How well do your horses seem to remember things? do you have to repeat things over and over for them to learn them, or do they remember after 1 try?
The memory of an elephant or a goldfish
- Thread starter Jessey
- Start date
Belle is pretty good at remembering things to be fair, (especially if there might be food involved) I wouldn't say she gets it first time but it only takes a couple of goes before she understands and remembers.
Or is it just that the negative has stuck better than the positive?
Jess has the memory of an elephant, positive or negative, that outstanding moment sticks with her forever.
Hank has the memory of a goldfish, you have to repeat things a lot with him for him to remember, perhaps he chooses to forget though, like when a dog feigns deafness
Dan is smart, but his fear seems to get in the way of his learning at times.
Last edited:
Horses in general or the cob.
My RI has said she's too intelligent for her good, that suggests the memory either works very well, or is manipulated to her requirements!
She learnt to untie herself after watching me do it up. So I fixed it with a trailer rope.
As for memory. She's very much but we do this type of horse.
If we move fields and she moved as a group with the herd, she will still head for the empty one unless I correct her on turning back out. So she hasn't retained the fact the herd moved until I've actually turned her out into the new field. Even though I brought her in from the new one.
She associates the headcollar with leading and halter working. Trying to lunge off the headcollar sometimes means she's thinking you are turning out and heads off that way.
Horses are not thick, no riding hat means you are not getting on.
My RI has said she's too intelligent for her good, that suggests the memory either works very well, or is manipulated to her requirements!
She learnt to untie herself after watching me do it up. So I fixed it with a trailer rope.
As for memory. She's very much but we do this type of horse.
If we move fields and she moved as a group with the herd, she will still head for the empty one unless I correct her on turning back out. So she hasn't retained the fact the herd moved until I've actually turned her out into the new field. Even though I brought her in from the new one.
She associates the headcollar with leading and halter working. Trying to lunge off the headcollar sometimes means she's thinking you are turning out and heads off that way.
Horses are not thick, no riding hat means you are not getting on.
I think they have awesome memory power - when it suits them. My brother sold a foal away from its mother at 6 months - 5 years later he saw the same foal all grown up at a horse sale and bought her back. took her home and turned her out with a field full of mares including the newcomer's mother......the youngster screamed across the field - the mother screamed back and both galloped across 8 acres to prance and nicker and nuzzle each other.
My vet sold a TB broodmare to the USA - again he saw her a few years later here in Ireland at a sale (the American/Irish owner had brought the mare back to Ireland with some other horses.) he bought her and took her home - unloaded her off the box and let her go - she marched straight across the yard into her old stable like she had only been gone a day.
I get a bit sad really when I think and accept they have memory and very obviously emotions too, that we horse people don't even take into account when we sell on etc.
My vet sold a TB broodmare to the USA - again he saw her a few years later here in Ireland at a sale (the American/Irish owner had brought the mare back to Ireland with some other horses.) he bought her and took her home - unloaded her off the box and let her go - she marched straight across the yard into her old stable like she had only been gone a day.
I get a bit sad really when I think and accept they have memory and very obviously emotions too, that we horse people don't even take into account when we sell on etc.
Horses in general or the cob.
My RI has said she's too intelligent for her good, that suggests the memory either works very well, or is manipulated to her requirements!
She learnt to untie herself after watching me do it up. So I fixed it with a trailer rope.
As for memory. She's very much but we do this type of horse.
If we move fields and she moved as a group with the herd, she will still head for the empty one unless I correct her on turning back out. So she hasn't retained the fact the herd moved until I've actually turned her out into the new field. Even though I brought her in from the new one.
She associates the headcollar with leading and halter working. Trying to lunge off the headcollar sometimes means she's thinking you are turning out and heads off that way.
Horses are not thick, no riding hat means you are not getting on.
Ah now mine don't know the difference with us wearing hats! We always bring in and go out in hats, it's a safety thing with us as it can be so windy here and they can really get it up their tails!!! Not bad behaviour but it must confuse their senses and they can be extra giddy.
