Weather & Behavior

shepherd406 · 10-18-2009, 12:00 PM

Does anyone else notice changes in their horses' behavior when the weather changes? i.e: cooler, windy, full moon, etc.

My mare was acting like she'd never been to a show before last night. A lot of the horses were a little edgy. It was windy & the weather was cooler than usual. Just wondering if anyone else notices this?

all4him · 10-18-2009, 12:15 PM

I'm DREADING riding tomorrow. It's been cold, rainy and windy and I KNOW my guy will be a nutcase. What's worse is that it's too slippery due to all of the rain to get him to run his bucks out so that will happen with me on him.

But absolutely, drop the temp, we're nuts. Windy he does OK unless it's REALLY windy. But I hate that. I'd love a horse like one who I rode who was steady eddie. She just was the same no matter what was going on. What a doll!

RansomRokz · 10-18-2009, 12:29 PM

My horse is weird about certain types of weather. We were riding in the arena with a couple of others and it was windy and he kept spooking at everything. But a couple of weeks before that we had been out on the trail with a small group and when we were about as far away from the barn as we ever go and very suddenly a thunder storm rushed in and he totally kept his head even being in a somewhat unfamiliar location (it had only been his 3rd time that far from the barn). So I don't always get him...:P

mikesayetta · 10-18-2009, 12:37 PM

Yeah my horse seems to be a little more sppoky when it is windy out or if a storm is moving in. I have not ridden her int he rain yet but i dont think she would mind due to the fact she loves the rain. She is a paint horse while with brown spots but when it rains and she gets finised playing in the rain and mud she is a greyish black with even less brown spots.

shepherd406 · 10-18-2009, 02:05 PM

I'm glad I'm not the only one.

I figured it was the weather bc she's usually not so bad.

meljean · 10-18-2009, 03:22 PM

Good heavens, yes. You can just about count on even the oldest horse getting "fresh" when weather turns cool. And between the cool weather, the leaves rustling and the deer moving more, will turn horse into a whirling dervish. And then don't forget the white bags that people toss out, the wind gets to blowing those around and then blow toward the horse and you are playing saddle bronc. Only trouble??? No one to do pick up.

I worked TB's at breeding farm, and when wind would get up, and days would be cool, anything at all would set them to running, and when one TB runs, everyone runs. And of course they would run to the far back of pastures, and then circle and run back up to see what had been after them, and then run to back of pasture again. They could do this for hours. Really neat to watch them, marvelous to look at, but if your goal was to get one of them caught, not good, not good at all.

And may be ingrained and related to survival skills, as when weather is cooler, predators moved more, and with wind blowing scent away, and leaves making more noises, an animal being stalked couldn't tell where threat was, and had to be extra alert for dangers.

And could just feel darn good too.

Wish the cold weather made me frisky.....

Reitpferde · 10-18-2009, 03:26 PM

Definitely! Sir Henry gets cranky before a full moon. He is super up and forward in the cold weather! Actually sort of cute. He shakes his head and prances until I let him trot. Too funny. I also don't have to work nearly as hard as I do in the summer.

shepherd406 · 10-18-2009, 03:34 PM

Thanks for your experiences. I guess I have faster times to look forward to next month. Haha. Just hoping she can handle a new venue AND the cool weather on Halloween. But there's no signs in this arena, so maybe she won't be so bad. Apparently, signs can jump out & bite you.

CrazyHorse · 10-18-2009, 04:26 PM

I'm dealing with a spookier than usual mare myself right now. When I was riding her today she spooked because someone opened a car door

Rosie12 · 10-18-2009, 05:27 PM

Weather really affects horses...Mostly. Some storms my mare doesn't care, some of them she's tense enough to jump if I touch her without talking to her first.

Rohan gets edgy during stormy weather (that's all I've seen so far)

Rosie gets jumpy in some storms, fine in others, and becomes a wild child when it's under 80.

10-18-2009, 12:00 PM	#1
shepherd406 Full Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Richlands, NC Posts: 234 Images: 32 Blog Entries: 1	Weather & Behavior Does anyone else notice changes in their horses' behavior when the weather changes? i.e: cooler, windy, full moon, etc. My mare was acting like she'd never been to a show before last night. A lot of the horses were a little edgy. It was windy & the weather was cooler than usual. Just wondering if anyone else notices this? __________________ Riding: The art of keeping a horse between you and the ground. ~Author Unknown

10-18-2009, 02:05 PM	#5
shepherd406 Full Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Richlands, NC Posts: 234 Images: 32 Blog Entries: 1	I'm glad I'm not the only one. I figured it was the weather bc she's usually not so bad. __________________ Riding: The art of keeping a horse between you and the ground. ~Author Unknown

