Does anyone else out there own a crabby horse? I’m not talking about one with pain issues etc. just one who is a crab about things. My guy who I love very much and gets the best of care since the day he was born has just been a grumpy/sensitive guy. He has been fully evaluated by the vet and has been declared to simply be a grumpy guy. He has an opinion about EVERYTHING! That brush is too stiff, these blankets bind( so I’m going to rip them off and tear them to shreds to show my disgust), the water is too cold ooo now too hot! You get my drift. We he is ridden he is lovely. He loves to make ugly faces when being tacked up and has tried to bite the grooms a few times. Ugg. He get treats only in his bucket to prevent him from being mouthy towards people. I’m not really looking for advice just seeing if anyone else has a horse like this. I still love him though. Crabbiness and all.
My mare has very strong opinions about blankets. She is not a fan (but she doesn’t destroy them or try to bite you, but she’ll let you know that she does not approve with all sorts of faces). So funny!
She doesn’t much care for neighbors either.
I have one too! My mare also HATES her blankets. Just walking towards her with one is enough to elicit a strong response in the form of pinned ears, gnashing teeth, tail swishing, and sometimes a hind leg raised in protest. She’s never bitten or kicked anyone, just makes her displeasure obvious. She behaves similarly to saddle pads and girths. She’s been checked by a vet and gets regular chiro. She’s been like this for as long as I’ve owned her (5 years now). She’s lovely to ride and an amazing AA/AO horse, but she’s a crab for grooming, blanketing, and tacking. If you’re not trying to put anything on her, and you approach with a treat or to scratch itchy spots, she turns into a lovebug.
My first horse was such a grumpy old man that by the time he was 10 he had developed wrinkles over his nostrils from scowling. See, I told you your face would freeze like that!
I have readhead who is very opinionated about grooming. After ruling out pain and nutritional deficiencies, I’ve come to the conclusion that he is just a grump being groomed. Soft brushes, stiff brushes, rags, jelly mitts, doesn’t matter what I use he stands there with his nostrils wrinkled and ears back! He is delightful about everything else, he just does.not.like.being.groomed. He’s a funny guy!
Got one myself, as others have noted she hates clothes. Will even shimmy out of her blankets at night given the chance. And yes, she is a redheaded TB mare. And the crabette will extend her ire to other four legged creatures just as Shorty’s mare is displaying, to the point that she has been bounced out of her play group. Solo turnout for her!
The bigger question - why do we put up with it? Isn’t life too short to have to deal with the risk? To have barn help run in terror? To have to suit up in armor to tack our horses??
Oh, yeah I remember why I put up with it - under saddle she is a rock star! Never met a jump she didn’t like, doesn’t know the words ‘buck’ or ‘spook’. Made for the hunters with a big lopey canter. This one is giving me my ‘groove’ back 
I’ve got one. He hates other horses, is VERY particular about who can be his neighbor and even then can be just not nice. He charges other horses as they go by his run.
Standing in the crossties he will make nasty faces at any horse that walks by…and any human. BUT the second the human takes a step towards him he’s all sweetness. It’s mostly a big show with people and he is quite sweet…or maybe it’s just that he’s quite sweet with me.
I’ve had two grumpsters.
My grumpy old TB was only friendly under two conditions: sedation and illness.
Under heavy sedation (while getting vet work done), I would kiss him all over his grumpy face. Hee hee.
When he didn’t feel good, I would know as soon as I walked into the barn because he would be cuddly. Cuddly = uh oh, call the vet!
I miss that ol’ curmudgeon. We used to joke that he’d be the kind of guy yelling ‘Hey you kids, get off my lawn!’
My 11 yo gelding is known for his grumpy faces, but he isn’t really grumpy. We think his ears were installed backward.
My guy is ok for everything but girthing (understandable) and getting rubbed with the towel. He hates the towel! No idea why…
I had a gelding who I said was like a cat. I will allow you to touch me “right there” nope you went too far I now hate you. He could wrinkle his nose with the best of them.
My current mare is more like a golden retriever. I loooooove you, will you pet me, oh boy oh boy oh boy. It’s quite the change.
I own a fire breathing dragon too. He has been grumpy all his life. He’s turning 18 this year. He’s horrible to tack up. Some of the grooms tack him up with a crop. He lunges at other horses in the cross ties and is very grumpy to ride in the winter in the arena. He’s lovely to ride though, bombproof and very fancy. Strange thing was when I was pregnant he was very gentle with me. But very protective of me around other horses. Sometimes it’s annoying but his under saddle qualities make him worth it!
