[MelissaH]

That's what I figured. Common sense.

I have dogs and one is a biter, so I make it pretty clear about touching my dogs.

[Cyn]

I also have problems at shows. Not only do I Not want them to come up and "pet" my horse for liability reasons but also for the health of my horses. Who knows what other horses have that could be transmitted through humans. Same as I don't let mine drink out of the public water troughs.

[Dawn]

I don't mind people petting Rusty. I do have a problem with people just walking up and petting Reno. For one, it totally freaks her out. Two, it's a safety issue.

[Super Step]

When we were showing, I did not pet my halter horses on the face very much. I was afraid they would expect it all the time and try to reach out while being judged/shown.That always ended up being the first place a person wanted to pet them.
You always get the 'their nose feels like velvet' comments.
Now you can pet my horses anywhere. I like to be asked first.

[Percher1]

Yeah, we've had problems at shows w/ people petting our horses. The one pony got all excited when people started walking bye. So we told people not to touch the pony and all the other horses. I don't like people touching my horse with out asking b/c you can never predict how mouthy he'll be. He can get nippy with treats around and I don't want him to mistake a kid's hand for a treat. But sometimes its cute when the real little kids come and they're so afraid of him b/c he's so big, but then we show the little kid how to pet him on the shoulder and how to feel how soft he is. They always get a really big smile. It just makes my day!

[CrazyHorse]

I prefer that people ask permission to pet my horses also, but I have one horse that ADORES children & likes people in general, so she always goes to THEM first & they can't help but pet her. She's the horse in my avatar.