I prefer to think of this as “forward
thinking” horses vs “backward thinking” horses. A
forward thinking horse will always walk up to and investigate things which
worry it, a backward thinking horse will need to be persuaded (and sometimes
forced) to do that. Forward thinking horses tend to be happy to go out
alone or in company and are not affected by other horses’ fear, and so,
if out with a spooky horse, won’t become spooky themselves.
I have two horses in my yard who are “forward
thinkers”. Both were like that from the time I got them. One is my
baby WB who at the age of three is happy to lead an outride and who will go
over, through, under or past anything. The other is my OTT TB, who does
dressage, showjumping, eventing and who I’ve yet to see go “I’m
not happy going there”. When something startles him (yes, he will
spook, he is a horse after all), his first reaction after the initial spook is
to walk right up to whatever has startled him, investigate it and move
on. And he does this whether or not I ask him to.
I have one “backward” thinking
horse in my yard. He is 17 years old and his standard MO is to plant his
feet / run backwards / go up if he doesn’t like what he’s presented
with. With time, he’s learned to be desensitized to loads of
things, from motorbikes to hot air balloons to wild animals, but if presented
with something new, he will STILL give me a hard time about going past it and
he’s a bugger to showjump cos he can’t be trusted. Eventing is
simply a no-no.
I have two horses in my yard who are
spooky and looky but because they are essentially generous, they’ll let
the rider over-ride their insecurity (which means that you need to be careful
not to ask for too much and break their trust).
And then I have a young Tb who, in every
demonstrable way, is about as backward thinking as you can get (he rears if he’s
under pressure and if he spooks, which has only happened ONCE the entire time I’ve
known him, his inclination is to bolt back home!) but who is quite possibly the
BRAVEST of the bunch and will make a fantastic event horse because so far, nothing
frightens him. He’s the most complex to ride because I know that he
will only give me what he’s comfortable giving me, and I have to read him
every step of the way. I adore riding him because he makes me confident.
Odd.
Tracey
From:
ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Evelyn Allen Sent: 16 April 2007 02:49 AM To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [RC] Boldness in Horses
Would anyone like to comment on whether they feel a horse is
either: born especially bold; whether real
boldness develops in some horses the more experience they have (and
by this I mean not just the usual confidence a horse develops, but actual
boldness; or whether that quality can truly be instilled in a
horse. By "boldness" I mean the preparedness to head out down a
trail at any gait either in the lead or by itself, without hesitation
(more or less), and/or without major spooks.
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