Nice to know there are others who manage with horses that are “quirky.” I try to work with my horse in a less trafficked area of the aisle as he can be such a fuss. I warn everyone new to the barn that he bites and kicks. They don’t believe me. Then they try to give me advice on what do do about it. My favorite suggestion has been to “bite him back.” Uhhh…ok lady. You get your face by his and see what happens! I have a certain way of managing his vices which includes not triggering his response. Yes, he has to stand like a gentleman for a few things that he doesn’t love and I generally know what provokes his reactions. The most interesting is during bathing. The water droplets tickle his belly and he kicks out to get them off his belly. My horse is unique. Like most of you have mentioned, we have done a complete physical and checkup and he is an incredible blast to ride which makes up for his less than desirable behaviors. Fortunately, I am not an owner who has a tremendous need to snuggle my horse. It would be like snuggling a cactus.
My gelding finds flatwork tedious so he makes grumpy faces. It’s comical. Point him at a jump though and he lights up! You always know his opinion about everything. It’s embarrassing sometimes; for instance when you take him to a clinic and he makes ugly faces at the clinician. It’s like taking a petulant teenager to a dinner party.
I’ve spent years trying different brushes, prepping in cross ties, in stall, etc and my guy just hates grooming. He’s not in pain, no ulcers he just hates it. But he loves, loves, loves mud. Have tried to explain less mud = less grooming but he refuses to understand… Weirdly enough, I could pull his whole mane out and he would stand like a statue. He’s an amazing, safe ride though so I just have a very well groomed babysitter pony instead because I like grooming:)
[QUOTE=CalPal;7986488]
I’ve spent years trying different brushes, prepping in cross ties, in stall, etc and my guy just hates grooming. He’s not in pain, no ulcers he just hates it. But he loves, loves, loves mud. Have tried to explain less mud = less grooming but he refuses to understand… Weirdly enough, I could pull his whole mane out and he would stand like a statue. He’s an amazing, safe ride though so I just have a very well groomed babysitter pony instead because I like grooming:)[/QUOTE]
I think our horses are twins! Mine is the exact same way. Winter is great because he gets a full body clip so there is minimal grooming required, but he still makes his distaste known during the 30 seconds I spend brushing him off. Thanks to good feed and supplements, he is still one of the shiniest horses in the barn, so at least my lack of grooming hasn’t affected his pretty coat!
I have a grumpy horse! He is very expressive with his ears.
http://instagram.com/p/eF0nU9N_GZ/?modal=true
He would try and kick you when you blanket him. Pin his ears and lunge at people when the walked by him in the cross ties. Always had a cookie face and ears forward when you had a treat. He was always happy under saddle.
My older TB mare is crabby. She is mad if she doesn’t get enough attention, jealous of my younger mare getting any attention. She has her own personal bubble and if any one gets too close they get an ugly face from her. I deal with her because once you get on her and ride, she is the best horse. I hadn’t ridden her for a few days because I rode my younger horse. Friend and I were going to haul to the riding club (2000acres) that we belong to for a ride. It was cold and windy. I was going to take my older mare. We went out to the field to get the horses and my older mare got all the others galloping and cavorting around so we couldn’t catch them for about 30 min. Once I got her and put her on the trailer, she was sweet as could be. Awesome ride even though the wind was gusting to 40 mph.
I own a Grumpaloosa.
I have one too. He can be a love sponge, loves hugs at the fence line, comes when I call. But boy can he snarl.
He hates blankets, and he is ticklish near his armpits.
He’s had many full chiro work-ups and nothing is out of place, there can be a saddle no where around and if you poke around right behind his elbows he’ll snarl and stomp. Otherwise, he’s thick skinned.
Funny though if I put him to work (disengaging) when he gets fussy, he’s miraculously fine with it when the option is to either behave or work. He’s lazy. lol, but he’s the same horse worth his weight in gold, that I can chuck a small child on, set them loose and he’ll carefully plod around forever.
My guy is very grumpy. Hates being groomed, and makes the ugliest faces when I’m tightening the girth. Most of the time, I just have to laugh at him because it’s just his personality!
[QUOTE=snaffle635;7978749]
My grumpy old TB was only friendly under two conditions: sedation and illness.
Under heavy sedation (while getting vet work done), I would kiss him all over his grumpy face. Hee hee.
When he didn’t feel good, I would know as soon as I walked into the barn because he would be cuddly. Cuddly = uh oh, call the vet!
I miss that ol’ curmudgeon. We used to joke that he’d be the kind of guy yelling ‘Hey you kids, get off my lawn!’[/QUOTE]
My heart horse jumper was just like this. He was so cranky, but I loved him to pieces. The sweetest he ever acted was when he was not feeling well. Then it was all, “Mommy! Fix it! I love you so much! Wahhh!”
There was an animal communicator in our barn and my guy was being his usual grumpy self when I was grooming/tacking up. She walked up to his head and said he was very upset and I wasn’t listening to his needs. I said he’s going to bite you if you don’t move. Sure enough, he darted his head forward and bit her arm. Then I said you should have seen that coming if you were communicating with him. She walked away at that point.
