What quirks/bad behavior would you put up with in an uber talented horse?

[DressageChic2]

i have had some REALLY tricky horses so previously i would accept pretty much anything if it wanted to win in the ring lol!

we have dealt with horses that wont load, horses that bite, kick, nap,rear,buck,wont be clipped, wont lead etc etc.
the only one we gave up on we did so because his rearing suddenly worsened and we couldnt find out why despite a prolonged vet work up and once out of work he started to attack people in the field, so he was PTS.

currently we are lucky and have 2 talented but pretty chill competing horses and the super chill old retired dude.

the little OTTB has to be hobbled behind to stop him kicking the crap out the lorry, and he is the fussiest eater and he MUST NEVER be left alone in the field. but he is the softest, most trust worthy horse ever and will stay in the stable for hours with the door open and would never bite or kick.

the 4yo is a chunk of a WB stallion so does tend to be a bit more lit up away from home but even so probably the only things i allow are that he chews leadropes and has to be hobbled in front to stop him climbing all over the partitions in the lorry.
other than that he is a cutie pie and my OH’s 10 and 7yo daughters handle him happily and easily.

my EDT does teeth of top horses all over the world and the stuff the top grooms deal with…omg!

im 32 now and put up with a lot less than i did at 16 or even 20yo lol!!!

[Hulk]

What quirks-bad behavior would you put up with in an uber talented horse ? Well I would, and have put up with, about everything and anything. Its not that I enjoy bad behavior, or allow it, but you deal with it sometimes. Stall aggression comes to mind. Some horses just see their stall as their personal space and you just have to be aware of it, and know how to deal with it. I actually have a tendency to favor stallions that can be a tad quirky. Because I love them just as they are. There is an old saying that we like people for their perfections, but love them for their imperfections. I guess it’s a bit like that.

I also feel that they know when you are aware of their needs, and they respond to it. They give themselves to you because they trust you, and know you will take care of them. Thus the volume on the quirks goes way down because it is not needed. You end up with a more relaxed and happy creature that enjoys their job and kicks butt in the arena.

But I am an idealistic weirdo, so take all this with a grain of salt.

[Pocket_Pony]

I’ve put up with stuff in non-uber-talented horses . . . never had an uber-talented horse! :lol:

I had a horse who cribbed. He was one of the best horses I’ve ever had. He had so many things wrong with him (bad feet, crooked legs, roaring, cribbing), but he had the biggest heart, was the best herd boss, and I trusted him with Mr. PoPo. To me, I gladly put up with those things for the fun and learning that Mr. PoPo had on him.

I tend to like “difficult” horses, I don’t know why. I think it is probably the challenge in working through whatever issues they present and then coming out the other side and helping them to be better - either physically or mentally or both.

My mustang is a brat when you first go to halter him. I don’t know why. Every day it is the same. I’ve worked with a cowboy to give me some hints that have been helpful in dealing with it, but it is still the same challenge every day. You go to put the halter on him and he turns his head into you and tries to take a nip. He’s not totally serious about it because if he wanted to he could easily bite; it seems a dominance thing. He’s actually a very insecure herd leader (he’s overly aggressive with the other horses sometimes) so I think he sets himself up to be in a confrontation first thing and if you put him in his place then it is over. I can ground tie him, he will stand totally still with his head down and relaxed while I tack him up. It is just that first encounter where I have to say I’m boss and then it is over.

My pony paws sometimes and I have to say I hate that behavior - I find it more annoying than cribbing! We’ve gotten over most of it by learning how to tie well. I’ll tie her to a tree and leave her there while I do something. She can paw to her heart’s content and it will get no reaction from me and she doesn’t get anything from it so she stops and stands quietly. That was an amazing tool for getting her to stand quietly on the trailer. No more pawing in the trailer - yay! Though sometimes if she thinks I’m taking too slow with dinner she’ll go at it.

