Meet Trep. He's the giant chestnut gelding in the barn who is not Cuna. You can easily tell them apart--Cuna meets you at the front of his stall looking for cookies. Trep you go find in the back of his run while dodging hooves and teeth. He is the definition of a mean bastard.
Don't mistake me. Trep is treasured by his owner because he is an amazing riding horse and as such, he has every possible spectrum of vet care to make him as comfortable as is possible for an equine to be.
It's not a pain issue--it's just Trep. He's cranky on the ground and we deal with it.
One of the ways of dealing with it is carefully managing his social interactions. When new people are in the barn, we ALWAYS warn them not to pet him or feed him treats. He isn't a "bad guy", but if he looks like he's going to hurt you, he will. We don't make a joke of it and we're not teasing.
More than 50 percent of the time when I give that warning, the warned person IMMEDIATELY becomes attracted to Trep by some sort of giant magnet. They feel the need to expose to him their soft tissue and appendages while wrapping their arms around his head or neck.
Seriously. It's weird. He's not misunderstood. He's not mistreated. He's not looking for a sugar mommy. He's definitely not poorly treated.
I warn people for their own good and they ignore me. They ignore his owner. They ignore his trainer.
Wtf, people. Do you have a deathwish?
My only solution is to pick the calmest, nicest horse in the barn and start a story about him. "This is Cuna. He's a mean ass bastard horse. Stay away from him or you might get singed from his fire breathing nostils." If I said that, you probably couldn't pry the women off him.
Art is like that. He wants to work and is a great riding horse, but he's not snuggly and he doesn't want to be petted, brushed, or fawned over. He's been known to make nasty faces, threaten to bite, and lift a leg here and there. He's 18 and he knows better than to actually connect, but he's unpleasant to deal with and we monitor his interactions carefully. He's also a bully in the field. I would be mortified if people sought him out to snuggle him. Eek!
ReplyDeletebahahahahaha try it and tell us what happens. But for real people are crazy- so agree!
ReplyDeleteThat is crazy!! Who would want to hug the bully. He does look very handsome though.
ReplyDeleteForget about Trep - Cuna is so cute! I know I've said it before but I think it bears repeating.
ReplyDeleteSounds like good strategy to me. Besides, who could resist that face?
ReplyDeleteawwww poor cranky dude
ReplyDeleteI think you hit the reverse psychological nail on the head.
ReplyDeleteGood strategy with Cuna.
Must be that old 'women/girls are always attracted to the bad boys' saying.
ReplyDeleteIn wonder about Trep's breeding. My Toby is the son of
ReplyDeletePappa Riccio, a big chestnut TB from NJ who had a "reputation." Story goes that his offspring are either sweethearts, or "really bad." Fortunately, Toby is a good one...but he is the herd boss and might be dangerous if he felt he was cornered. Pappa was a big chestnut too, with big bone and a solid, broad look to him.
Some bloodlines just produce "attitude" in horses, I think. It can have nothing to do with how they are handled, either. Sometimes people feel sorry for the mean horses and think they can somehow be the person to make friends when everyone else has failed. Could be the syndrome luring people to Trep's dangerous presence.
Then, you have cuddlers like Cuna. Could be your idea of warning people to stay away just might work. *lol*
Ugh. I don't know. I worked at a farm where we had one horse who was a complete SLAVE to ride but an absolute monster on the ground. I had a sign on his door: "I bite and I kick. Please don't touch me, feed me, or come in my stall unless it's an emergency. The horse next to me is very friendly. Please give your treats to her." Despite this sign, one of the lesson dads lost a fingertip while watching his daughter's riding lesson. I did not feel bad for him. He read the sign. And then pet the horse anyway. Said the horse didn't look that mean. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteLol there are crazy people everywhere. And they want to pet the mean horses. You should just say he has a fungal infection - that should keep people away.
ReplyDeleteJean--Trep is Oldenburg on the top and I'm not sure of the bottom. WBs and TBs have so much breeding in common that they might be related.
ReplyDeleteSarahE: THAT IS BRILLIANT!!! Might not be a good idea at shows, though.
Ugh people are so dumb!!
ReplyDeleteWe had a horse at the barn where I used to work who had a bluff in on a lot of people. It was only in his stall that he made ugly faces. As far as I know he never bit or hurt anyone, he just hated being indoors. Outside and to ride he was an angel. In his stall he was respectful if you were confident and didn't accept his crap. He was actually a very sensitive horse and was bullied in certain groups. In others he would bully other horses and even sent them through fences. It took a while but they finally found him the perfect companions and he lived happily with them. I always felt bad for him because people talked crap about him instead of trying to understand him. I think I was the only person there he liked (and not because I fed him treats because I didn't - he didn't belong to me). He was eventually sold to a home as a mount for a kid where he could live outdoors 24/7 and as sad as I was to see him go I was thrilled he was happy finally. Some horses just can't tolerate stalls. He felt trapped and threatened when in a stall (nice, big stall with a window in the front and back). I still miss that horse. :) Also want to mention I liked him right off the bat because he was a gorgeous, tall black horse, but I kept my distance because I was told he was aggressive, but once I figured him out we were best buds. I wasn't one of those girls drawn to the bad horses lol.
Haha at SarahE! We had a biter at the barn I used to lease at. Even with multiple signs by his stall, people still tried to feed and pet him. Their mistake. . .
ReplyDeleteSounds exactly like my gelding. He is a 20 year ols 14.3 hand paintaloosa gelding who isn't hard on the eyes. In fact, he's kinda cute because you won't find another horse colored like him. He looks harmless and sweet with his big brown eyes and big donkey like ears, but that horse is the devil. He waits til you are or even near in his stall, then he strikes. Quite literally, he rears up and strikes at you. That is the reason he is no longer allowed to wear shoes. We have a warning posted on his stall, plus we warn people whenever they go near him. Yet they just don't get it. Please note, he does not kick, he does not bite, he just strikes because he is a onrey old trail horse who wants to be left alone. He bucks and rears when you ride him and can only be rode in a mule bit (Long shank twisted wire combination bit) and a tie down or he will run off with you. I blame it mostly on him being one of the best pole horses to set foot in the barn, but now he's so hot I can only get him to run the pattern a few times a year. He's one of those horses that just hates people in general. If he's out in the pasture, he's better, he'll let you pet him while he's eating, but if you come at him with a halter, he runs for the hills. Like with Trep, he's not abused or hurting, he's just a bitch. lol Plus, I have NEVER in the almost 6 years old owning this gelding, had him pin his ears at anything. Even before he strikes, he doesn't pin his ears. It's crazy, thats one of the reasons we keep people away from him, because you never know what he will do or when.
ReplyDeleteThat's my pony for you. lol