It feels like I’ve been saying this a lot, but evidently I haven’t used this as a blog title yet.
But seriously, HORSES ARE STUPID. At least my horses are stupid.
Subi seems to follow a 2-3 day on (good behavior) followed by an explosion.
I had been leading him in with a halter and a chain. Except, he started resenting the chain, overreacting to the chain, and I decided to try something different so we’ve moved on to the rope halter. Prior to the rope halter, it got to the point that I couldn’t even correct any behavior as he’d correct himself… With the rope halter, things have been better. Well, I haven’t had to do anything since throwing it on Friday, but… Most of our time is spent with Subi licking and chewing. Saturday night I even led him to the barn alone. No Batt in sight! (Batt decided he wanted to go out the frozen gate shut gate and I didn’t feel like waiting…)
Not innocent
Until last night. Last night he was on edge. But, we halted, we backed, we licked, we chewed, we backed, we halted, we kept ourselves in check. I was very proud. Especially considering the ground was slushy and gross.
This morning, slush had frozen over and I pulled blankets. So, 28 degrees out, he was cold. And it was icy. (tough, it was going up to 54-55). And instead of behaving, Subi decided rearing was the right response. I can’t remember my initial reaction. I might have just yanked on his halter a few times and then backed him down the snowy hill. Then we walked onto the icy driveway to take the less slippy path.
Passing the “front” of the house, he tried to be stupid again and I lost it and yelled “ARE YOU CRAZY? DO YOU WANT US BOTH TO DIE? WOULD THAT JUST BE EASIER?” And scared the shit out of both him and Batty. And after that, every time he so much breathed out of place, I might have yelled, “WOAH!” and Subi halted. And then a little harshly yelled, “Back!” and he backed. And then “Walk on!” and only, then did I soften my voice… We made it to the field pretty quickly even with halt and back breaks, but by the time we got there, lots of licking and chewing were going on, and a stupid chestnut’s head was on the ground.
So. Much. Trouble.
When he first reared, he nearly reared on top of me and well, not acceptable. The halting and backing HAD been working alone, but sometimes you need to escalate? I’m not sure I’m a fan of yelling (lol), but sometimes I forget JUST HOW MUCH this horse reacts to voice and dislikes being yelled at.
Once the round pen dries up some (haha) we’re going to start working in there. I’m not sure he’ll be sound enough for lunging, but no reason I can’t start desensitizing and other ground work. I need a book of fun ground exercises that aren’t stressful for joints. But if it kills me, we’re going to learn to love tarps. That’s my Subi goal. We’re bomb proofing.
Meanwhile, my other stupid horse is a sloppy eater. Send help. HOW DO I FIX THIS???
Who does this? How do I fix this? I can’t feed him on the ground as he’d spill his feed all over and eat his bedding… He’d do better without the cubes/pulp but chronic colic and I’m scared to stop what’s working… Picture taken during arctic blast so slop was FROZEN TO THE WALL.
And my stupid mini likes to poop under the tack room door. We moved mats around, but he’s driving me insane.
Three Chestnuts 
Frozen horse slobber is nasty. No help from me on that one.
hahahahaha glad it is not just me…omg still laughing at Batt’s frozen leftovers on the wall.. SORRY NO HELP FRO ME but it makes me feel better about my stupid horses so thanks:)
It may be worth looking into a Porta Grazer?? Or a tub in his stall with the bucket in that? But maybe he’ll just lift his head and make as much of a mess?
In terms of the ports grazer, I’m not sure that would work? He gets his ration balancer, beet pulp, and cubes mixed together with his supplements and his pulp/cubes soak 10-12 hours. He does drink lots of the liquid (all that doesn’t end up all over the place) which is the most important think since his colics are all impactions not gas… I thought of tubs, but I’d have to secure and I don’t want to carry a big tub to the barn daily. I worry putting a bucket in a tub might keep him from getting all liquid… plus he does just pick his head up which is half the wall issue.
Stupid horses!!! I guess I’ll scrub until I come up with a better solution! Thanks for the ideas! I really appreciate them even if I’m coming up with excuses why they won’t work. My horse is stupid. Thankfully he happily eats from a small hole (1”) hay net…
Yeah, I can see why those ideas wouldn’t work. So, um good luck? lol
Can I just toss him out to the wolves? Except he’s pretty well behaved… Stupid horse!
If the yelling worked then it was the right thing to do. Sometimes you just have to say ‘enough’ in a way that is clear! The slop is there until tit thaws. I am not sure how t prevent it though. As for the Pony tell him that you really want him to poop under the tack room door ALL THE TIME. THat should do it. Or put a bale of straw against it.
Omg that first picture of him haha – you can practically see all the feelingz bubbling out of his ears …
So many feelings!
That slop is impressive. Though the poop under the door sounds like an even greater feat! What dorks…
That title resonates with me oh so much. I used a rope halter from Knotty Girlz with P while he was on stall rest and it made my life so much easier when my injured horse would decide he’d like to remain injured for infinity years.
There are a couple horses at the barn that are disgusting eaters like that so she started feeding them in pans that fit in the hole of a small tire (so they couldn’t drag them around or flip them over) and it totally works!
I wonder if you could protect the wood with something so it’s just easier to clean?
That’s a good idea. If I can find something that’s removable, this would be great!
even a door mat or something pliable that you could remove periodically?? Damn horses. Tractor supply does have the pan that sits in a tire if you wanted to try something like that. I am still having horses flinging their food (and supps) all over the place but not on the wall. THO Tate loves to dribble it on the stall guard… i give them a hot mash of anything…
I saw the tire and am considering it for Jiminy (just to keep his pan in place). I’d just need to cut Batt’s food back to fit in a pan and while calorie wise it would be ok, he needs the fluids and I don’t want to mess with what’s working. I’m not sure a tub with handles would fit in a tire… a mat or plastic on the wall might be the way to go.
yes because Batt needs calories 🙂 I agree with the fluids though 🙂
Yeah he doesn’t need calories but he needs his soaked cubes and beet pulp for fluids. I’m not taking chances with this horse. Vet prescribed diet.
I just assume my horses will be as stupid as possible in any given situation. Like if there is a smart decision to be made, they will chose the other options.