horsefever wrote:
I've been reading everyone's comments which are so interesting. But I do have a question.
How can a horse become that mean? Can it be in his nature?
I haven't been around horses long but I always thought that the basic nature of a horse was friendly (if treated with respect).
This is amazing how mean he is! I guess if ever I come across a horse I don't know, I should beware. I would hate to come across a horse with this type of personality and be taken off guard
.
I have on rare occasions run across horses that were neurologically challenged. But not many.
I have more often, when I was interested in rehabilitation of them, dealt with extremely dangerous recovering rodeo broncs, and once a range bred six year old thoroughbred that was quite a dangerous nut himself.
I lost a little mustang mare that must have been badly treated by her breaking out of a corral when I had put a rope on her, and she went over a cliff. I can't tell you the emptiness I felt as I saw her go over that cliff out of my sight, and the rope tearing through my hands. She was so frightened, and I was so sad.
The thorougbred was the one I treated like a mental patient and cold soaked. He came through wonderfully well, and became a kids show horse.
I gave up on only one bronc. He was absolutely deadly and very very insane from the cruelty of the rodeo arena. He too was a thorobred and from the same herd the one I helped came from, but that one had not been a rodeo horse.
I wish you could have see the bronc's head - his face. It had strange bulges and tensions and dead areas you just don't see on a TB's head - only broncs before they are gentled.
He got a good kick in on me but I wasn't hurt as I caught it on my hip and rolled with it.
I used throwing with those kind, to put them in the sawdust (deep) where I could work slowly with touch, voice, and my gentling dog. One of the most loving and kindest dogs I've ever known. He'd lay on their tail and neck and just very quietly talk to them. I've no idea what he said but it must have been kind because he would quiet them much more quickly than my handling. Their eyes would go soft as he whined and purred. Strange stuff. I still miss that neat dog.
That one, the horse, though I did not let my dog near. He was, even more than the mare over the cliff, the saddest encounter with a horse I ever had, and hope never to have again. He was, simply put, insane. Completely.
I found a huge estate, many thousands of acres, that I got permission to turn him out in. And let him go. Never saw him again, but others said they saw him with the domestic horses that were also turned out there, but he never was in the roundups.
The risk of you running across a horse such as this is very small I'd think.
Donald