How chilled is your horse?

[marieb]

The Criollo breed is famous for its even temprement and calm nature.

Orecha is my 9 yo Criollo and I have had him just six weeks. He is so chilled its almost unbelievable. The vet came out to see him for a swollen eye a couple of weeks ago and was staggered at just how laid back he was. He needed the tube flushed out in his nose so the vet gave him a sedative, saying he would only give him a pony dose. It worked really fast and he nearly went down several times, the vet said he was pleased he hadn't given him a horse size dose (Orecha who I call Spot is 15.00hh and the chunky confirmation, so big.) He also said that he probably would have been ok with just a local anesthetic. It was so funny watching him staying upright but swaying all over the place.

Last night my son and Great Auntie were helping to put his new boots on...as with a lot of Criollo's he is barefoot but is feeling the stoney ground, he hasn't had much handling of his feet so its a bit of a palava getting him to lift his feet. GA was stood by his head to stop him moving back, my son had picked his foot up and was holding it and I was putting the boot on when he almost fell over onto us.....he had fallen to sleep...with his leg in the air.....
the boot was half on so ended up twisted....having woken himself up we then got it on straight. Bless.

Great Auntie has a similar story she may relate. I have been around horses since I was a child and never come across horses that are so chilled.

Has anything like this happened to you with your horse or pony?

[MagicSix]

Rocha (criollo) is chilled but isn't at the same time if that makes any sense. She will stand around for ages and not move a muscle but on a ride she is jigging and jogging but not actually trying to go - more of a 'I want to go but know I shouldn't so will bounce along instead':D

She will walk over absolutly anything and stand in the way of oncoming horses - had a loose horse running up to me when I was riding her so stopped her in the way, horse ran into her side and she just stood there, ears flopped, like it was an everyday occurrance, very proud of her

[Amber*1]

Our Criollos Senor & Raposa are also very chilled out!

There is a lot of building work going on by the stables at the moment. They haven't been near it as they are living out, but when I brought them into the yard today they didnt bat an eyelid!

There were two big trenches dug out ready for pipework being put in & we had to crioss them to get to the yard. One was open & they just stepped straight over. The other one had a piece of chipboard over part of it (for the digger to get over) & they both clattered over it totally unfazed! There was also coils of big blue pipe all around & several pipes laying on the ground that they also walked over.

I have not had a horse before that would have done that without making a fuss first!

They really are amazing!

xx

[mancha70@hotmai]

my horse Bandolero, is really chilled, he will plod along, with tractors, lorries, motobikes, quads whizzing past him, he also likes to escape from his field or tether and will go on to the next farm and eat the grass there. and stand near the polo mares!, which are in the next field

[xJenniferx]

Tyler, an Irish Draught X, is very laid back and tends not to bother about anything. Any moment of standing still invovles sleeping or preparing to sleep and the biggest worry we have is where the next grass patch will come from

[campbh]

My Quarter Horse can be pretty chilled. He just loves to sleep. Typically, at a three-day show, he'll be all tucked up in bed at the earliest opportunity - after breakfast. He'll wake up just long enough to lift his head to rest on my boots (better 'pillow' than flax etc...!)

My best moment was dialling frantically to the vet because I'd worked him pretty hard over the Christmas break. I'd been grooming him and he'd been especially quiet - and he started to make this wierd little hiccupping sound and a small judder from time to time. When I threw his rug over his head (closed front type) and he didn't butt with his head to get it through the opening, I thought 'there's something not right here'. Waved my hands in front of his eyes. No reaction. Tickled his ears. Nothing. Stuck a scoop of coarse mix under his nose. Nadda. Total panic...

Thought he was having some kind of seizure! Luckily for me someone else suggested that he was just enjoying some serious REM... :o

[Tuff_up]

My Quarter Horse is quiet and sensible on the ground but once you have the saddle on she wants to go but she still stay pretty calm she just likes to go and gets impatient when i spend a day of collection and bending work then lope work.

