Horse Querks..?

Question

I know I have asked this before. But many of us have had more than one horse, and anyone who has shown, has com across many horses with speacial querks. I had a great reining horse, Tommy (Checktomsthumb, reserve grand champ), had a wonderful querk. The water trough "monsters" would get him. He could only drink out of his water bucket at show. But just like anybody some times we would forget "his" water bucket. He would rather die of thirst than to drink out of a strange water trough. Later he became one of out most reliable ranch horse. And when working out in the field you can't carry a bucket with out. Our only solution. 32 oz Big Gulp cup in the saddle bag. Kinda embaressing, trying to explaine why you carry a big gulp cup around. And do you know how many freaking 32 oz cups a hot thirsty horse can drink? A damned lot that all I can tell you.

Ha

Now your turn. Horse querks!

Answer 1

My Highland tests the electric fence.  He walks along the length of it, and between each post he touches the tape with his top lip.  If it bites him, he moves on to the next post.  If it doesn't, he tries the next tape down... and god help you if you've left the fence turned off - he's straight through it.  He gives it respect when it's on, but he's a smart cookie and does check from time to time.

Answer 2

Your questions and replies are always so fun to read!!

This is going back 20 years when roads were gravel, there were no large trucks and everyone slowed down when they saw a horse on the road....

....only we didn't have one horse, a mare of ours never liked leaving home on her own, so we had a quiet young gelding who always came with us. First we were sensible and lead him, but as time went on he just used to follow us. Sometimes my sisters and I would go out for a long hack, of course we'd feel sorry for 'Nick' staying at home so he'd come. We must have looked a sight going through our small township which was several miles from home - to visit the dairy and buy an ice cream.

Gosh the traffic was patient back then.

My daughters pony never does a wee at an event, he'll happily hold on 12 or more hours. Within 5 minutes of being home he'll let loose.

And a little shetland we had ALWAYS did his poo on top of another dropping in the paddock. Made mucking out easy.

Answer 3

my horse will let you do ANYTHING, clip his ears, clean his sheath, crawl and climb all over him, go under him, put him on a trailor, go cross country, ride bareback w. a halter..

but try to drag a hose near him and hes GONE.

he also has issues going into the wash stall, you have to line him up perfectly and poke him in the side to get him to go in, its the only way it works.

couldn't tell you why!

Answer 4

My thoroughbred (lori) ALWAYS, everytime you ride her, she will have her mouth open and her head tilted to the side and she will kind of growl! She has done this her WHOLE life! And she LOVES her head itched to the extent where she has knocked me over!!!! lol She has shoved me against a fence post because my back was to her and apparently she thought... . " YEA!!!!!! She is letting me itch WHOO HOO! All i can say was OUCH! She has a lot of querks! but I LOVE 'ER! And when we spray her with the hose for her bath she likes to drink from the hose. She has plenty of water all the time but she puts the hose in her mouth and drinks away! it is HILARIOUS!

Answer 5

My mare, Candy, was an absolute doll to ride. We did western gaming, trail riding, some cattle work, and even some english riding. She was always nice as could be when you were riding. Even when she was tied to the trailer, she was always looking for attention. As soon as she was let out into the field, though, she was so anti-social. She wouldn't let anyone near her, even the other horses. She just didn't want to be messed with, unless it was on her terms. She only came to us if she wanted fed or if she was being attacked by bugs in the summer. That horse was a mystery to me.

I had a friend with a large (over 17hh) solid chestnut paint gelding. Stormy was completely racist against colored paints. I took my paint gelding on a group trail ride with him. I could not get within 15 feet of Stormy. He got quite upset about any colored horse being near him. I think he might have had a jealousy issue.

Answer 6

My PP gelding is a thief.

Tools.  Gloves. Hats...all on the list of items he will pick up with his teeth and take off with.  

He will also steal your soda...if you set the bottle down, he picks it up with his teeth and drinks it.

Answer 7

you can do anything to and anything with my horse

you can spray a hose in his face! (accidnet lol not on purpose) and he just stands there, great boy, but one weird thing about him is he HATES apples

he will devour other veggies, treats, peppermints, ANYTHING but he won't ever eat an apple its weird.. i even give him the apple flavored treats he LOVEs them but won't eat a regular apple, red, green, or yellow, sliced or not sliced.. it's crazy but oh well =)

Answer 8

You ranch people may see this all the time, but years ago I boarded at a place with a couple hundred acres of pasture and about 40 horses boarded there.  The manager bought some cattle and a Texas long horn steer and pastured them with the horses.  My gelding virtually abandoned his buddies to become best, inseparable friend with the steer.  Is this common???