[beau159]

I think it both depends on the horse, and the owner/rider.

Myself personally, there are some things that would be deal breakers for me.

I know that the great barrel racing horse Dolly would often give the bucking stock horses a “run for the their money” when Jill would be warming her up in the warm up pen. But boy, could Dolly lay down a barrel racing run. Jill was willing to put up with her naughtiness in the warm-up pen because of her talent. Myself? I suppose it would depend how hard they would buck and how often, but I surely would do my darndest to train it out of them.

I can’t recall who it was but I recently watched an interview with another well-known top barrel racing horse. The horse was extremely buddy sour and always needs its buddy to go with it to the alleyway. The owner was totally fine with it and felt it was a “small inconvenience” for the amount of money and events the horse has won. Since I haul myself to most of my rodeos, a buddy sour horse wouldn’t work for me, but it works for them.

My own horse Red hates the warm up pen. So I make it a point to avoid the warm up pen and find our own place to warm up. He’s a good boy otherwise, so I don’t mind making an adjustment for him. That’s just one of his many “quirks”. And he will buck when he hasn’t been ridden regularly and is fresh. Such a stinker even though he knows better … He doesn’t do it all the time so it’s okay to work through when it happens.

[cnm161]

It’s a fine line. I tend to think “dead broke” just isn’t an option for some horses-- just a personality mismatch. That doesn’t mean that they’re untrainable. They’re simply not going to be gun-proof/kid-proof/hurricane-proof and need to be handled with the expectation that they’re 1000+ lb flight animals.

I’ve seen that expectation abused mightily. Pookie won’t load, doesn’t cross-tie, doesn’t tie, doesn’t lead unless you have a carrot, etc. But that doesn’t mean that the general principle is wrong.

All that said, my GP horse is 17 and will still crowd you on the ground despite years of consistent and fair handling. He’s a limit-pusher, and that’s who he is. I could try to break him of those habits, or I could be aware of his tendencies and preserve his limit-pushing tendencies for the piaffe/passage/pirouettes/extensions. I chose Option 2. For that, I was rewarded with a horse that is an absolute rockstar in the shows when it counts (regionals, etc.). He’s also a pretty fun ride on non-show days, too.

[quietann]

I’ve become very spoiled. The things I’d put up with are basically the things I already put up with, like a bit of wiggliness (which can be stopped, at least briefly, with “stand!”). A horse who spooks, as long as it comes back from the spook quickly. A horse who, in general, needs an edible incentive to get on the trailer. A horse with a large personal space bubble WRT other horses (we got fired from quadrille!)

What I already know I won’t put up with – any bucking bigger than a crow-hop, no emergency stop, a biter, a serious kicker. Cribbers – too hard to find boarding barns that will take them, and we’re really lacking the sort of environment they do better in (large, 24/7 turnout). Really hard to catch.

I do know a few very, very talented but difficult horses; for the most part their owners/trainers/riders are OK with their quirks.

[Synthesis]

Lol I get the quirks thing.

My mare is a SAINT about jumping and talented, not GP talented but still talented. She’s super honest and if I completely stuff up a distance then she does the best she can. Next time, she takes over and jumps bigger, which I proved in my most recent lesson sigh I take her to a competition and she struts around like she owns the joint, no matter how tight I get. W/T/C and 3 warmup jumps … go in the ring ready to perform.

But she has day to day attitude, reminds me of Mariah Carey. :lol: She has low tolerance for boredom and either tunes out or entertains herself by distracting you. If I swat her for distraction bs then she will be dramatically, foot-stomping tense the next time past the spot. Pouts a bit if she has to work ‘too hard’ when jumping isn’t involved. Loves to reach around to knock my foot with her nose to ask me to wrap it up.

She’s not dirty, just expressive. I laugh a lot every ride, always have with this one.

