WHY do horses hate...

[only_me]

PIGS!!!

took my horse today to a pleasure ride in a forest. had a brill time, jumping ditches, banks and playing in the river. then on the route home we passed a pig. up till now we had been lovely and relaxed, but then his heart started beating so hard he was trembing all over!!
poor boy was terrified and was just staring at the pig! we had to go so off we went and it took ages to get him to settle again

so why do horses hate pigs? or is it just my boy?

 

[MizElz]

my horse hates pigs too! she also hates:

goats
donkeys
tractors
cars
lorries
SPRAYERS!!!! (these are her true Nemesis)
grass
hedges
bottles/cans
birds in hedges
rabbits
hares
deer

um..........hang on, id have been better off listing what she actually LIKES!!!

 

[asbo]

jay loves them, we used to pass some & he would try to sniff them

 

[scrat]

I ride in the New Forest and in our area the pigs are out all year round. Thats not a bad thing as the horses have become used them although they are still wary of them.

 

[kerilli]

horses are naturally frightened of pigs because they're omnivores so smell as if they might want to eat them, i think.

 

[Donkeymad]

I had a pony who quite liked pigs. I would like to know why horses are terrified of donkeys. Then again, I also have a donkey who is terrified of horses!!!

 

[LizzieJ]

None of mine mind pigs but one of them is absolutely terrified of donkeys!

 

[Heidi_123]

I used to loan a horse who was 100% bombproof in traffic and flappy things. you name it and he wasn't scared but if he saw a pig he would just freak!! It's supposed to be quite common so you're not alone!

 

[Cahill]

i think it is the smell that scares them first of all.
i knew someone who kept their pony at a pig farm and he was fine with them and used to be tied up outside the pens just a couple of feet away from them.
the farmer said not to turn the pony out with the pigs because the pig can run under the pony,lift its head and spike the pony belly with its tusk.

 

[0ldmare]

I met a llama out on a hack at the weekend when I was out on my little 6 year old. She (horse that is) stood stock still with her mouth hanging open! The llama was quite taken with her and galloped up and down the fence. On the way back the horse didnt even look at it. I have to say its sooo nice to have an un-spooky horse for once!

 

[Nickijem]

Apparently it is because all horses are instinctively wary of wild boars (and pigs) and snakes. Although there are no longer any wild boars to be scared of, it is still their natural instinct to be scared of them! So they will also be scared by pigs and hose pipes (they mistake them for snakes!

)

 

[Cahill]

my horse is scared of roadkill.she thinks it will jump up and go `booo`

 

[SouthWestWhippet]

I was told that pigs have a very strong predator smell, similar to that of a lion...??? dunno if this is true. But I used to keep my horse on a pig farm and after the first 24hrs he was absolutely fine with them, in fact he got into trouble one summer for reaching over his stable wall into the pig pen next door and eating all the pig meal (basically a cereal/bran mix thing). He used to bite the piglets if they tried to get a look in.

 

[sugarnspice]

I don't think Cinns ever seen pigs before! He is really scared of donkeys though

.

 

[Ruggers]

we have our horses turnd out with 2 pet pigs and they are fine with them in the field. but if i ride past the pigs the horses shy at them. crazy!!!

 

[the watcher]

My first pony came from a farm that had pigs and sheep and turkeys, so she was immune to all of those - nothing was scary for her except plastic bags in the verge

 

[TarrSteps]

Pigs are closely related to bears so it makes sense that they push all the "danger" buttons for horses that aren't used to them. It might also depend on what the pigs are eating and therefore what they smell like.

We had a pet pig one place I rode young horses and it always took awhile for new horses to get okay with him. Until he squealed (which he did often, being a rather nervous sort of a pig) in which case even the "pig broke" horses tended to want to leave town.