hahah!!!! this is funny. i do the same thing. i was on the young stallion. i just thought that i would hop on and take wim for a little stroll up the road. welllll!!!!!!! at that moment, mum went down and let the mares up the top........thundering hooves came toward us,,,bobby started to jump around a little.....i knew that this was going to go badly. because he is only four, i like to give him the reins and quickly dismount befor it escilates. as his brain has switched off and gone stallion mode. he was not being naughty, as at this time i was just getting to know him and had not set any boundaries. so, i got my feet out of the styrups, and quickly searced with my eyes for a good place to bail off.
it was at this moment, that the mares spotted him and took back off behind the sheds out of view.....
not good!!!!!! bobby leapt in the air. and put his head between his legs he reared spun and bucked so hard that he fell on his bottom a few times and scrambled up to his feet only to continue.
(this out of interest was the behavior that had him sent to us. he does it with people and without. he just looses it and cant controll himself. he falls over and everything.)
all i could think was the song out of NEMO....."just keep swimming.....just keep swimming" so i sung it out loud!!!! i just kept on singing with great animation! now this would have been ok, if i could carry even the slightest of tunes, but sadly, even my own children cry when i sing!
so here i was, ditch on one side, fence on the other, bitchimin road next to me, and mares going crazy, and booby trying to throw himself on the ground, and all my neighbours, not offering help, but just watching this very odd girl singing "just keep swimming" louder and louder. i had an audience!!!
as it turned out. he had a kill switch, that knowbody thought to tell me. i had to figure it out myself mid catastrophe. here i was, giving the reins, and trying to let him feel free to move forward, and all i had to do, was turn his head to his bottom and he stopped dead!
unfortunately though, everytime i let him have his head, he started again. so i had to figure out how to get off and get him back to the house without dying. i have to say. i actually went through every kids movie theme song that i could think of until i worked out how to get off with his head touching his bottom. (definately not as easy as you think) but eventually i managed.
since then, bobby has been ground trained, and has learned that it is better to focus on me and be nice.
and we have not had a repeat again. he is now used to other horses being around, and knows that we are not going to isolate him. once he started to socialise, this behaviour rapidly went away. now he is more like a mare. he can still squeal and strike and get a little hormonal, but he is more comefortable with himself and with us.
anyway. long winded story about singing huh!