[colettybetty]

OH's Traditional coloured cob is so chilled he falls asleep when being clipped, we have to be careful and wake him up when tidying up his legs as he has nearly fallen over on top of my OH.
Have many stories of him standing rock still to protect children playing around his feet and under his belly, he'll put himself in the way of other horses to protect people from flying hooves. Once out on a hack, he was carrying a novice rider outside a comprehensive school. A double decker bus was pulling off full of teenagers as he walked along side and from the top deck, a lad shook a can of coke, opened it and threw it down from the top window where it exploded in front of him. He simply stopped, sniffed it and carried on.

[LeftBrainer]

Tyler, an Irish Draught X, is very laid back and tends not to bother about anything. Any moment of standing still invovles sleeping or preparing to sleep and the biggest worry we have is where the next grass patch will come from

Yep, my ID x sounds the same. Food is about the only thing that gets him excited. :cool:

[marieb]

Nice to hear people enjoying their calm horses. Such a difference to 30 years ago when it was rare to come across a horse that was not nuts in some way or another.

Hopefully its a sign of enlightened times, sensible people with sensible horses.

[Great Auntie]

Well as MarieB said I do have a 'Laid Back' story to tell.....My Criollo Cicatriz, is so laid back he fell asleep with me on him. Yes it's true... to start with I thought it may have been caused by his girth being too tight, but I'm certain it wasn't, I always check it's not pinching etc. After going through lots of different reasons & talking to the farrier ( he nearly falls asleep having his shoes put on as well) & others, we reckon that's exactly what he did. I was mounted , waiting for my partner who was taking his time, MarieB was standing in front of me talking to me, when all of a sudden Cicatriz went straight down onto his knees & straight back up again, he never spooked or moved to one side or the other, it all happened so quickly, the only one to see it was Marie, I never had time to panic or anything. If she hadn't been there I don't think I would have believed it myself. Other than grazed knees he wasn't hurt. I am careful not to let him stand in one place for too long anymore with me on him ;)

[K.T]

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/katieclare_photos/IMG_1042.jpg

My criollo "Buddy" is very chilled in situations where my cob would most definately get stressed. He doesnt spook - bolt or dance on his toes. Hes laid back with dentist. He even puts himself to bed - ahr...

But he doesnt always trust everyone just ask Byron. Hes sensitive to mount and if i havnt ridden him for a while - hes a very lively ride. And if you try and touch his ears - well that is not a chilled horse your looking at!

Also another down side to him been so chilled is he can be a stuburn b---er sometimes.

But all in all id say he is a chilled horse.

[marieb]

he is a star kt, just lovely.

Bev is absolutly right, it was so weird, if I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have believed it, he went down and straight up.

Just discovered Spot doesn't like it if I tip his water bucket over outside the stable, now that is really scary, but so far the only thing to bother him.

[landcruiser]

My criollo Pato is a bit of a nelly in comparison to some, I think! He is very chilled in some ways - huge tractors, fast cars, chained dogs leaping at gates, none of them bother him. Windy days, he plods along as if it's no different to normal. Someone shooting nearby, a little jump and then back to sleep. But it's taken me a while to get him used to hay bales (giant sleeping lions?), and he really doesn't like those "dead pig" sandbags they weight roadworks signs down with. He spooked at my flapping jacket today (I was on the ground, wearing it, and it was windy - he suddenly shot off in horror). Apparently he was bottom of the pile in his herd at Criollo Farm, and had a mare/mother figure looking after him. Working hard on de-sensitization here!

[kiedis]

awww i bet the kids had so much fun ! love the 4th pic !

[Rips]

Well as MarieB said I do have a 'Laid Back' story to tell.....My Criollo Cicatriz, is so laid back he fell asleep with me on him. Yes it's true... to start with I thought it may have been caused by his girth being too tight, but I'm certain it wasn't, I always check it's not pinching etc. After going through lots of different reasons & talking to the farrier ( he nearly falls asleep having his shoes put on as well) & others, we reckon that's exactly what he did. I was mounted , waiting for my partner who was taking his time, MarieB was standing in front of me talking to me, when all of a sudden Cicatriz went straight down onto his knees & straight back up again, he never spooked or moved to one side or the other, it all happened so quickly, the only one to see it was Marie, I never had time to panic or anything. If she hadn't been there I don't think I would have believed it myself. Other than grazed knees he wasn't hurt. I am careful not to let him stand in one place for too long anymore with me on him ;)

Are you certain thats not being caused by a pinched nerve? Just the fact that it happened on more then one occasion, in two situations that would indicate pinched nerve??

