OK, taking up from the "Pack In" post...

It seems some horses are terrified of other "farm" animals. I have had horses that thought cattle were aliens and went nuts when ever they saw or smelled them. Same thing with seeing or smelling pigs, mules, chickens, goats, geese, camels, etc.

Just why are they afraid of other herbavores????

I went on a wilderness bear hunt in Idaho last June. The QH I rode would pack bears out with no issue. My guide dropped me off one afternoon and on his way out a big chocolate stood up in the middle of the trail he was going back down. The guide was riding his horse and leading mine back to camp when they encountered the bear. The horses could plainly see the bear and fortunately for him, they did not spook. The bear eventually took off after a long stand off.

I think my horse would have found his way down the mountain very quickly in that situation but he is not afraid of cattle and chickens.

It's all a matter of exposure. If they have seen them and gotten used to them, it's no big deal.

I've heard lots of stories about horses freaking out around Llamas. Mine never seemed to care. We have cows nearby and my horses are used to them, but have gotten very nervous when the buffalo chase us. Probably because the buffalo cows all bunch up in defense with the calves behind them mode and march straight at you.

I've sat on my horse and watched deer or elk pass right by. But had my hands full when a small band of Antelope jumped up and darted off. My horse figured they were running, he better run too.

It's just the typical prey animal instincts to run first and check it out latter. And what they run into doesn't matter. It may be a rock, a stump, a deer, or a turkey taking flight. The trick is to teach them to spook in place and take their direction from you. If you get nervous or excited, the horse can sense it. If you stay calm and give the horse the leadership he needs, they will get over it quickly.

Bottom line, it's just lots of wet saddleblankets that make the difference.

These are free roaming buffalo.

Wow! Way cool, thanks for that photo.

Horses are scared of things that they have not been exposed to. They do not know whether the cow, which they have not seen before, eats grass or horses. The best way to get a horse over being scared of other barnyard animals is to get the other animal to move away from the horse. Horses show dominance by moving other horses away. I'm not sure how this would work with bears however.

Inanimate objects are a nother thing. The best thing I can come up with is just ignore it. Ride on and don't focus on the rock or whatever pretty soon the horse says my leader ain't scared so why should I be. People put a lot of focus on a horse being scared, but it is what keeps them alive and sometimes it can keep you alive.

None of my horses have ever been afraid of any animal, with the exception of a bear on a couple of ocassions and they were controllable even then, but they were all ranch raised for the most part or went into training early in life roping calves or steers..Every where they went they were followed by a dog, and even by a cat I had.

I think perhaps a lot of that is in the breeding, some horses will actually hunt a cow, eat the hair off its back and thats a good sign he is going to make a good horse..

Horses raised in a pen are like a boy raised in a high rise apartment, pretty worthless for the most part, and unexposed to their surroundings in the country, but their are always exceptions to the rule....I'm speaking in generalities.

A horse needs to grow up climbing mountains, following his mama everywhere, get plenty of feed and supplement, and get an early education...He will then know how to handle himself in the rocks, and grows up around all manner of animals...

Again all problems with horses are mostly caused by the owners failure to educate them, and remember you must teach a horse everything twice, once on each side.

Well said.

We had dairy cows when I was a kid. We had to keep the horses and cows seperated- the horses just had to chase the cattle and that was a killing offense according to my Dad. They were registered Guernseys shown all over the midwest and were PAMPERED!

Young horses that attack cattle are what I look for, I want one that wants to eat a cow, then I know he will make a good working cow horse when trained, and he will get over that childish prank of chasing cattle on his own..

Painted horse that looks like a big body of inland salt water in the background to me.

Horses are like little kids. They need lots of exposure to lots of things. Lots of wet sadle blankets in many different situations & ground work.

You recognize that spot do you?

I ride there all winter. 20 minutes from the house, less snow than up on the mountain, pretty sandy or smaller rocks. Not too hard on a barefoot horse.

If I've got an hour I can do the 7.5 mile loop. A little more time and I do the second loop for a 16 mile total. Good chance of seeing the Bighorn sheep on that loop. If I'm just looking to put miles on the horse and I've 3 hours I'll take the shoreline trail. It is 13 miles down and 13 miles back with a big stock tank of water at the ranch.

It's a great place in the winter. Too many bikes and flies in the warmer months.

At 47 years old I have owned horses most all of my life. Living in Montana it is the best way to get around. I have been on thier backs and been off. Last year as we were riding down a trail in the selway, Relaxed, we rounded a corner in the trail. Coming up was a Forestry employee leading a string of lhamas! All of a sudden it was *&R$# holes and elbows all over the place. We had just saw several bear, a moose, deer, and some sheep. What the big deal with the lhama? Who knows. After gathering things up we headed back to the trail head. Next trip we armed our selves with some special lhama pepper spray, we will not be caught with out it again!!

Tom Maynard

Guys I have had enough experiance on a horse that I can appreciate there packing abilities on numerous occasions.I am pretty sure there are good ones and bad ones.But the one thing I know for sure is If it was not for man they would be extinct!

It's a matter of exposure and temperment. Some horses won't react at all even if they have never seen the critter before. While some will die of fright at the sight of a weird shadow. I saw this with my blue heeler too. She has no problem working cattle. But once we were moving cows down the highway and some Llama-like creatures were standing next to the fence. My pup must have thought they were the devil incarnate. She just stood there and growled. I couldn't call her past them at all I had to ride back to her get off my horse, pick her up and ride past them, with her growling the whole time.

Folks.

Figure this one out then...

I ride a Cleveland Bay gelding, who's as big as a house side (17.2h) and will stand/ride in a field of cows/calfs all day long. But you put one at the other side of a thorn fence from the soft idiot and he's a bag of nerves, backs up, spins round and gets in a right tiz over the whole affair. l've cus'd the bugger more times that l care to remember, and no matter how many times l try to introduce him to things over the fence he just won't have it.
Takes all sorts l guess.

Dave.
....

Its always amazed me that most horses survive and eventually turn out fairly well inspite of their owners....

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
Its always amazed me that most horses survive and eventually turn out fairly well inspite of their owners....

Well said Ray, and you can substitute "dogs" or "kids/parents" into that as well.

Dave