Whats up with Horses and the Wind!

[RackinRudy]

Holy Crud! Just took me 20-30 minutes to catch my horses!
Winds are about 20-25 mph, the horses are completely wild!
They act afraid of everything ... finally got them in the barn/paddock.

I open the barn door a bit later, I hear clunk-clunk, i scared them by just opening the main door! :eek: I then notice Rudy cut his side on something as he freaked and ran out of his stall into his paddock! Oh Brother!

Horses are the biggest wussies ever!;)

Lisa

[Gypsy Rose]

He,he! When the wind hits 20 mph or more, I don't dare ride- Gypsy finds the boogey man in every place you can imagine, lol!

[mypaintpony]

We had some pretty good wind here last week and the horses were just wild!

[WashingtonBay]

All horses get fruity in the wind, I think. I know mine do. Everything's moving, weird smells.

If you were a hunter you'd know that deer get extra spooky in the wind too... much more alert. My dad used to say if the wind kicked up when hunting they might as well go home. Some will say it's because they smell threats coming in on the wind, but my game warden friend said the opposite is true, really... that they can't smell anything. And that makes them nervous. Prey animals depend so much on their sense of smell for safety, that when they know they can't trust their sense of smell they become hyper-observant.

That's what he said, anyway :)

[alittleoffkey]

Legacy loves the wind... while the other horses hide in the run-in or stand close trying to keep warm, he's out running and bucking and having a blast. A few years ago during the hurricane that came through he thought he'd died and gone to heaven. I could've killed him (tree limbs falling, loose trash blowing around, horizontal rain, crazy winds in the DARK... and the stupid horse is running around having the time of his life). :D My other three mainly don't care. They have their days though *rolls eyes*.

[shynbvs]

yeah I wonder why they get so edgie when its windy. I used to ride this 4 y.o. OTTB and we went on a trail during the wind, he would be really spooky. But he was definitely a little more hyper than usual!

[MileHighOlli]

I have no choice BUT to ride in the wind. The front range gets these nasty wicked winds that come off the foothills in the afternoon. The worst is the little micro-bursts. It like being in a mini tornado.

[JackieB]

WB got it right. Or her wildlife friend did, anyway. Prey animals hate high winds. It seriously compromises their ability to see a predator (everything's moving), smell a predator (smells just get blown all over in the wind), or hear a predator (too much noise from the wind). They are very vulnerable in such a situation. It makes them very edgy.

[FatSpottedAppy]

Mine actually aren't that bad in the wind. I've ridden in very windy weather without a problem! They do however go into the run in when they're in the pasture once it gets pretty windy.

[TBgirl]

I get nervous in the wind (high strung/anxious me lol)...so ofcourse, every horse I ride in the wind tends to get spooky. I think I anticipate spooks, which causes spooks...and well, ya you guys know what I mean lol.

[Vibe]

Yep all the horses I work with are terrified of the wind haha!
Dolly threw me on a windy day.. so I try not to ride when its too windy.

[cheval]

Solon is deathly afraid of the wind. So bad, that I had two animal communicator come out to try and find out what the deal was. They both said that something had happened to him as a young horse in a barn with the wind blowing. He's never gotten over it. Some nights I have to give him Quietex just to get him through.

He can tell when the wind is picking up. There are a couple other horses in the barn the same way.

[Chavhorse]

WB is right on the nail it is the prey animal mentality coming to the fore......

I think though it is what horses get used to .....my horses in the UK were used to wind (well they had to be) and just got on with the job the same with horses in Holland it is a regular thing so no real big deal. My Cyprus horse however used to go banana's on the odd occasion we had a high wind and he had a pathological hatred of rain which the dutch and UK horses just plug through.

One of te reasons I did not bring my horse from Cyprus to Holland he would have been the most miserable horse in the world!

[lovesfortune]

Some will say it's because they smell threats coming in on the wind, but my game warden friend said the opposite is true, really... that they can't smell anything. And that makes them nervous. Prey animals depend so much on their sense of smell for safety, that when they know they can't trust their sense of smell they become hyper-observant.

:)

I guess I never thought of it this way... I always thought like your dad that they could smell too many things... but your game warden friend sounds right.

[Equine_Woman]

3 of mine ignore the wind. (they are 20 and up) and the 5 year old runs circles around them. Lol. Makes for pretty pictures!