Most ridiculous spook?

[Capall]

I went for a trail ride on my fairly laid-back gelding bareback one day. As we left, the garbage cans at the end of the driveway were all upright. Nothing.

As we were out, a massive truck carrying a bunch of clanging, rocking, knocking porta-potties was driving way too fast down the road. I was certain that I would die that morning. I’m bracing myself for the spook of a lifetime, grabbing mane and growing legs that can majickally wrap around his whole body when it goes barreling past us and… nothing. He looked at it, let out a sigh and walked on.

Then we get back to our driveway and apparently the garbage man had already visited and there were a couple of the garbage cans that had fallen over. Apparently, they had somehow transformed into horse-eating caves that were definitely going to eat him. SNORT SNORT DANCE SNORT SNORT CROW HOP SNORT DANCE!

[MojitoMare]

My old TB gelding was pretty bombproof. But if you left his MSM on top of his grain in a little powder pile instead of mixing it in, he’d be backing up across the stall and then snorting at his food for half an hour until he decided it was safe to eat. I miss that guy.

[hoopoe]

My Good Old Boy QH spooked at a Robin landing on the arena fence. He spun and fell down with me on him. Thankfully my trapped leg had plenty of soft footing.

He did not look twice at helicopters landing and flying over the arena stringing power lines on the high tension towers, just the Robin

I miss him so much

[Cabaret_SK]

Light on the ground in the arena.

[The_Crone_of_Cottonmouth_Count]

My childhood Arab gelding didn’t give a flip about fleets of semis swooshing by on the road, which is what made it so amusing when he’d spook at cigarette butts or raindrops.

[SmartAlex]

I just thought of another.

My horse spooks at the smell of natural gas. Twice he has diagnosed gas line leaks along the road that even I couldn’t smell. I just flag down a well tender when I can, tell them to get their sniffer out and check such-and-such a spot and bingo! Gas leak.

He can also diagnose those pesky mechanical noises that the car never makes when you take it into the garage as vehicles pass us on the road. “Hey buddy, my horse says your universal joint is about to go… or at least that’s what it sounds like”

[Kitari]

Poco spooked and a republican political sign once. I think she decided she is a democrat.

[Arelle]

When my boy was a 2 y/o, leading him past the trailer parked by the barn in the same spot was a daily adventure.

Mind you, he’d load right up if you asked him to get ON it… but if you asked him to walk PAST it on the way to the arena, you should probably watch out.

He’s a strange one. A lovable, lovable, strange one.

[charismaryllis]

[QUOTE=shamumu14;8157530]
My horse spooks at her own shadow… pretty embarrassing:lol:[/QUOTE]

i used to ride a pony that did that. and she would spook at water bottles left on the fenceposts around the arena–but only after the second or third time she’d gone past them. they apparently got scarier the longer they sat there. :rolleyes:

[Ambitious_Kate]

The suspicion that there is water running under the road he’s walking on top of. (Hidden culverts). Even when there aren’t, it seems there COULD be, any minute.

[mp]

The John Deere tractor parked where the Ford tractor usually sits. Both are virtually the same size.

A water tank where there wasn’t one before.

In both instances, it took me completely by surprise – he slammed on the brakes about 30 ft. away and did the snnooooooorrrrrt thing. I got him over the tractor switch pretty quickly. But the water tank took several times of riding around it at a walk, and looking at it before he would approach it at all.

After a trail ride, a friend rode her horse up to it and he took a drink. We followed and then her horse splashed mine with the water. He came unglued … for about 5 seconds. Then turned his head and looked at me as if to say – “It’s just WATER. Why didn’t you tell me that?”

[SmartAlex]

My horse spooks at Amish hats. We have friends who are Amish and they are frequently around the barn doing odd jobs so he’s getting used to it.

But once, I was out hacking and noticed that they were down at my uncle’s doing some work so I pulled in, stood in the driveway and hallooed to see where they were. One came walking up out of the bulkhead cellar stairs… out from under the farmhouse. THAT was spook worthy :lol:
The man went back under to his lunch box and got some oatmeal cookies to share with horse and make peace. I thought that was nice.

[Ambitious_Kate]

[QUOTE=Cabaret SK;8157665]
Light on the ground in the arena.[/QUOTE]

Ooohh, yessss. Sunlight coming in the end of the arena, where the door is open, in the spring for some fresh air. That patch of sunlight. Jumping over it seems to keep you safe.

[TwoSweetPeas]

The sound of someone patting their horse. (Not crazy big smacking pats, just… pats.) These things are only sometimes scary, of course.

[atlatl]

[QUOTE=Cabaret SK;8157665]
Light on the ground in the arena.[/QUOTE]

Shadow on the ground in the arena.

Small ridge of dirt in arena after it had been dragged.

[HPFarmette]

Told this story before, sorry…rode my Arab up a hill, at the top was a chain link fence around a power station with a big DANGER sign…he spooked and I thought, dang, this horse can read…

[Eponin]

[QUOTE=GoForAGallop;8157445]
My dead broke, literally bomb and gun proof gelding is still convinced, at 18 years old, that double yellow lines on the road are the devil’s work.

Dashed, fine. White, fine. Double yellow? Terrifying.

At seven, I had to get off and drag him over, and he’d jump them. At 18, he will begrudgingly walk over them, with lots of snorts.[/QUOTE]

Yep. Mine spooked - went sideways/backwards, any way but forwards and over - yellow painted speed bumps.

Keep in mind, we were at the AHA beech ride in Myrtle Beech. There are a million horses, buggies, waving tents, pennants, spinners, the waves even. None of these phase him. But the unmoving speedbumps on the road were horrifying.

[showmanship]

[QUOTE=shamumu14;8157530]
My horse spooks at her own shadow… pretty embarrising:lol:[/QUOTE]

Ah yes… Mine spooks at the beam of light coming into the ring when it’s sunny. Aliens are trying to abduct him :lol:

[MissAriel]

any lightly colored horse. I guess he thinks they are ghost-horses.

[SugarRush]

I was riding my 17 year old Paint gelding a few weeks ago (who will take a nap next to a running saw table all day), when I stretched and my hip loudly popped. He just couldn’t even. Never mind that his fetlock cracks with every stride, the fact that his owner could also have snapping joints was so disturbing that he spook-trotted three steps (then realized that it is too much work to run away from scary things).