[Nestor]

[QUOTE=toady123;8834041]
If a horse is fractious but making lots of money at the highest levels of competition or in the breeding shed people will manage behaviour to some extent. They are fit, focused, and full of energy. The same thing that makes them successful can make them a handful to deal with. It’s a balance of keeping the horse on their game, but staying safe.

For the average ammy this is not stuff we want to out up with. And indeed may not have the experience or skill to do so safely.

I think “managing” is the operative word rather than “putting up”. You need to be skilled, knowledgeable and intuitive enough to read the signs, know she. To push and whe to back off.[/QUOTE]

This. At least in dressage, the REALLY good ones tend to be very quirky. That presents in a lot of ways, for sure. I’ve known ones that won’t let you get on, ones that bite your feet while you’re mounted, ones that get a hair naughty when fresh… none of it is unmanageable if the horse is otherwise suited to your goals. Mine will buck when he’s protesting or when he’s fresh, though the bucking for each is different and with different solutions. That’s maybe once every few months now that we have long since passed the testing phase. But any warmblood with the fire to competitively do upper level dressage is going to be fiery in other ways too! Yes, you discourage that naughty behavior, but you also accept that it will never go away and don’t get hung up on it.

[SmartAlex]

Things I’ve put up with:
Not straight tying (twice)
Mild Cribbing
Walking off when mounted (which was better than mounting at the jog trailing headers which is what we started out with)
General mouthiness

I think with all things you try to fix it but somethings just don’t get fixed all the way and you have to learn to compromise a bit.

[tabula_rashah]

For my own personal horses I don’t put up with much, but I’m never going to be at the top of my sport. I have, however, worked with top horses- ie Olympics long listed, etc. And, yes, it does seem like lots them have quirks. There was one who simply did not like being dressed- no blankets, no shipping boots, no wraps, etc if he was unsupervised. Even in cross ties, he could houdini himself out of stuff. Another one had a weird thing about licking stuff and then sucking on his tongue. Another one was crazy spooky on the ground (often lead by two people as he would bolt) but find under saddle. He did get better after a lot of work but never to the point where was trustworthy.

[GrayTBJumper]

I own a typical sensitive Thoroughbred mare. She has Storm Cat twice in her pedigree, which I’m told makes for a quirky horse. Super honest point-and-shoot jumper that loves her job and has never even thought about bucking, rearing, bolting, spooking, etc.
Her one quirk: She gets HANGRY. I gave up trying to ride her around feeding time. She doesn’t do anything bad, per say; she just can’t focus and tries to rush everything - rush transitions, rush the jumps, etc. If we go to a show and it looks like my classes will run during her usual feeding time, we just feed her early or give her half her feed - enough to hold her over.

[findeight]

Had one very good mare that did not work after about 6pm. Period. Obviously that was learned but unlearning it ??? BTW, you could make sure to feed earlier, she still did not cooperate and considered it involuntary overtime. Oh, I managed to get some evening schooling in with her including a few late lessons just to win a battle or two. Oddly, first time we ended up showing after that time she jumped around with great expression and won handily and did well in all subsequent after dinner classes despite all the miserable rides and theatrics schooling at home. Apparently, shows don’t count.

I can ride every stride if needed and it was sure needed after 6 for what should have been routine light rides. So I eventually just let it be and rode earlier. She was like that with anybody anywhere…except in the actual show ring. If you could get her there and warmed up without embarrassing yourselves :lol:

She liked the tweens who sometimes rode later too. But not always, IIRC she took a few Juniors down a couple of notches… Taught them what trainer meant when she said horse was crafty and could be quick.

Sometimes you have to compromise, especially with the girls.

[Foxtrot_s]

Quirks are one thing - offering resistances may be to pain, or health issues,
i.e. ulcers if snarking, or snapping. Not a cause for correction or punishment but a sign that something is wrong. Horses do not lie.

I had one that was insensitive and bargy - took a while to get through to him…
he was just a bit thick. Safe, kind and dull.