I think they have awesome memory power - when it suits them. My brother sold a foal away from its mother at 6 months - 5 years later he saw the same foal all grown up at a horse sale and bought her back. took her home and turned her out with a field full of mares including the newcomer's mother......the youngster screamed across the field - the mother screamed back and both galloped across 8 acres to prance and nicker and nuzzle each other.
My vet sold a TB broodmare to the USA - again he saw her a few years later here in Ireland at a sale (the American/Irish owner had brought the mare back to Ireland with some other horses.) he bought her and took her home - unloaded her off the box and let her go - she marched straight across the yard into her old stable like she had only been gone a day.
I get a bit sad really when I think and accept they have memory and very obviously emotions too, that we horse people don't even take into account when we sell on etc.
This reminds me of what happened on our yard.
When I lost J his hacking pal used to wait by the gate for him.
When the cob arrived I popped his rug on her because it fitted and he lunged at her in the yard. We had to split them and I whipped the rug off.
He accepted her as her then, do not wear my pals rugs.
That was the year she buddied up with a broodmare that hadn't had a foal that year. She took the cob on as her own.
Marley has selective memory when is suits him He is a quick learner at both the good and the bad! He can open gates, stable doors and undo his lead rope no matter how many quick release knots i put in it, I even have to tie it the unsafe way sometimes as its safer than him going walk about Rummy has also got a good memory, he has only been shown kindness and love by myself and every one who comes on to my yard to visit but he still is very weary of men, so something must be deep seeded in that wee brain of his ??
He is a quick learner at both the good and the bad! He can open gates, stable doors and undo his lead rope no matter how many quick release knots i put in it, I even have to tie it the unsafe way sometimes as its safer than him going walk about Rummy has also got a good memory, he has only been shown kindness and love by myself and every one who comes on to my yard to visit but he still is very weary of men, so something must be deep seeded in that wee brain of his ??
Storm remembers where the thistle patch is on the way to her paddocktook me a few goes to realise! Lol she always lunges towards it, and swallows them in huge chomps
took me a few goes to realise! Lol she always lunges towards it, and swallows them in huge chomps
Mine used to stretch so a colt could undo the headcollar and let her walk along to the next colt. I took to tying her elsewhere.Marley has selective memory when is suits him
@joellie
Possibly not he simply might not like them.? Horses don't like every horse they meet and every human. Mine loves people, but she will turn her head away from some that have no permission to stroke.
She hates puddles, flooded areas are ok if she hasn't got an alternative. But you ride through the stamps and wet water shakes after.
If they made wellies.
She just doesn't do wet and muddy.
I don’t know about memory but Raf has the attention span of a goldfish!
I get a bit sad really when I think and accept they have memory and very obviously emotions too, that we horse people don't even take into account when we sell on etc.
Me too.
When it comes to schooling, Seb takes a lot of repetition to learn anything new and also seems to forget things quickly. He needs to be reminded every ride about moving away from pressure – in particular, he will often move to the right when I use my right leg instead of moving away to the left. We have done endless ground work with him; free-schooling, long-lining, but he doesn’t seem to translate groundwork to ridden.
I think that partly he is genuinely a bit forgetful, partly he is easily distracted/not paying attention sometimes, and partly he tends to offer something he finds easy rather than doing what I’ve asked.
Funnily enough he is super at dealing with physical obstacles. He’ll help you open and shut gates, is good with poles and jumping etc. We took him to a trec introductory day once and he had a ball. He even did rein-back through a pole slalom on the first try, which I really thought he wouldn’t ever manage.
D picks things up quickly, and seems to remember them forever. He hasn’t been schooled properly for years but still remembers all the aids for lateral work and will half-pass in zigzags on the lane etc (though we only do a few steps at a time, in walk now). I don’t remember him ever making a mistake about direction like Seb does even when he was first learning – he grasped the idea of moving away from a touch of my leg and that was that.
But he is very reactive to his rider in general, and it is easy to teach unwanted actions by accident. I taught him to spook at pigeons flying out of a crop field on one ride many years ago (they made me jump!) and he still does it sometimes now. He wasn't worried by them until I made them seem scary
newrider.com