At 14:48:08 on 21.09.11, Flicka wrote:
I love stories about quirky horses as it proves that horses are individuals like us and to be a good trainer you need to be able to think your way around these little foibles. Just because one horse will do one thing doesn't mean another will and just because one technique worked with one horse doesn't mean it will with another. Sometimes faced with a problem we just need to keep an open mind and think outside the box. For instance I was watching the BBC coverage of the FEI European Showjumping Championships last night and Nick Skelton was saying that his fabulous horse Carlo very sensitive and get's really nervous in the warm up ring around other horses, and if one comes towards him will duck and run the other way! However the minute he get's in the ring he's really concentrated. Watching the video you wouldn't think he was this 'spooky' horse would you. A friend of mine also told me about a showjumping pony which she owns which even at quite an advanced age is bounding around huge jumping tracks. But she says he just won't jump anything small and really plays up. So can you imagine, if you'd bought this pony but weren't confident enough to jump big jumps you'd probably think you had a pony that didn't want to jump at all! I think we can learn a lot from stories like this so please share them here.....

At 19:35:49 on 23.09.11, JessAndGrenville123 wrote:
Well when i first got gren although he had been a steeplechaser he refused to jump XC even the brush jumps! He is also completely dead to my right leg, he will yeild to the left with very little pressure but my god i can make it soooo uncomfortable for him with my right leg and he still won't budge, not even with a schooling whip to back me up lmao he is like wtf do you want me to do and dances about like a numpty for 10 mins before he gets it. And you all already know about his tricks with zips, hats and doors haha, yep my horse is 'quirky' he is also ultra sensitive to people when untacked in his stable or field but when tacked up he changes into 'work grenville' and will tollerate most people, he is also very scowly and threatening with most people because they don't give him time to smell them and move in quick jerky moves and he gets really scared like ARGH GET AWAY but with me he is very very friendly and loving... He also likes the inside of his ears being scratched! (the bit he can't reach lmao)

At 19:10:43 on 27.09.11, Chinookk wrote:
Recently i got a horse named Chinook, Ive rode him many times before i got him. Hes known to be a Spooky horse at times. I dont know if its the case with other horses, but he spooks at the wind! He's been at this barn for a long time, and for all the time hes been here, hes been like this. Funny. The other day I was riding him, and there was a jump cup on the ground. I casually asked him to trot, He tried cutting the arena, but i got him back to the fence were the cup was, I would never have thought that a jump cup wouldve made him spook. I asked him to trot again, and he let out a buck and bolted across the arena. I got him under control and finally discovered, the jump cup! I reassured him that it was alright, and we got over the little jump cup fear, and for the rest of the ride he was perfect

At 19:16:05 on 27.09.11, Chinookk wrote:
Another time i was riding Chinook, I tried barrel racing him. He spooks at the wind, (Funny chinook