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Hardest thing to teach?

5K views 14 replies 11 participants last post by  Harley Heaven 
#1 ·
My Hubby and I had a conversation about what is the hardest thing to teach a horse to do. We both agreed that teaching a horse to carry something dead (an animal) is the hardest.
Here is a video that sort of speaks for itself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-o0-r5bClE

Any other opinions on what is the hardest to teach?
 
#2 ·
OUCH! I wonder if he lost any teeth over that? Yikes. :shock:

Hmm, I think most for most horses dead animals probably would be an issue,but I think laying down would be harder to teach. Packing a dead weight is a matter of desensitizing to a smell more than anything. If you put vick's vapo rub on their noses they can't smell it (or old timers I knew rubbed some of the critter's blood on there before dragging out the carcass and the horse couldn't tell the differenc supposedly). But laying down is a surrendering of self, there has to be some real trust there, (to teach, not force a horse down, of course!)
 
#3 ·
OHhhhh... That made ME hurt!!

I would agree with barefoothooves. I would think laying down would be the hardest thing to teach.
 
#4 ·
ok ok, But what about laying down with a dead animal on its back? :lol: I've seen them shoot across :oops: the back using the horse as a rest that might get a reaction :shock: ....but maybe the hardest would be not to pass gas when brushing the tail or cleaning the back feet....
 
#5 ·
Barbarosa said:
ok ok, But what about laying down with a dead animal on its back? :lol: I've seen them shoot across :oops: the back using the horse as a rest that might get a reaction :shock: ....but maybe the hardest would be not to pass gas when brushing the tail or cleaning the back feet....

Oh, I think we have the winner...NOT Passing gas? Impossible! :lol:
 
#6 ·
lol yes! that has gotta be the winner! hehe this post is reminding me of something that happened to my sister a while back. Lets just say that the pony had a slight case of diarrhoea and my sister was brushing his tail at the time... And I just laughed and laughed.... then my sister cried. awww well she was only about 10 or 11 at the time!
 
#8 ·
Barbarosa said:
ok ok, But what about laying down with a dead animal on its back? :lol: I've seen them shoot across :oops: the back using the horse as a rest that might get a reaction :shock: ....but maybe the hardest would be not to pass gas when brushing the tail or cleaning the back feet....
Vega always passes gas when i'm cleaning her back hooves. I always tell her "You better not poop on me!" Maybe i should start wearing a snorkle and hard hat when i clean her back feet :lol:
 
#9 ·
Hee hee---Willy does the same thing! And I always mutter -"don't you dare **** poop on me buddy".

I think Vida started this thread due to Willy's history of hauling kill (forgive me if I'm wrong :oops: ), but he still gets wiggy around dead animals on the beach...maybe that's why he hates riding on the beach! Bad memories for him? Can't be fun having a dead thing slung on your back :shock:
 
#10 ·
Twister has had a gun (.22) shot off his back..well across his back. He did fine. He was wondering what the heck happened but he didn't freak out.

Hands Down...The hardest thing has to be the gas!!!!!!! :mrgreen:

My farrier was out today and man o man... I don't know what I've been feeding these guys...maybe its the Apple cider vinegar but they S T U N K !!!! Maybe that's how the vinegar works...even the flies won't go there! :shock: :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
#12 ·
geewillikers said:
Hee hee---Willy does the same thing! And I always mutter -"don't you dare **** poop on me buddy".

I think Vida started this thread due to Willy's history of hauling kill (forgive me if I'm wrong :oops: ), but he still gets wiggy around dead animals on the beach...maybe that's why he hates riding on the beach! Bad memories for him? Can't be fun having a dead thing slung on your back :shock:
:lol: You caught me :wink: That is the reason for the thread. Plus I was searching on youtube for "horse kicks" and came across that one. It got me and the hubby (Barbarosa by the way) talking about whats the hardest thing to teach. He's the nut job who came up with the farts though :lol:
 
#13 ·
Well, you can't bring up poots and expect people to stay on topic! :D

Shooting off one's back, I'd say depends on the personality of the horse, same with the dead critters or laying down for that matter. It's more a matter of trust and being laid back, but if you mask the odor of the dead thing, it does make it easier. Saddles are nothing more than preserved dead skin, and they learn to accept that. But I'm sure the smell of death does stir something up instinctually. I'm sure finding a dead horse carcass would be a good warning in the wild that this is a dangerous area with predators, etc.

I used to shoot squirrels off my Paint. He's snort at the little bodies (yes, I'm a hillbilly from AR and the squirrels were dinner). But he didn't object overly much. I just sort of desensitized him to the aroma before I'd taken him out hunting.I hung them over the saddle horn by a string. I guess big game hunting would be harder to bring some home first to train with and it's so much bigger.

I've had a few horses that flipped out over roadkill on the highway before, really seemed like opossums were the scariest for some reason. Not sure why,they stink though. And they were the more flighty types of personalities.
 
#14 ·
Ouch, nice one :lol:

My opinion on hardest to teach, well, my horse..
The canter changes.. She had and sometimes still has huge difficulties with the right canter and were training the canter changes, and I can tell you, it's not that easy haha..
Especially when you'r doing 4 times changes or of that sort..
In that matter it's nice to have a feeling for rythm, which I haven't.
 
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