Horses not only come in all shapes and sizes, they also have a variety of weird habits! Check these out.....

Sucker!
My old horse used to windsuck when he was stabled and it drove my hubby's eventer nuts. The stables were inside a barn and the dividing walls were timber and mesh with their waterers in the corners. Syd would start windsucking on the dividing wall and Tully would fill his mouth with water and spit it at him! It would work for a while but by morning Syd would have a wet, cold face.

Horse or human?
My 10 year old Standardbred gelding thinks he's a human and should live inside. He just chatters away at you with nickers and if he could talk he could tell you exactly what happened as he is such a sticky beak. He also loves to lick things...anything will do. You can make his day if you just stand there so he can lick your hand like a dog. He gets that closed-eyed sleepy look while he's doing it. He also only likes the Tip Top brand of bread, and it must be white or wholemeal but he hates the crusts and will open his mouth and keep it open while shaking his head until it falls out! He wont spit as he hates touching it with his tongue.

Can't help myself...
My horse would have to be one of the most annoying horses I have met. He turns on taps and drains the water tanks. He also leads other horses around by their halters from the other side of the fence. He will make as much noise during the night to wake you up so he gets some more attention. He is now learning to open gates...and not just his own, but everyone else's! Anyone want a horse?

Hurry UP!
My horse has this 'song' he sings every time I take his food out to him. He's really vocal so when he sees his feed coming he starts up the whinnying and goes through his little vocabulary of different neighs and really gets into it. It makes me laugh every time, especially when he gets to that high pitched whinney and his snout goes into this trumpet shape when he flares his nostrils!

and then there's....
My old clydesdale mare used to suck and lick her chestnuts so much we had to put something on them to stop her.

My pony can't stand her rugs being hung on a fence post in her paddock. Anywhere else, yes...but hang them in her paddock and she will either trash them or stand there and buck at them.

My niece's pony leans on trees. We have no idea why, he just does. Look out the window and if he's not eating, he's leaning on a tree.

If my horse isn't fed first, he will will pick the feed bin up in his mouth and throw it at you. His aim is excellent!

My Warmblood loves polarfleece and every time I wear a polarfleece jumper he has to rub his muzzle on it for hours.

My gelding loves to stick his head into the water bowl right up to his eyeballs, then rub his wet whiskers along the electric fence wires.

I have a shetland who chases his tail. I hope he catches it one day and falls over!

My old TB gelding used to pick up showjump poles and walk around the paddock with them in his mouth. Why, we'll never know!

I have a mare who hates ibis (those wading birds) in her paddock, she will chase them out.

My mare goes swimming by her lonesome in the dam...it scared the wits out of me first time I caught her head bobbing in the water.

With thanks to posters on the Eques forum: www.eques.com.au

© 2004 Horsewyse Magazine