Tell me your horse stories!

[JaycenUwU]

TLDR: my 15yo cob was pretending to fall over and be disabled for 2 and a half years to avoid picking her back feet out

My cob is so * clever, shes a rescue (I didn't know when I bought her, she was sold to me as a riding pony from a dealer "friend") I've had her for 2 and a half years now and when I got her I couldnt touch her legs at all without getting squished into walls or stomped on (bearing in mind I'm used to working with 17.2h international dressage studs and shes 14.1) after a month of owning her I noticed something was wrong, she was such a sweet and giving mare, she wants to give you 100% but she had an issue where she would plant her feet, and reverse, she'd rear, refuse to come into her stable, and she was saying a very big "no" while being ridden, and that wasnt right for her character. The "friend" I bought her from labels her as lazy, nappy, unwilling to work. None of this is true, I took her out of work, got her physio, the physio said she wasnt using any of her mid back muscles at all, from her croup (middle gluteal) to midway through the saddle area (longissimus dorsi) was rock solid and unused, we had a rehab plan and she was given the all clear to come into full ridden work after a few months of careful groundwork and exercises. I gave her the 3 months plus an extra 2 weeks, after her 5th week of ridden work (beginning to reintroduce short canter) it was apparent something was horribly wrong, we were back to tail swishing, rearing, refusing to straighten up and flex, and so I retired her until I found my answer, and the friend who sold her to me had nothing to say other than "put her in foal".

I moved yards where she could live out 24/7 and saw instant improvement, still could only pick out her front 2 feet as she couldn't support her back ones at all, and would fall. 6 months later we moved into a different field and I was at work so the yard manager walked her down for me, and asked if I'd had her tested for pssm, I hadn't! I immediately asked her about it and things started to add up, by this point I'd also finally got in contact with a lady called Donna, who had owned babe previously, and had actually rescued her from a neglect situation from a girl at her yard, babe had come from Wales, had an accident in the trailer which caused her hip and shoulder to dislocate (which also likely set off her pssm!) The girl who had bought her as a riding pony then had no use for her and promptly left her in her stable for a long while (unclear, Donna did say and i was horrified) it was between 6months and a year, babe hadn't left that stable at all in that time, wasnt seen to by a vet, nothing.
One day the girl seemed to be taking babe out of the stable, Donna asked her what's going on? The girl told her she'd sold her back to the trekking centre in Wales (they were in Norfolk! ) and they were on they're way down to get her. Donna asked how much they were paying her (£300) Donna went straight to the bank and gave her the money.
Babe was severely underweight, hadnt seen a farrier at all (if ever?? ) no dentist, skin red raw with mites, she had physio every month, walks every day, she was spoilt, loved, and rehabbed for a year and 6 months until she was ready to find a forever home, she was sold as a companion only, but ended up being passed from every dealer in the country for half a year until she ended up with me, originally I bought her as a project to sell on, but I fell in love within days, and very genuinely nearly faced homelessness just to make sure she wasnt sold and wouldn't go through that ever again.

I sent her hair away for testing, and meanwhile started her on a new diet with vitamin e and boswellia, a new exercise plan, lots of stretches, reflexes, bodywork, massages, and it came back positive, n/p1.

She improved so much but still couldnt lift those back legs, until recently. I tried a new farrier and had a friend of mine helped me with her. Oh man was babe a cow, nearly broke my leg, cm away from booting my friend in the face, back legs flying, boy was she quick!! And wowow,,, so strong. 2 calming cookies, lip twitch, we got 3 feet done, the last one she had to be lip twitched and also one ear twitch (I absolutely hate ear twitching but in this case, it was 100% necessary for everyones saftey) babe 100% is capable of lifting her back legs to be picked out, she was fooling me. For 2 whole years, I was outsmarted by my little cobbie, I should've been mad at her, but I was just so proud and now I can pick them all out (she doesnt kick or act like a fool if it's me doing it, shes just really * heavy)

[Liliatha]

Got a friends horse agisted on my farm that loves to stick his head in his water bucket and blow bubbles. Also got an agisted mare that loves to sleep like she's dead.

[brettdiesel]

So I have a 30 year old Quarter Horse named Kandi (Wasent the one that named her) and a 20ish year old palomino named Angel (again didnt name her lol)

So Kandi don't like bits in her mouth and i ride western and we'd just be going from cow pens to cow pens i just tied the halter over to make a bridle and put on the blankets and saddle. Well we were chasing a cow once and we chased it back and so i guided her back to the house to de-tack her and she went the wrong way and we got caught in the trees and a stick went kinda thru my eye but didnt leave a hole, if that makes sence, So i learned to not use the halter lol.

