Re: [IceHorses] training with treats is so fun
On 3/13/08, Karen Thomas <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > (Tivar and Sina are two noteworthy exceptions, bless their honest and direct > souls.) > > > Karen Thomas, NC > oh man, Tivar is beginning to scare me with his "look in the eye" communications! I aint kiddin at all. He will give me the hardest mean look when he is aggravated. A forthright stare when he is trying to tell me something, a sheepish look when he has been petulant, and often, a look of pure desperation when he is trying to say "pay ATTENTION this is IMPORTANT" like he gets very frustrated that he cant speak. He has started doing this whole bizarre violent nasty behavior when I bring in the herd from turnout. He barrels in trying to get to the gate first, knowing the set up is such that it is just gonna cause problems. Then when the others get there he whirls and thunders around chasing everybody, acting like a nut. It took forever but I finally figured it out one day when I got everyone in, the gates closed, and was about to walk away when he licked and chewed and looked me directly in the eye like "its been really hard but I got them all in and sorted out for you so you could hurry and feed us". Theres nothing anyone can say would make me believe he wasnt saying that. it was as if he said it aloud. Then i started paying attention, and see he has this whole elaborate herding method of getting everyone in, altho on the surface it looks like he is picking fights. Ironically the only ones who wont do what he says are nasi and the donkey. and oh, he gets so mad at them! janice-- even good horses have bad days sometimes.
Re: [IceHorses] training with treats is so fun
On Thu, Mar 13, 2008 at 01:43:41PM -0400, Karen Thomas wrote: > >>> *grin* i used to lease a good arab. she was plenty smart, but not, umm, > >>> very *sensible*, if you see the difference... > > My experience is that many/most Arabs reflect the personalities of their > riders/handlers, probably more than any other breed as a whole. the arab's first owner was definitely afraid of her -- i'm told she was rarely ridden before i came along and (in-barn) leased her. she was also used as a lesson horse at the time, though i don't think that was a particularly good move for her. but the exercise definitely helped. i had a three-day-a-week lease, and when she was sold (and i continued my lease for several months) her new owner was a horse-crazy ten-year-old who rode every day. i don't think the horse became any more sensible -- any coke bottle or corner of the ring could suddenly turn on her, and if you sneezed while mounted she'd bolt -- but with more exercise and more love she definitely became a lot *happier*, and that was great. i really loved that mare, but i knew she wasn't going to be "the one" for me, which is why i didn't buy her when owner #1 put her up for sale. i sneeze once in awhile and i hate it to be a big deal to the horse. and she HATED trail riding, which i rather wanted to learn to do. (i admit i took this word on reputation, but the trails were a few blocks down the road, and i wouldn't consider her traffic-safe.) last i heard (xmas) she and her new owner were still very happy together, and the young girl had learned to negotiate princess's gazelle-like springy canter :) so it's all good. but i still think stjarni's more my type. > Icelandic's however, tend to be less honest with us, often swallowing their > feelings and keeping a stiff upper lip in spite of what happens to them. *grin* stjarni is extremely expressive, although extremely accomodating. our last ride out involved a lot of water crossings, and the tossing of the head and the bouncing of the rock-star mane! but i think he'd take all of maybe one step sideways or backwards, and if i just sat quietly and said "come on, love, walk on," he'd drop his head after a minute and and walk carefully through. --vicka
Re: [IceHorses] training with treats is so fun
>>> *grin* i used to lease a good arab. she was plenty smart, but not, umm, >>> very *sensible*, if you see the difference... My experience is that many/most Arabs reflect the personalities of their riders/handlers, probably more than any other breed as a whole. My daughter would be the first to tell you that Thunder was always the barometer of her moods. He taught her a lot about being relaxed, confident and happy. Icelandic's however, tend to be less honest with us, often swallowing their feelings and keeping a stiff upper lip in spite of what happens to them. (Tivar and Sina are two noteworthy exceptions, bless their honest and direct souls.) Karen Thomas, NC
Re: [IceHorses] training with treats is so fun
On Thu, Mar 13, 2008 at 07:08:01AM -0800, Nancy Sturm wrote: > You've obviously never owned a good Arab. :) > > Too funny. I ride in the land of the good Arab. They're not only smart, > they're another breed of people pleasers. When I flew off Tali and broke my > back, our grandson Gabe bought him. His mom refers to them as "the boy > and his pony". They have the most wonderful relationship. I can always > tell when Gabe's high school schedule has kept him from getting to the barn > because Tali is obviously looking for him. *grin* i used to lease a good arab. she was plenty smart, but not, umm, very *sensible*, if you see the difference... --vicka
Re: [IceHorses] training with treats is so fun
You've obviously never owned a good Arab. :) Too funny. I ride in the land of the good Arab. They're not only smart, they're another breed of people pleasers. When I flew off Tali and broke my back, our grandson Gabe bought him. His mom refers to them as "the boy and his pony". They have the most wonderful relationship. I can always tell when Gabe's high school schedule has kept him from getting to the barn because Tali is obviously looking for him. Nancy
Re: [IceHorses] training with treats is so fun
On Thu, Mar 13, 2008 at 07:37:09AM -0500, Janice McDonald wrote:
> I feel like gaited breed horses are smarter than non-gaited. but I
> also know my smartest horse is my most dangerous and my dumbest horse
> the sweetest.