Answer 9

My horse, Kane, has to smell everything!!! He is such a good boy but try and not let him smell his saddle before you put it on him and he is on the other side of the barn.

Answer 10

my mare has a thing about chestnut horses with a blaze....no joke it's actually quite dangerous, if she meets another chestnut horse with a blaze she bashes it up something fierce. She herself is a chestnut with a blaze...so maybe it's a self loathing thing. but she actually really injures them and has to be kept apart from horses that look like her.

my gelding is annoying if it's winter and it's a nice sunny day and i try to take his warm rug off he grabs it in his mouth as i'm pulling it off and won't let go. I think he just likes the fact that he looks gorgeous in it.

my broodmare up the back went blind in her right eye and because of that she always used to walk on a left handed slant... anyway we had to stop breeding her because all her foals started to walk on a slant and were severely left handed.

Answer 11

Bones, the gelding...

Cannot eat his grain out of the bucket.  It must be dumped on the ground.  Even tastes better if he paws it...

Used to freak me out...well, just annoyed the p**p out of me.  Fixed his little red wagon...put it in a ground trough I made.  A large flat one...about 2x3 piece of plywood with 2x4 side rails.  *Go ahead...make a mess...at least it all stays in the trough*

This also applies to hay.  Even from a bar feeder.  He will stand there and pull it out a biteful at a time...drop it on the ground until he has a pile...then eat from the pile.

I gave up trying to make him stop.  He won't do it as long as I am standing there.  But let me get distracted for 12 seconds...and BAM...food is on the ground....*sigh*

Answer 12

Romeo, my Gelding, will only pee or c**p behind trees. when we are out trail ridin, he will walk behind a tree to c**p or pee.

Answer 13

Ah Kevin, what would we do without your fun questions?

Love 'um!

I don't have any fun quirks that some of you have.  Mine are actually a no biggie type of thing.

The best thing is my gelding....after dinner he knows this is the time he gets to go out into the pasture to graze.  He walks up to the back of the house which is about 35 feet from my back door, and stare at the door.  I come out and say "Whatya want big boy?" and he nickers and looks at the gate to the pasture.  I say "What you want?" and he looks again at the pasture gate.  I go open it and he walks on out to the back pasture.  Love that boy!

The other is that he will leap into the air if you toss something by his feet.  He can see it, smell it, know what it is..but if you toss it towards his feet he springs straight up like a scared cat.  I dunno 'bout him

He'll trot up in front of you, stop and back up for you to rub his butt.  He tries to prevent you from leaving the pasture too.  Blocks your way so he can be rubbed.

When he's nervous (mostly nervous) he has to suck in some of your clothing and just suck on it like a pacifier.

This boy cannot hold grain in his mouth to save his life.  His teeth are fine....he just cannot hold grain.  He eats with his mouth open, looks around, peeks at the mare to see what she has left....takes another mouthful...chomping with his mouth open, looking around...la-dee-da....

Then of course I've mentioned many times how he sticks out his tongue and will chase me down, l*****g me to death to get another mint (he loves mints).

Plops his butt in front of the fan, c***s a leg and goes to sleep.  NO ONE is allowed near that fan when he's there.

IT'S MINE!

edit:  I just read the above about the soda...If my gelding sees me with a soda bottle or a glass he will hunt me down and mug me for it.  He will turn his head to the side so I can pour what is in my glass into his mouth.  The bottle he puts it in the corner of his mouth, clamping his lips and dips his head for me to pour it.

Both my mare and gelding will knock on the back door if they want me to come out and feed them or rub on them.  Mostly cuz they want treats.  Yup...they "Knock knock knock' on my door with their muzzles.  

My mare will spread out her back legs to get some 'udder love'.  She too will block your way to get as much love as possible.

Also..if we are riding and she sees logs on the ground...she HAS to walk over them.  She will walk off of the trail to go walk over the logs.  Same for hills and ditches.  She HAS to go in them, up them, down them..over them...

Dogs...she HAS to chase them and kill them.  She will follow the fence line til the stray dog is gone.  She shakes her head and strikes out the whole time.  Kinda my fault. I taught her to "face your fear" and she's taken it one step farther.  She's now bully.

Lord have mercy don't even let another strange horse make eye contact with her!  KILLER MARE! She's so mean with strange horses I don't think she can be bred! ahahha

EVERYONE:  I just adore reading what you put down! What great fun!

Answer 14

On of my older ranch horses was a riot when we'd go out to round up the cattle. Most of our stock was black or red/brown or something similar. We had one cow that was a light cream color and every time he saw that thing he flipped. Don't know what it was about that thing, but he hated it.

Answer 15

One of my favorite geldings, the one that spooks from llamas loves to dunk his hay in his water before eating it........he he Its pretty cute.