[kashmere]

@Foxtrot's;8835350

Quirks are one thing - offering resistances may be to pain, or health issues,
i.e. ulcers if snarking, or snapping. Not a cause for correction or punishment but a sign that something is wrong. Horses do not lie.

A good point. If a problem has gone on long enough, also, sometimes the behaviour persists after the issue has been solved. Such is very likely the case with my foolish girthy snappy mare. No interest in punishing her for being tense about remembered (if not currently felt) pain/discomfort.

[candyappy]

If we are honest we all put up with something when we have horses. Some things we wouldn’t even realize unless someone pointed it out to us. You have to pick your battles and some things are so minor we just make it work.

[Synthesis]

[QUOTE=findeight;8835323]
Had one very good mare that did not work after about 6pm. Period. Obviously that was learned but unlearning it ??? BTW, you could make sure to feed earlier, she still did not cooperate and considered it involuntary overtime. Oh, I managed to get some evening schooling in with her including a few late lessons just to win a battle or two. Oddly, first time we ended up showing after that time she jumped around with great expression and won handily and did well in all subsequent after dinner classes despite all the miserable rides and theatrics schooling at home. Apparently, shows don’t count.[/QUOTE]
I showed up 30-40 minutes late one evening last week, around 7:30 instead of 7pm. My mare looked at me, took a few steps away, glanced back, sidled down the field to the bottom, peeked at me from behind a tree then slid completely out of sight.

She re-appeared later at the voice of someone who feeds regularly, casually keeping her fieldmates between her and I. Evidently I had missed my window. She’s going to be completely put out when I start retrieving her in the dark later this fall.

[Foxtrot_s]

For the last 21 years I have only ridden horses born here - but some owners have horses that may have some history they do not know about, or how it was handled.

The grandmother of my horses could not be in cross ties - so I just assumed
some back history and didn’t ask her to do something she was uncomfortable with. I tried, at first, but then let it go.

She also would throw her head up at sudden movements when looking out of her stall, and had cracked her head on the lintel of the door. I tried dancing around with my hands in the air to desensitize her, but she never forgot her anxiety but would tolerate it with her rather silly rider.

She did everything else with no issue - loading, tying, worming, shoeing, whatever.

[Finding_Serenity]

Took me three years to get my guy’s trouble issues down into the “quirk” level, but he definitely isn’t an “every man” horse… with or without those. He’s stubborn, sensitive to everything and opinionated, but is super smart, has that “fifth leg” you look for with eventers, and will jump just about everything you put in front of him. But he will take advantage and constantly toes the line to see what he can get away with. Gotta love the Arab Appaloosa crossing :lol:

[Boo]

For me it depends on the horse and the quirk

I generally don’t tolerate dangerous behavior and am pretty confident training most issues that crop up. My last horse was naturally very dominant and the type if given an inch would run a mile and it would show up in all facets of handling him. As long as he knew you where the clear leader he was generally awesome.

My current mare i actually let get away with probably too much. Something in the near future when i have a baby out and about with me too i will be curtailing. She is a big 16.3hh mare with a very sweet and willing attitude. When i first got her she was very introverted and bottled everything etc. Took a good year of actually encouraging “bad behavior” for her to start to come out of her shell and show her personality. Give her mile and she might take the inch. Her only real quirk that drives me crazy that i have been enforcing since day dot is that she doesn’t’ do personal space well with her head. Great with not pushing shoulders, bum etc but she regularly “forgets” her head is attached to her neck and will swing it before realizing your there (not the quickest thinker).

[sweetsalute]

I would rather have a less talented, but sensible horse than a super talented idiot. I’ve seen FEI dressage horses refuse to go through a nice, wide open gateway into the warmup (one worked himself into such a state that he nearly went over backwards), and another that had to be led up to A. That sort of thing would drive me nuts, and definitely makes me appreciate my very sensible but not terribly special little mare.