ground. He wasn't a fun horse to be around. He only lasted about 8 months before he got sold to someone where he could live out. He never did go back to the stubborn lazy pony he first was though.

 

[EmmaAndSummer]

either spook and gallop off or dance/jump on the spot or bronx really big and trot about all excited haha special TB's

 

[gothdolly]

Wow all your horses sound really scary Im glad mine are not so alarming! My app x connemara does a really pathetic attempt to turn back to the stable swinging his head in the direction he wants to go in (which is very easily corrected) and the TB x ID doesnt have temper tantrums, as far as I can tell, he is too unconfident. Spooky and flighty, yes, but no bad temper, just fear.

 

[annret]

Ah, we have the BOLT, BRAKE & BUCK combo...and if you sit that and give a smack, a wee rear. Not done it in a while, mind!

Alternatively, we have the successive broncs with lots of head tossing; the spook, buck, shoulder drop; the spook & bugger off; and on a low-level the running backwards & piaffe & headtossing.

Have to say she's the girl with the curl on her forhead - when she gets naughty, she's very bad but it never seems intentional.

 

[Paddockornament]

My boy is far too lazy to contemplate a tantrum. He once, on good grass and being fed way too much early on in our relationship, reared, stag leapt and then bucked and bucked. I decided to bail out and as soon as he felt my weight shift he stopped dead to let me get my balance back. Luff my horse.

 

[malibu211211]

Only ever pushed Monty too far once...........never again

He reared up and fell backwards on me

He's too big and I am not gonna get into a fight with him as I would come off worse.
He throws strops and swishes his tail and just generally throws himself about, it's all a bit half hearted though

When he starts to come back at me (normally when you're asking more of him) I worry and tend to try to defuse the situation by doing something else with him then going back to it.

 

[Hels_Bels]

Jane - pisses off flat out, i can't stop her at the best of times let alone when she does this. If i want her to stand still she usually shakes her head around and stamps her feet

Charm - doesn't really do anything naughty occasionally puts in mini rears, otherwise she just does everything at twice the speed

 

[lipizzaner]

I don't push him to the stage where he feels he needs to throw a tantrum. I'd be mortified if he did.

 

[MrsElle]

Ellie: never has tantrums. The worse she does is stop and snort if she isn't happy but walks on when asked.

Chad: Where do I start? On hacks he is pretty good apart from the occasional spook at some horse eating monster. He tends to shoot sideways at high speed. He doesn’t ‘do’ jumping (although he can – the bugger jumped a 3’ + fence the other week to get out!) and will put in several bucks until you are off so he doesn’t have to jump. If he doesn’t want to be lead somewhere he will plant his feet and refuse to move forward. He doesn’t lunge or school and will buck, plant, run at you, basically do anything and everything to stop the session.

Stubborn cobs, don’t you just love em ?

 

[FrankieBoy]

Starla can be a bit nappy under saddle but would never throw a buck or anything that takes a bit of effort... Her tantrums are far worse on the ground... If anyone dares to bring out a spray bottle of some description anywhere near her she spends the next twenty minutes up on her back legs...

 

[Diesky]

When i first had Sky she used to throw lots of tantrums such as rearing and then leaping of the floor and landing in a bucking fit but these were mostly out of fear and its taken along time for her to overcome this; I remember being mortally embarrassed when she used to start.

If I push her too far now I see it well before she feels the need to be dramatic - she gets very tense through her whole body and flicks her ears and if I miss this she will take a hold of the bit slightly more than usual. Shes such a kind mare I would also be a bit gutted if she had to behave like above

I remember as a kid thinking "look how flashy my pony looks" as she bucked and reared her way round a hack - now im older and wiser I tend to think "thank god my horse is behaving so well " lol

 

[Sarah1]

He does a spectacular levade! He could put Spanish Riding School to shame some days - his mentality cracks me up tho, he usually does this when he's really being asked to use himself and step right under himself but what I would love to explain to him is that he's using his backend far more with the levading than he would be if he just knuckled down & got on with it!!!!! He's a plank but he's my plank & I love him!

 

[Britestar]

Event pony - bounce up and down on the stop, swishy tail, snorty noises, and sometime snatch reins and run away.

Bay mare - Vertical rears followed immediately by massive bucks - preferably going downhill. Or glued to spot daring me to do anything at all!

Cob - 2 front feet off the ground, probably about 6 inches, but she thinks its massive

Cob sister - Run away, no chance of stopping til shes ready.

Little cob - mini bucks and kick outs.

 

[Rana]

Anything and everything! Starts with head being thrown up and down, then side to side, then stamping her feet, then squealing, then rearing (small to start, then getting bigger until she goes bolt upright), before taking off at whatever speed suits her (sometimes just jogging but you can't stop or turn!), or just cantering off and bucking.

Chestnut mares

 

[wench]

Many different tantrums and mardys. If we are going out, and he doesnt want to, will stand in his stable with his head turned away from you sulking, then refuses to load, until he has been told off, then walks in like a lamb.

If we are out on our own, and he feels like going back, will either find something to spook at the "accidentally" turn back for home, or will do 180 degree turn with no warning.

 

[Angua2]

mmm.... it is a hard one.

Ru's normal tantrum is to do her "racehorse trot" ie hollow her back, stick her head as high as she can in the air and waddle. However, she has discovered that if she does a half rear, buck and spook with no warning she can get people off... I sat the last one and aparently her face was a picture of disapointment. Last time she got me off she bucked/bronked at canter.... I didn't see that one coming and I hope I dont get a repeat of it, but it was at the start of her last season so that may well have been a contributing factor

 

[Bright_Spark]

Septre will do a 180 degree spin at warp factor 10. If I make the mistake of sitting too it, she does it the other way and drops her shoulder. Her schooling tantrum was to slam the brakes on, lean back like a cat scratching and stamp her front legs.

Amber has not had a strop with me on her (yet). The last time she had a tantrum was when I took Binky out of the field and she was most offended she was left behind, cue much rearing, bucking and galloping around.

 

[kbsaff]

If Lennox doesn't want to do something we stop, wait for my reaction, then he will throw himself on the floor and stay there, whether I'm on him or not.
He's done it in the park, just because he's had enough, In the show ring because the judge has told him off for nibbling.
He also throws himself on the floor if he's having his teeth / Back done. I haven't told him, but it's lightly easier for the dentist if he's on the floor!!