And then on Angel, she's kinda a crazy horse and dont let me put anything on her without a fight, well sence she is still a little young I sometimes would use her for going to do overnight stuff. Well we had to wake up early and i went to put the saddle and blankets on her and let me put them on and was realy nice and so i hopped on and all of a sudden she kinda got tense and i was like noo not again (shes pitched me many times) and i hanged on (im a bull rider so of course i did lol) and then she stopped and i got off and then she kicked my knee made me fall the steped on the back of my knee. I was so mad cause i was in front of my friends lol.

[Moggymoomoo]

Yesterday I was riding my favourite palomino mare Brooklyn on an a long trail with my friend. We were both having the best time, Brooklyn was an absolute angel and we were trotting along a flat when we heard this weird noise behind us. The horses spooked a bit and me and my friend looked behind us, there was a massive car following us.
I cantered up to it and told them that it was a horse only trail and they first tried to make a u-turn that nearly run me and my horse over. They I tried to back Brooklyn up and she plain refused, she started kicking out and wouldn't budge. I didn't want to get barrelled over by a car so I got off her and led her a few metres up the track and when the car had gone, I go back on Brooklyn again and asked her to trot back up to my friend. Again she refused, she started kicking again and backing up towards the barn. My friend passed me a stick and I tapped her on the bum, she still wouldn't move and kept ignoring my cues.

I always knew Brooklyn was a bit barn sour but never anything like this, I got off her again and led her another couple metres. I mounted her again and she kept kicking back, ignoring my cues again and not budging. My friend got up behind us and started clucking, waving a stick around and it was all very very funny, Brooklyn was acting as though there were mountain lions on the trail or something
So I asked my friend to canter past me. She did and I asked my horse to follow, she did with gusto. We kept cantering for a good couple minutes and then slowed to a trot, then a walk. I kept Brooklyn moving, she did, and then we came to a steep hill, the same hill she goes down almost everyday, and she was even more stubborn this time. She was hilarious. I couldn't canter down a hill obviously so I just got off and led her down.

Brooklyn kept having these weird little tantrums, it was super funny but I guess not that out of character she's a bit like me on a monday morning.
On the way back so was AMAZING, super responsive. She has a really soft mouth most of the time and responds to leg, voice and hand cues, and thats one of the reasons why I love her <3 She also has a really nice gallop and we all know that feeling when you've got your heart horse thundering along underneath you and the wind in your face

Even after that ride I guess even though she was being silly, I still love her with all my heart but won't be taking her down that trail any time soon

[kit kat 2039]

If you really want to know one of my riding stories, I had a horse fall on my knee when I was riding it. But now I ride a 18.1hh shire horse lol.

[Dragon Ryu]

My sister and I were working with horses on a friends ranch. Hers was a thoroughbred and mine a Tennessee Walker. The walker was what was called green broke. At the barn I saddled the horse. My sister had not caught her horse in another field. I mounted and took about 3 steps. This beautiful all white walker jumped in the air, i tightened my reins. His head went straight down and straight up busting me between the eyes and knocking off my glasses. Besides the pain, i was now blind on top of a bucking horse. I took the only decision I could make. I took my boots out of the stirrups and let go the next buck. I sailed threw the air landing on some cast off lumber, and started feeling for my glasses, while the horse continued to buck. The horse went down the road. My sister
helped me find my glasses. We spent our afternoon walking the path looking for the horse. He still had all my tack! He ended up close to a gate where mares were. I retrieved my tack and walked the horse who was now calm back to the barn. Except for the headache no injuries for me or the horse.
We went to the horse owners and related the incident. Although I had ridden the horse before without the sudden craziness, this behavior was new. The owners didn't want me endangered, decided to send the horse to the Cowboys. First they all tried to ride him and were all bucked off. This made me feel better
that I couldn't control him. Not one cowboy was able to stay on. It seems everything spooked him. The cowboys took a saddle and tied every thing they could that made noise to the saddle. When they let him go he kept bucking. When he got tired he would stop and rest. When a few minutes went by he'd move and the noise and bucking resumed. The guys made sure he couldn't hurt himself and went home. When they came back the next morning he was so tired whether they poked him, cowbell clattered, plastic bottles, nothing made him spook. The cowboys worked with him all day. They decided he would never be a good horse to ride. The owners not wanting the horse to be useless decided to send him for training as a team. He was there and was matched with another white horse and became a wonderful draft horse. The team pulled my friends around the ranch and all was well. Eventually the white team was so outstanding they were sold.

[Haydn]

I don't own a real life horse but I ride about once a week and I do horse polo at mountin view polo it is a great spot!

[_Fuzzy_Peach_]

I do riding lessons on a grey Standardbred gelding named Marmite, & when I was watching my teacher he farted!