10-18-2009, 03:22 PM	#6
meljean Senior Member+ Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: NW MO Posts: 1,017	Good heavens, yes. You can just about count on even the oldest horse getting "fresh" when weather turns cool. And between the cool weather, the leaves rustling and the deer moving more, will turn horse into a whirling dervish. And then don't forget the white bags that people toss out, the wind gets to blowing those around and then blow toward the horse and you are playing saddle bronc. Only trouble??? No one to do pick up. I worked TB's at breeding farm, and when wind would get up, and days would be cool, anything at all would set them to running, and when one TB runs, everyone runs. And of course they would run to the far back of pastures, and then circle and run back up to see what had been after them, and then run to back of pasture again. They could do this for hours. Really neat to watch them, marvelous to look at, but if your goal was to get one of them caught, not good, not good at all. And may be ingrained and related to survival skills, as when weather is cooler, predators moved more, and with wind blowing scent away, and leaves making more noises, an animal being stalked couldn't tell where threat was, and had to be extra alert for dangers. And could just feel darn good too. Wish the cold weather made me frisky..... __________________ "If you listen to the horse, the horse will tell you what it wants to be." Dale Pugh "You can undo in five seconds, the training it took you five years to accomplish." Wyman E. Bennett

10-18-2009, 03:26 PM	#7
Reitpferde Senior Member+ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Central New Jersey Posts: 1,607 Images: 34	Definitely! Sir Henry gets cranky before a full moon. He is super up and forward in the cold weather! Actually sort of cute. He shakes his head and prances until I let him trot. Too funny. I also don't have to work nearly as hard as I do in the summer. __________________ "The problem with Socialism is that eventually you will run out of other people's money!" Margaret Thatcher

10-18-2009, 03:34 PM	#8
shepherd406 Full Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Richlands, NC Posts: 234 Images: 32 Blog Entries: 1	Thanks for your experiences. I guess I have faster times to look forward to next month. Haha. Just hoping she can handle a new venue AND the cool weather on Halloween. But there's no signs in this arena, so maybe she won't be so bad. Apparently, signs can jump out & bite you. __________________ Riding: The art of keeping a horse between you and the ground. ~Author Unknown

10-18-2009, 12:15 PM	#2
all4him Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: East Coast Posts: 340	I'm DREADING riding tomorrow. It's been cold, rainy and windy and I KNOW my guy will be a nutcase. What's worse is that it's too slippery due to all of the rain to get him to run his bucks out so that will happen with me on him. But absolutely, drop the temp, we're nuts. Windy he does OK unless it's REALLY windy. But I hate that. I'd love a horse like one who I rode who was steady eddie. She just was the same no matter what was going on. What a doll!

10-18-2009, 12:29 PM	#3
RansomRokz Full Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: On the back of a horse Posts: 83	My horse is weird about certain types of weather. We were riding in the arena with a couple of others and it was windy and he kept spooking at everything. But a couple of weeks before that we had been out on the trail with a small group and when we were about as far away from the barn as we ever go and very suddenly a thunder storm rushed in and he totally kept his head even being in a somewhat unfamiliar location (it had only been his 3rd time that far from the barn). So I don't always get him...:P

10-18-2009, 12:37 PM	#4
mikesayetta Junior Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 19	Yeah my horse seems to be a little more sppoky when it is windy out or if a storm is moving in. I have not ridden her int he rain yet but i dont think she would mind due to the fact she loves the rain. She is a paint horse while with brown spots but when it rains and she gets finised playing in the rain and mud she is a greyish black with even less brown spots.

10-18-2009, 04:26 PM	#9
CrazyHorse Senior Member+ Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Florence, Mississippi Posts: 10,948 Images: 656	I'm dealing with a spookier than usual mare myself right now. When I was riding her today she spooked because someone opened a car door __________________ Don't fight the hands that hold you... God is so big He can cover the whole world with his Love and so small He can curl up inside your heart. I've been blessed by the Snow Fairy too many times to count! I've been gobbled many times over by Thom Turkey!

10-18-2009, 05:27 PM	#10
Rosie12 Full Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Hm...define, 'live' Posts: 231	Weather really affects horses...Mostly. Some storms my mare doesn't care, some of them she's tense enough to jump if I touch her without talking to her first. Rohan gets edgy during stormy weather (that's all I've seen so far) Rosie gets jumpy in some storms, fine in others, and becomes a wild child when it's under 80. __________________ That's what a horse is, you know. It's not just a pasture and water and feed and tack, that's what a horse needs. But what a horse really is... is freedom.

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