You seem to be confusing falling asleep with falling over! My horse falls asleep all the time, not fallen over yet :rolleyes:

[Trio]

my little criollo is so chilled when out hacking - will walk through underpasses waist high in water, go through rivers, bridges etc with not a care in the world but can be a bit of a handful leading in hand if he gets excited- he loves coming out the field and gallops up to meet me and doesnt always stop in time- cue me being mown down ;):D But he will stand tied up for hours without calling or getting stressed out but at the same time is one of the most forward going horses i've ever ridden (and has a canter to die for!).

my arab x QH is stressy on the ground as he is very attached to his herd and will call for them constantly (archie's more attached to me than other horses :)) but once you get on him he is the most chilled out laid back plodder ever- quite the reverse of archie.

[Keket]

My Quarter Horse Coquette is totally laidback. She's one of the reasons that I love the breed.

She's six years old and everywhere we take her, people marvel at how calm she is. At her first clinic last year, no one could believe it was her first clinic. We usually have a hard time getting her ears up for pictures because she's not interested in the flapping paper bag on a stick. She leads quietly, loads/unloads quietly, hacks quietly and doesn't mind being in front or behind or in the middle.

This picture was taken this weekend while giving pony rides. It was her first time off the yard in a year, and her first time in that area. There were tons of strange children, most carrying styrofoam swords and shields, huge bouncy castles, karaoke, tons of stuff to worry about. She ferried kids around for three hours and never put a foot wrong. This is me on her. How chilled does she look, standing there on a loose rein? ;):

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/darknepthys/DSCF0783.jpg

[marieb]

Lovely horse and yes, looks super chilled. I am going to live in the USA next year and may well go for a QH to keep Spot company (if I can take him with me - looking unsure at the moment) i have heard a lot of great things about them. Several people said they were on a par with Criolo's for being chilled and forward going.

[Great Auntie]

Are you certain thats not being caused by a pinched nerve? Just the fact that it happened on more then one occasion, in two situations that would indicate pinched nerve??

You seem to be confusing falling asleep with falling over! My horse falls asleep all the time, not fallen over yet :rolleyes:

It only happened once & he didn't fall over, he just went down. My farrier explained that he had heard of this happening before & because he had my weight on him, his locking system gave way, he would have woken on the way down but been unable to do anything until he hit the ground, when he came straight back up & stood again as if nothing had happened. As I said I had considered the girth issue, but I am very careful & what the Farrier said & talking to another Farrier since then, this seems to make more sense. You had to have been there to believe it I suppose.

[Keket]

Lovely horse and yes, looks super chilled. I am going to live in the USA next year and may well go for a QH to keep Spot company (if I can take him with me - looking unsure at the moment) i have heard a lot of great things about them. Several people said they were on a par with Criolo's for being chilled and forward going.

Great idea! Basic Quarter Horses* are cheap as dirt around here. Especially with the economy the way it is, people are selling horses off way below their usual value.

*That is, Quarter Horses with basic training (walk/jog/lope, halt, rein back and laterals), not big show winners, but good family horses. Champions still fetch high prices.

[smaggi]

My Quarter Horse Cisco is super chilled. When I bought him the vet told me he was the calmest 4 year old he ever saw. We did a Versatality Trail class clinic and he was one of 2 horses that would cross the teeter totter with no reaction. He enjoyed it and we crossed it about 10 times. He loves to play with tarps, flags, balls, and anything else he can find. He also loves cow work.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c361/smaggi1/CiscoAvatar2.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c361/smaggi1/Smoke_Rise_1-12-08_012.jpg