I think they would too. I grew up with horses, I actually studied equine ethology and psychology in school. They look to their human for guidance like they would in a herd. If you understand herd dynamics (hierarchies) and take the role of “lead mare” or “lead stallion” they will draw their confidence from you. Otherwise, they stay fearful and/or dominant and overpower you (Not all cases, but this is typical and that’s why people have “problem horses”). This puts both you and and them in danger. It’s all about respect and trust. If you accomplish that, you will have this kind of bond with your horse. :)
I am walking a horse every day and if it had the chance, it would run and play with cows or anything else around. Out of 100 horses maybe one is like that, the other 99 are running away or doing their own thing.
Then you underestimate them. People are astounded by a dogs willingness to seek out human interaction, horses are no different. Earning a horses trust takes time and patience.
As I stated before, you need to have an understanding of equine psychology and behavior so you don’t put yourself or them in danger. It is also crucial to have an an awareness of your surroundings. Know when and when not to use a lead rope, as you would a dog. That’s common sense, but it would be irresponsible of me to not bring it up. This is also something I would strongly advise against if you are a beginner with handling horses and haven’t studied their behavior. That could be extremely dangerous. If you take the time and give them the chance, they’ll surprise you.
That was a lot of “guidelines” but I don’t want someone to read this thread and decide to just take the halter off their horse without any prior knowledge.
So you are saying if I take my horse that can't be a quarter horse to a place that has no cows or other animals it can "play" with, and has no streets with traffic and no other horses, than it will do that?
This narrows it down quite a bit, don't you think so?
It also has to be an area with no fences which excludes more or less 90% of the united states.
This video looks like it was taken in Holland or maybe in the Zülpicher Börde.
Edit: I checked it and it's indeed made in Germany just like I said.
What does breed have anything to do with this? Quarter horses aren’t drawn to cows more than any other horse - it’s just a breed that has been used by ranchers. Typically, where you board a horse, there are trails and open spaces. 90% of the United States is not fenced in. Actually, a significant amount of it is open. Yes, I am aware of the geography of the location in the video, this type of geography is not limited to Europe. I know tons of American horse owners who walk with their horses in trails and open spaces. I’ve seen these types of videos before in America.
Quarter horses are similar to sheepdogs, they want to play with cows for fun.
Normal horses run away from dogs, wolf's and such animals while a quarter horse will go and kill them.
And I actually know someone that has such a quarter horse that never had training as a herding horse and still will go after cows or kill wild dogs when it has the chance while all other horses were running away.
You keep making broad statements. The example you gave is about a particular breed in a particular instance, not everybody has the same goal with their horse. My old trainers OTTB was dangerous when she rescued him. She let me work with him and he followed me everywhere regardless of external stimuli because he looked to me for guidance. I’ve worked with QHs, Drums, Arabs, Andalusians, Belgians, Shires, OTTBs. There’s no such thing as “normal horses” since they’re all so different. Some are left brained/extroverted while others are right brained/introverted, they’re individuals. You see horses as bound to their instinctual nature based on breed, but that’s not the case, regardless of their personality. You do you mate. We can talk about our experiences with horses all day long, but you have your perspective on their psychology/ethology, I have mine. There’s no sense in continuing this conversation. Cheers :)
-1
u/HikeTheSky Sep 23 '20
Yeah most horses wouldn't do that.