Do you know what your horse is thinking

newforest

newforest

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Mar 15, 2008
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Serious discussion or a bit of fun, you choose.

My lass was very black and white in her thinking. Yes or No. There was no in between grey area for negotiations.
She was bullying mum from 18months, around the time she refused to lead. If she led she was a lead and leave!
I started off western/nh and soon ditched it because she waved her hooves around enough to say "cut the crap"

But now I feel she has discovered the grey area. The ability to change her mind and think. Whether that's maturity, manners or training I can't say.

So when I run through our fancy dress, her thoughts might have been "Lovely but I'm not wearing it" to "I'm not keen but I will"
Before I wouldn't even have tried her! I certainly wouldn't have pushed my luck.
 
My lad is still very much a baby in mind and body, but his thought processes generally go along the lines of "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? ARRRRGH, no wait, s'ok, does it dispense food?"

Otherwise he is such a people person you only have to ask him to do something and he does it with a big daft smile on his face.
 
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I never realised how young in mind mine was - she was about seven when we met. But she hadn't done a lot and me being a novice owner didn't help. Sometimes I wish I could turn the clock back riding wise because I expected too much in a lot of ways. Ground wise she is very very genuine and once she knows something is okay to touch or walk through she will go with the flow. Persuasion sometimes needed but nicely, lots of reward for the small gives.
 
Wally said:
My lad is still very much a baby in mind and body, but his thought processes generally go along the lines of "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? ARRRRGH, no wait, s'ok, does it dispense food?"

Otherwise he is such a people person you only have to ask him to do something and he does it with a big daft smile on his face.
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Ha ha mines is most definitely NOT a baby but that is pretty much the way she thinks.
 
I could read Bo like a book, I knew just by the look on his face what mood he was in and from that what he was likely to think of things.

Jess, before her lameness she was so laid back she was almost horizontal, I asked some huge questions of her and she simply agreed, no fuss, I could imagine her giving a big sigh and rolling her eyes at me. Recently she's a bit nutty, looking for things to spook at, she's thinking 'wassthat? haha, joke, did you keep up?'

Hank well he's thinking 'aw you're going to stab me with a needle, thats so nice that you want to be close to me' because he just craves attention all the time :p
 
Cally, yes. Max, getting there. Dylan absolutely not. It works both ways, they know what I'm thinking too.

Funnily enough I was playing around with this while hacking Max yesterday. The track curved round to the right but there was a little cut through you could take to cut a corner.. I deliberately kept hands and legs still and focused my attention at the cut through. With no hesitation he just went that way. At other times I shifted my weight to one way or other but kept my attention forward and he knew the weight shifts weren't meaningful and ignored them.
When riding Cally it felt like a conversation: she'd say 'can we canter' or 'are you sure about this jump' and I'd answer.
Dylan only ever responded to the physical cues. There was no connection with each others thoughts at all which I found very difficult as I love that part of my relationship with my horses.
 
Yes but after 15 years of doing everything possible together if I didn't know him inside out I would be disappointed in myself for not letting him in :)

The cushings has thrown me a little lately as he is changing and now on the process of changing back and he's a bit higgelty piggelty in his changes at the moment but we will get there :D
 
Wally said:
does it dispense food
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Mine does expect everyone we meet out hacking to dispense a fuss.
She will pop herself into shoulder in and drop lots of hints.
"can I fuss her"

When tied on the yard she will shuffle herself into her best come over position. Though looks away from those she doesn't like.
 
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