Do you know of any other thoroughbreds scared of flowers other than Big Brown?

Question

Yesterday I found out Big Brown does not like flowers. Is this normal of these horses or is he the only one not to like them? When they put the flowers on him after winning the Florida Derby he backed up and I guess was scared. After winning the Kentucky Derby they decided to leave the flowers on the ground!

Answer 1

I wasn't aware he was that sensitive and spooky. That would certainly help explain something I have noticed, though- which is that in every picture of him, he is always shown with a halter and lead shank run under his upper lip- which is normally an indication of either rank behavior or poor training, or BOTH, in a performance horse. Running a shank under a horse's lip like that can cause the animal severe pain if the shank is jerked on even lightly- and if this colt is that spooky and hard to control, then I can understand only too well why the trainer uses it.

As to whether or not such behavior is normal, the answer is no, it's not- and that this colt has this problem is an indication of just how GREEN and inexperienced he is. I mean, come on, the horse has only run in 4 races in his ENTIRE LIFE, so it stands to reason that he's going to be immature and hard to deal with. If he's that afraid of flowers, then the trainer is wise not to try to have them put on him- because if he acts up in such close quarters, with so many people around, someone is going to get badly hurt and wind up in the hospital.

I have known horses which were scared of things like this- but usually, they didn't require the use of a shank under their lips to control their behavior, the way this colt does. It's sad to see this, in a lot of ways, because it tells me that his trainer and handlers don't want to take the time to TEACH him not to be afraid of things like flowers, or perhaps they just DON'T CARE enough to want to do something about this. Any horse can be taught to overcome fear and spooky behavior- but this takes effort and work to accomplish- and right now, all the focus is on winning the Triple Crown so that Big Brown can spend the rest of his life making babies. It's sad, but that's the way it is right now.

Answer 2

Barbaro didn't like the blankets of flowers they put on the horses, either.  Just like Big Brown, Barbaro got fussy when they tried to put the purple orchids on him after the Florida Derby.  In the Kentucky Derby, they tried to put the roses on Barbaro but he didn't like it.  

In my second link below, scroll down to the second to last picture.  It shows them trying to put the roses on Barbaro, with a caption saying they gave up because he didn't want anything to do with them.

Answer 3

It might not be the flowers in particular that he is afraid of. He probably doesn't like to have something unfamiliar to him put over his head. It could have also been the rustling noise the foliage makes or even a mixture of all the excitement around him. Keep in mind that he is a young horse and he is still learning about different things in the world.

Answer 4

did it occur to you? that he might be allergic to them? and that is why he reacts?

Answer 5

I once rode a horse that spooked because of flowers. He would refuse to pass them.

I fell off once...he swirved to the left.

Its natural.

♥ Mizz Jeter Diva

Answer 6

No!!! Maybe Big brown is afraid of flowers because he is to tough to been given flowers!!! :D

Answer 7

Horses generally don't like having things flinged around at them.  I've seen some horses be afraid of the blanket of flowers before, but I can't remember who.  Thoroughbreds are pretty used to things because they've been around humans for all their lives, but it's not surprising that some of them are afraid of having a big blanket thing flung over their back, especially with all the adreniline still in their systems from having just won a race.

Answer 8

All horses are different.  I am a cowboy mounted shooter, and Shoot .45 cal black powder blanks from horse back.  Some like it some don't.  Horses are born with natural fear.  Its instinctive has been for thousands of years.  If a horse fears something it takes time and patience to teach them not to fear it.  But being normal or abnormal of these horses I am assuming your talking about the Thoroughbred Breed of horse.  All horses fear things no matter what breed they are.

Answer 9

he is just a younster...he will learn this part of winning! i do not think he is scared...trainer just is not taking any chances right now to upset the horse. triple is in sight and why blow it to put flowers around his neck,,,smart trainer!

Answer 10

Maybe they didn't try too hard to get the blanket of roses on him because he had already thrown the jockey off once after the race and they didn't want to risk having that reoccur.  Dangerous and embarrassing!