stjarni likes people, and i think is the most trustworthy horse at our
barn in addition to being the smartest. he doesn't have a mean bone in
his chunky little body. we have two horses (one mine, one my barn
owner's) that we teach beginners on, and stjarni goes right from being a
demanding little bugger with me ("oh, you shifted your butt, you must
mean SIDEPASS!!") to a steady, easy, voice-controlled stop-and-start
horse. the other beginner-safe horse becomes, well, a steady, easy
horse to stop ;)
our dumbest (a former student's who has since left with her mom and mare
for a more "show" barn) i think was the most dangerous, since the mare
could feel the mom's insecurity and it made her even sillier -- she did
things like get startled when tied once and broke THROUGH A METAL GRATE
to break a glass windowpane (and cut up her face, naturally).
our current "most dangerous" imho is "tweedledumb" who will do things
like decide to roll in the seawater at the beach without warning (he's
the devious one; he's good on cows). and our current "dumbest" imho is
almost never ridden, and isn't particularly dangerous on the ground,
just has to be frequently re-shown the things that the other horses
seem to understand (like, "at feeding time we go from turnout up into
our stalls") and remember.
my dog is a rehoming and she is secretly smarter and far more devious
than she lets on, and has become the more so as she's come out of her
shell of being "bottom dog" to being just "the dog". she tricks me and
sneaks things behind my back, but i admit i secretly rejoice to see her
personality coming through, even as i clean up the wreckage ;)
--vicka
RE: [IceHorses] training with treats is so fun
I feel like gaited breed horses are smarter than non-gaited. You've obviously never owned a good Arab. :) Karen Thomas, NC No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.518 / Virus Database: 269.21.7/1327 - Release Date: 3/12/2008 1:27 PM
Re: [IceHorses] training with treats is so fun
On 3/12/08, [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Wed, Mar 12, 2008 at 09:08:00PM -0400, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > I have come to the conclusion that the Icelandic Horse is smarter > > than other horses I have owned and they were all types of breeds. > > Anyone out there think so too? > > i have to admit that i think so too. but i also think that stjarni > thinks so, and refers to his (qh and paint) paddockmates as tweedledumb > and tweedledumber :) > > --vicka > I feel like gaited breed horses are smarter than non-gaited. but I also know my smartest horse is my most dangerous and my dumbest horse the sweetest. Of my icelandics Teev is smartest but has a mean streak, can be actually humorously devious, and nasi is smarter than some of my others but he holds his cards very close. So many factors to consider about what is "smart". My smartest dog is also my main troublemaker. She came to ask me to let her out last nite and when she looked into my eyes it was eery, so human in intelligence, like one of those morphed photos you see on the internet where they put a humans eyes in a dogs face. She is my husbands dog and he talks to her all the time like she is human, and all the time I hear him saying "no treat for you you bad girl you tricked me!" haha Janice-- even good horses have bad days sometimes.
Re: [IceHorses] training with treats is so fun
Now I have had a number of horses over the years and I just don't seem to remember they were easy to teach. I have come to the conclusion that the Icelandic Horse is smarter than other horses I have owned and they were all types of breeds. Anyone out there think so too? I think there are smart horses in other breeds. I think some Icelandics aren't as quick to learn as others. But, the quickest horses to learn that I've ever met have all been Icelandic's. I think it doesn't get much better than a quick-study Icelandic! Karen Thomas, NC
Re: [IceHorses] training with treats is so fun
On Wed, Mar 12, 2008 at 09:08:00PM -0400, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > I have come to the conclusion that the Icelandic Horse is smarter > than other horses I have owned and they were all types of breeds. > Anyone out there think so too? i have to admit that i think so too. but i also think that stjarni thinks so, and refers to his (qh and paint) paddockmates as tweedledumb and tweedledumber :) --vicka
Re: [IceHorses] training with treats is so fun
I have come to the conclusion that the Icelandic Horse is smarter than other horses I > have owned and they were all types of breeds. Anyone out there think so > too? Hi Sylvia, I'm not sure if they're smarter, but the two we have seem very tuned to me and want to please almost in the way a nice dog does. Hunter, the TWH, has learned to pee on command, pick his feet without my touching him when I say "foot" and knows to come to the gait at 4:00 when he sees my big white van come up the drive, but he never has that eager expression the Icelandics have. If Yrsa were a human child, she would be hopping up and down on her tiptoes, waving her hand and saying "take me take me," Nancy
[IceHorses] training with treats is so fun
Hi, For weeks now I have been teaching my pony to come to me for a treat. First he just came slowly and now when I whistle he comes at a gallop. I feel like I own Trigger the wonder horse. The ten month old filly comes at a run also. Although she will run for any reason. Now I have had a number of horses over the years and I just don't seem to remember they were easy to teach. I have come to the conclusion that the Icelandic Horse is smarter than other horses I have owned and they were all types of breeds. Anyone out there think so too? Sylvia in San Diego with wonder horse Segull. **It's Tax Time! Get tips, forms, and advice on AOL Money & Finance. (http://money.aol.com/tax?NCID=aolprf000301)
